- What a CHM Actually Is
- Who Issues the Credential and Who Administers It
- Who Holds a CHM and Who Hires Them
- How the CHM Exam Is Built
- The Seven Domains in Plain Language
- Who Qualifies to Sit for It
- Fees, Approval Windows, and Scheduling Mechanics
- The 2026 Testing Calendar
- Keeping the Credential: Renewal
- CHM Compared With Other Hospice and Home Care Credentials
- Sequencing Your Preparation Around the Blueprint
- Frequently Asked Questions
- CHM here means Certified Hospice Manager, awarded by the National Board for Home Care and Hospice Certification (NBHHC).
- The exam has 80-100 single-answer questions, a 2-hour limit, closed book, and no penalty for guessing.
- Human Resource Basic Practices and Law is the largest domain at 30%, ahead of Management Skills and Regulatory Processes at 20% each.
- Initial certification costs US$598 total: a US$99 application plus a US$499 examination fee.
What a CHM Actually Is
A CHM is a Certified Hospice Manager: a hospice supervisor or manager who has earned the credential offered by the National Board for Home Care and Hospice Certification (NBHHC). The certification exists to verify that a person who leads hospice staff and operations understands the management, regulatory, and employment-law responsibilities that come with the role.
Because the acronym "CHM" is used by several unrelated credentials in other fields, it is worth being precise. Everything on this page refers only to the hospice management certification. If you are looking for a quick definition of the letters themselves, our short explainers on what CHM stands for and CHM meaning cover the vocabulary, while what CHM certification is goes into the credentialing model. This article takes the practical angle: what the credential is, who it is for, and how it works from application to renewal.
Who Issues the Credential and Who Administers It
Two organizations show up in the process, and candidates sometimes confuse their roles.
- NBHHC is the certifying body. It sets eligibility rules, publishes the exam blueprint and candidate handbook, and awards and renews the credential.
- Professional Testing (PTI) coordinates administration of the exam. Testing takes place at Pearson VUE computer-based test centers, with approved onsite paper testing also available.
- CAHSAH offers an optional hospice manager course. Its tuition is separate from NBHHC's application and exam fees, and taking it is not a requirement for certification.
The exam content is built from NBHHC's official seven-domain CHM blueprint and its 2024 candidate handbook. Those two documents are the authoritative sources for what is tested, and any prep material should map back to them. Our complete guide to all seven CHM content areas walks through the blueprint in more detail.
Who Holds a CHM and Who Hires Them
CHM holders are typically people who supervise or manage within a hospice organization. Think of roles such as hospice administrator, executive director, clinical or patient-care manager, team manager, and operations or program supervisor. What unites them is that they direct other people's work, carry responsibility for compliance, and answer for the operation's performance.
Employers are hospice providers: freestanding hospice agencies, hospital-based hospice programs, home health and hospice combined organizations, and larger multi-site healthcare systems that operate hospice lines. For these employers, the credential is a signal that a manager has been tested on the unglamorous but high-stakes parts of the job: hiring and discipline decisions, staffing, documentation, and survey readiness.
If you are weighing the credential against your career path, see the breakdown of CHM jobs, the CHM salary guide, and the ROI analysis of the certification. We deliberately avoid quoting a single salary number here, because earnings in hospice management vary with region, organization size, and scope of responsibility.
How the CHM Exam Is Built
The exam format is straightforward, and knowing it removes a lot of test-day anxiety.
| Feature | CHM Exam Detail |
|---|---|
| Question count | 80-100 questions (range per NBHHC candidate handbook) |
| Time limit | 2 hours |
| Question type | Single-answer selected response |
| Reference materials | Closed book |
| Guessing penalty | None |
| Result reporting | Pass/fail |
| Delivery | Pearson VUE computer-based centers; approved onsite paper testing |
What "single-answer selected response" means for you
Each question has one best answer among the options. Because there is no penalty for wrong answers, you should never leave an item blank. Because the exam is scenario-heavy in the management domains, many items ask what a manager should do first or best, which means several options may sound reasonable and you must choose the one that fits sound management practice and applicable regulation.
Pass/fail reporting
Results are reported as pass or fail rather than as a detailed numeric breakdown. For a deeper look at how scoring works, read about the CHM passing score and what the pass-rate data shows. If you want a realistic sense of difficulty before committing, how hard the CHM exam is addresses that directly.
The Seven Domains in Plain Language
The blueprint divides the exam into seven domains. Weights matter because they tell you where the points are.
| Domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| Domain 7: Human Resource Basic Practices and Law | 30% |
| Domain 3: Management Skills | 20% |
| Domain 5: Regulatory Processes for Hospices | 20% |
| Domain 1: Leadership Skills | 10% |
| Domain 6: Financial Management and Budgeting | 10% |
| Domain 2: Customer Service | 5% |
| Domain 4: Marketing and Sales | 5% |
Domain 7: Human Resource Basic Practices and Law (30%)
The single biggest slice of the exam. Expect scenario questions about how a manager handles people issues lawfully and consistently.
- Hiring practices and interviewing within legal boundaries
- Coaching and performance management
- Progressive discipline and termination decisions
- Employment law fundamentals that affect everyday supervision
- Documentation of personnel actions
Domain 3: Management Skills (20%)
The operational side of running a team and a program.
- Staffing and scheduling decisions
- Delegation, workflow, and accountability
- Quality improvement and using performance information
- Documentation expectations for staff and the organization
Domain 5: Regulatory Processes for Hospices (20%)
How a hospice stays compliant and survey-ready.
