What Is CHM?

CHM Defined: The Certified Hospice Manager Credential

CHM stands for Certified Hospice Manager. It is a professional certification for people who supervise or manage hospice operations, and it is awarded through the National Board for Home Care and Hospice Certification (NBHHC). Earning it signals that a hospice leader has demonstrated knowledge across the business and people-management side of end-of-life care, not just the clinical side.

The credential is built around the daily realities of running a hospice team: hiring and coaching staff, handling discipline and documentation, meeting regulatory expectations, managing budgets, and sustaining quality. If you are looking for a deeper definition, our related explainers on what CHM stands for and what CHM certification is cover the terminology from different angles.

Who Certifies It and How the Exam Is Delivered

NBHHC owns the certification program and publishes the candidate handbook and the seven-domain content blueprint. Professional Testing (PTI) coordinates administration of the exam. Candidates generally test at Pearson VUE computer-based test centers, and approved onsite paper testing is also available.

Exam format at a glance

Because there is no penalty for wrong answers, every question should receive a response. And because results are reported as pass/fail, you will not receive a granular score ranking against other candidates. For a closer look at the scoring side, see our guide to the CHM passing score.

Why Hospice Management Gets Its Own Credential

Hospice managers occupy an unusual position. They are often promoted from clinical roles such as nursing or social work, yet the job quickly becomes about workforce planning, employment law, regulatory survival, and financial stewardship. A great bedside clinician is not automatically prepared to write a defensible corrective-action memo or to interpret hospice regulatory requirements during a survey.

The CHM exists to close that gap. It validates management competency in a setting where the stakes are high: staff turnover affects patient and family experience, documentation failures create compliance exposure, and weak leadership erodes team resilience in emotionally demanding work. Employers use the credential as one indicator that a manager has been tested on those responsibilities.

Inside the Seven-Domain Blueprint

The exam is built from an official seven-domain blueprint. The weights below determine how many questions you can expect from each area, so they should shape how you divide your study time. For a domain-by-domain walkthrough, read our complete guide to all seven CHM content areas.

Why Human Resources Dominates the Exam

The single most important fact about the CHM blueprint is that Human Resource Basic Practices and Law accounts for 30% of it, more than any other domain. Combined with Management Skills at 20%, people-related content represents roughly half the exam. That emphasis reflects reality: staffing and employment decisions are where hospice managers face the most frequent and consequential judgment calls.

Expect scenario-style questions that put you in a manager's seat. Practice cases worth building around include:

• Hiring: structuring interviews, evaluating candidates consistently, and avoiding legally risky questions
• Coaching and discipline: choosing the right level of response to a performance problem and documenting it properly
• Staffing: covering schedules and workload while respecting employment rules
• Documentation: what to record, when, and how, so decisions are defensible
• Employment law: recognizing situations that carry legal risk and responding appropriately

Who Qualifies to Sit for the Exam

Unlike entry-level certifications, the CHM requires documented management experience before you can test. Eligibility is based on a combination of education and hospice supervisory or management experience:

• A bachelor's or master's degree plus 1 year of experience
• An associate degree plus 2 years of experience
• A high-school diploma or health-related professional license plus 3 years of experience

Beyond the education-and-experience pathways, applicants must also show relevant management or leadership employment for at least 12 of the last 48 months. Experience is prorated for the portion of your time spent on management duties, so a hybrid clinical-and-supervisory role may count only in part. You will need to provide education and work-history evidence and submit three healthcare-industry references, listing your current employer first when applicable.

For a full breakdown of prerequisites and how to document them, see our guide to CHM requirements and eligibility.

Fees, Testing Windows, and the Application Path

What it costs

Initial certification totals US$598, made up of a US$99 application fee and a US$499 examination fee. The optional CAHSAH hospice manager course is a separate tuition charge and is not required to apply. A fuller pricing discussion is in our CHM certification cost breakdown.

The 2026 testing windows

Computer-based testing is offered in defined windows, each with its own application deadline:

How the process works

1. Submit your application, supporting documents, and references to NBHHC before the relevant deadline.
2. Once approved, you receive an Authorization to Test. Approval lasts 12 months.
3. Use the Authorization to Test to schedule your appointment with Pearson VUE within a testing window.
4. Sit for the 2-hour, closed-book exam and receive a pass/fail result.

Because the application approval lasts 12 months, you have flexibility, but the windows are limited, so it pays to plan backward from your target date. More scheduling detail is available in our CHM exam dates guide.

Where Certified Hospice Managers Work

CHM holders typically work in or around hospice organizations: freestanding hospice agencies, hospital-affiliated hospice programs, and organizations that combine home health and hospice services. Common titles include hospice administrator, director of clinical services, program manager, and clinical or field supervisor. Because eligibility requires prior supervisory experience, the credential is more often a career-advancement step than an entry ticket.

Employers value it because it offers an external, standardized signal that a manager understands employment law, regulatory processes, and operational management. Compensation outcomes depend heavily on employer type, region, and role scope, and we avoid quoting unverified figures here. For earnings context, see our CHM salary guide, and for the broader value question, read whether the CHM certification is worth it. If you are exploring the job market directly, our overview of CHM jobs is a good next stop.

Keeping the Credential Active

Certification lasts 4 years. To renew, you must earn 50 points, which must include at least 36 continuing-education contact hours and no more than 14 other points. You must also show relevant management or leadership work for 12 of the preceding 48 months, mirroring the experience threshold used at initial certification.

Track your continuing education as you go rather than reconstructing it at the end of the cycle. The point structure rewards steady, documented professional development.

Clearing Up the Acronym Confusion

Search for "CHM" and you will find results about unrelated certifications in other fields. If you landed here looking for hospice management, you are in the right place. Our related pages on CHM meaning and what CHM means address the terminology directly.

Within the home care and hospice space, another common question is how the CHM relates to the CHA. The two are separate NBHHC credentials aimed at different leadership scopes, so confirm which one matches your role and eligibility before you apply. Reviewing the official candidate handbook is the safest way to verify scope and requirements.

A Domain-Weighted Preparation Approach

Rather than generic study advice, the most effective plan follows the blueprint weights. Here is one way to sequence the material across a six-week runway, front-loading the heaviest domains:

Building timed practice into your final week matters because the exam allows roughly a minute and a half per question at the upper end of the range. Working through a realistic CHM practice test helps you calibrate pacing and expose gaps. For a quick final review, our CHM cheat sheet condenses the essentials, and you can learn more about difficulty expectations in how hard the CHM exam is and what the data suggests in our CHM pass rate overview.

Frequently Asked Questions