- Hospice regulations and what they require of managers
- Compliance processes and corrective action
- Documentation that supports regulatory expectations
- Quality and oversight activities tied to compliance
Domains 1, 6, 2, and 4 (10%, 10%, 5%, 5%)
Leadership Skills covers how you influence and develop people. Financial Management and Budgeting covers the money side of a hospice program. Customer Service and Marketing and Sales are the smallest domains but still appear on the exam, covering patient and family experience and how a hospice presents and grows its services.
Who Qualifies to Sit for It
You cannot simply register and test. NBHHC requires documented hospice supervisory or management experience, and the required length depends on your education:
- Bachelor's or master's degree: plus 1 year of experience
- Associate degree: plus 2 years of experience
- High-school diploma or a health-related professional license: plus 3 years of experience
Beyond those baselines, applicants need relevant management or leadership employment for at least 12 of the last 48 months. Experience is prorated based on how much of your time involved management duties, so a role that is only partly supervisory will not count in full. You also submit education and work-history evidence and provide three healthcare-industry references, listing your current employer first when applicable.
Key Takeaway
Start assembling your documentation before you start studying. Verifying degrees, licenses, work history, and three references can take longer than you expect, and application deadlines for each testing window are firm. The full prerequisite list is in our CHM requirements guide.
Fees, Approval Windows, and Scheduling Mechanics
Initial certification cost
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Application fee | US$99 |
| Examination fee | US$499 |
| Total | US$598 |
The optional CAHSAH hospice manager course is priced separately, so budget for it only if you choose to take it. A fuller picture of what to plan for appears in the CHM certification cost breakdown.
From approval to exam day
- Submit your application, supporting evidence, and fee, meeting the deadline for your chosen testing window.
- Receive approval. Your application approval lasts 12 months.
- Obtain your Authorization to Test. You need this before you can schedule.
- Schedule your appointment with Pearson VUE (or arrange approved onsite paper testing).
- Test within your approval period, bringing what the testing center requires.
The 12-month approval period gives you flexibility, but do not read it as a reason to delay. A defined target window keeps preparation focused.
The 2026 Testing Calendar
Computer-based testing is offered in set windows, each with its own application deadline.
| Testing Window | Application Deadline |
|---|---|
| February 1-28 | January 20 |
| April 14-May 12 | April 7 |
| August 1-31 | July 21 |
| November 1-30 | October 20 |
Notice that the deadlines fall before the windows open, so you apply first and test later. Work backward from your target window to decide when to submit your application. More detail on scheduling is in our CHM exam dates guide.
Keeping the Credential: Renewal
CHM certification lasts 4 years. To renew, you must earn 50 points, composed of:
- At least 36 continuing-education contact hours
- No more than 14 other points
You must also show relevant management or leadership work for 12 of the preceding 48 months. This means the credential is tied to continued practice in the field, not just a one-time exam.
| Renewal Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Renewal application fee | US$99 |
| Renewal fee | US$299 |
| Total | US$398 |
| Late renewal (within permitted 1-year period) | Additional US$99 |
Because the point structure requires a substantial block of continuing-education hours, it makes sense to log them steadily across the four years rather than scrambling near expiration.
CHM Compared With Other Hospice and Home Care Credentials
Candidates often ask how the CHM relates to other credentials from the same certifying family, particularly the CHA. The distinction comes down to the role each credential targets: the CHM is aimed at people managing or supervising hospice operations and staff, with a blueprint dominated by human resources, management, and regulatory content. Other credentials in the NBHHC family are aimed at different roles, such as home care or hospice administration, so confirm the target role and the current eligibility criteria on the NBHHC site before choosing which to pursue.
Sequencing Your Preparation Around the Blueprint
You do not need an elaborate method. You need to let the blueprint decide the order. One sensible way to spread the seven domains across a short runway:
Human Resource Basic Practices and Law
- Work hiring, coaching, discipline, and termination scenarios
- Review the employment-law concepts managers apply daily
Management Skills
- Practice staffing, documentation, and quality-improvement cases
Regulatory Processes for Hospices
- Review hospice regulations and compliance processes
- Connect regulatory duties to documentation practices
Leadership, Finance, Customer Service, Marketing
- Cover the smaller domains efficiently
- Take timed mixed practice sets under 2-hour conditions
HR goes first because it carries 30% of the exam and its scenario logic (consistency, documentation, fairness, legal risk) also supports your reasoning in the management and regulatory domains. For a one-page refresher near test day, the CHM cheat sheet condenses must-know facts, and you can build timed repetition on the CHM practice test site, including targeted CHM exam questions and HR-focused scenarios.
If you want formal instruction in addition to self-study, see what is available under CHM training. And if you are still deciding whether to start, the overview article What Is CHM? offers a shorter orientation.
Frequently Asked Questions
CHM stands for Certified Hospice Manager. It is a credential from the National Board for Home Care and Hospice Certification (NBHHC) for hospice supervisors and managers.
The NBHHC candidate handbook gives a range of 80-100 single-answer questions with a 2-hour limit. The exam is closed book and has no guessing penalty, so answer every question.
Initial certification costs US$598 total: a US$99 application fee plus a US$499 examination fee. The optional CAHSAH hospice manager course is priced separately.
Human Resource Basic Practices and Law is the largest at 30%. Management Skills and Regulatory Processes for Hospices each carry 20%, so those three domains make up 70% of the exam.
Certification lasts 4 years. Renewal requires 50 points, including at least 36 continuing-education contact hours and no more than 14 other points, plus relevant management or leadership work for 12 of the preceding 48 months. Renewal costs US$398, with an additional US$99 for late renewal within the permitted 1-year period.