RRT Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

How the RRT Is Actually Earned in 2026

Before any pass-rate figure means anything, you need to know what the figure measures. The Registered Respiratory Therapist credential is awarded by the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC), and in 2026 it is not earned by a single examination. The current route requires a high cut score on the Therapist Multiple-Choice Examination (TMC), followed by a passing result on the Clinical Simulation Examination (CSE). Passing the TMC alone does not award the RRT.

That two-step structure is the reason "what is the RRT pass rate?" has no single clean answer. NBRC reports results by examination and by candidate cohort, and each number answers a different question. This article walks through the 2025 data, explains what each figure does and does not tell you, and connects the numbers to the actual content you will face. For the full path to eligibility, see our guide to RRT requirements, eligibility, and prerequisites.

The 2025 Pass-Rate Data, Cohort by Cohort

The most recent complete data comes from NBRC's 2025 Examinations in Review info sheet, which reports calendar-2025 results. Here is what it shows for the RRT pathway:

Reported activity volumes for the year were 11,086 TMC administrations, 9,004 CSE administrations, and 5,196 RRT credentials awarded.

Reading the TMC rows

The TMC has two cut scores. The low cut score leads to CRT-level credentialing; the high cut score is the one that makes you eligible for the CSE and, ultimately, the RRT. For new candidates, the gap between the 78.5% low-cut rate and the 68.2% high-cut rate tells you that a meaningful slice of first-time candidates clear the lower bar but not the higher one. For repeat candidates, the high-cut rate of 29.4% is strikingly low next to the 68.2% for first-timers.

Reading the CSE rows

The CSE figures sit closer together: 63.6% for new candidates and 53.0% for repeaters. The retake penalty exists but is much milder than on the TMC high cut. Only candidates who already achieved the TMC high cut can sit the CSE, so this population has already cleared one significant filter.

Numeric cut scores for the current exams are not something we can state with confidence. For what is and is not known about scoring, see our breakdown of the RRT passing score.

Why You Cannot Multiply These Rates Together

The tempting shortcut is to multiply 68.2% by 63.6% and announce an "overall RRT pass rate" of about 43%. Do not do this, and be skeptical of any source that does. The reasons are structural:

• The cohorts are different people. The calendar-2025 TMC results include candidates who never intended to pursue the RRT, such as those aiming for CRT-level credentialing, plus repeaters at various stages.
• CSE candidates are pre-filtered. Everyone sitting the CSE already earned the TMC high cut, so the CSE rate is conditional on success elsewhere.
• Timing does not line up. A candidate who passed the TMC in 2024 may have sat the CSE in 2025, and vice versa. Calendar-year rates do not follow a single class through the pipeline.
• Attempts are counted, not people. The activity totals are administrations, not unique candidates.

For a candid look at how these numbers translate into felt difficulty, read our companion piece on how hard the RRT exam really is.

What the TMC Tests and Where Candidates Struggle

The TMC's content outline (effective January 2020 through December 31, 2026) is organized under three official exam-objective headings. The scored-item allocations are specific, and they tell you where the exam's weight actually sits:

Those allocations are counts of scored items, not percentages we have computed on the issuer's behalf. What the counts do establish is that Interventions carries the most scored items on the TMC, and that Patient Data carries more than twice the weight of Troubleshooting and Infection Control. Note also that the 20 pretest items are unscored, and you cannot tell which ones they are, so every question deserves full effort.

Why do repeaters fare so poorly on the high cut? One plausible reading, offered as interpretation rather than data, is that many repeaters are already near the margin and that the high cut demands consistent performance in application-level questions rather than recall. If you are retaking, the useful move is to diagnose which of the three headings cost you points, not to reread everything. Our complete guide to the RRT exam domains maps each heading to specific study targets.

What the CSE Tests and Why Its Rates Differ

The CSE is a different instrument. Instead of 140 independent questions, you work through 20 scored interactive patient problems (plus two pretest problems), and each problem can contain multiple sections and choices. The Candidate Handbook (2026 edition) specifies a single CSE score summed across the examination. It does not set separate pass thresholds for information gathering and decision making, which matters if you had heard the older folklore about passing each component separately.

The CSE's official exam-objective headings repeat the same themes as the TMC, with deliberate wording differences:

• Domain 4: Patient Data, the CSE counterpart to Domain 1
• Domain 5: Troubleshooting and Quality Control of Equipment, and Infection Control, which says "Equipment" where the TMC heading says "Devices"
• Domain 6: Initiation and Modification of Interventions, the counterpart to Domain 3

Six is simply the heading count across the two assessments. It is not an official combined six-domain examination, and no combined TMC/CSE domain weights exist.

How the scored CSE cases are assembled

The 20 scored problems are drawn from defined assembly groups:

These are case-assembly groups, not additional domain lines. Still, the distribution has a practical implication: 12 of 20 scored problems are adult chronic airways or adult medical/surgical, so COPD, asthma, and perioperative scenarios deserve disproportionate rehearsal. The pediatric and neonatal groups total four problems, which is few but enough to sink a borderline score if you ignore them entirely.

The CSE's lower retake penalty (53.0% for repeaters versus 63.6% for new candidates) may reflect the nature of the exam: problem-solving skill in structured scenarios can improve noticeably with deliberate practice, in a way that closing a knowledge gap across 140 TMC items may not.

Retake Rules and the Cost of a Miss

Pass rates only matter if you understand the consequences of a miss. The rules that govern repeating are specific:

• Three initial attempts are permitted on each examination without the subsequent-attempt waiting interval.
• Later attempts require a 120-day wait between attempts.
• Fees: the TMC costs USD 190 for a new candidate and USD 150 for a repeat; the CSE costs USD 200 whether new or repeat.

A standard first pass through both examinations totals USD 390, or USD 350 for eligible AARC members using the prescribed application process for the one-time USD 40 first-CSE discount. That total excludes education, preparation materials, membership, and licensure. Every TMC retake adds USD 150; every CSE retake adds USD 200. Given that only 29.4% of TMC high-cut repeaters passed in 2025, the financial case for preparing thoroughly the first time is strong. Our full RRT certification cost breakdown covers the complete picture, and the ROI analysis weighs those costs against the credential's career value.

The 2027 Transition and What It Means for These Numbers

The 2025 data describes a pathway that is being retired. NBRC is introducing a single Respiratory Therapy Examination effective January 2027: 185 multiple-choice questions (160 scored, 25 pretest) over four hours, priced at USD 360 for new candidates and USD 300 for repeat candidates. Lower and higher cut scores on that exam lead directly to CRT and RRT respectively. Applications opened October 1, 2026, with first examination availability on January 4, 2027.

The key transition dates for the current pathway:

• TMC applications close December 15, 2026, and TMC testing ends December 31, 2026.
• The CSE remains available through December 31, 2027, but only for the eligible transition cohort.
• The CRT-to-registry admission policy expires December 31, 2026.

One caution: issuer wording about achieving the TMC high cut "prior to December 31, 2026" conflicts with the announced final testing date. Whether a result earned on December 31 qualifies you for the transition cohort needs confirmation directly from NBRC before you rely on a last-day attempt. Conditional legacy routes, such as the CRT-experience pathways and the CSRT route, are likewise not automatically carried into the 2027 pathway.

For candidates, the implication is that the 2025 TMC and CSE rates are the best available evidence about the current exams, but they are not a forecast for the 2027 single-exam format. Do not assume the new exam will produce the same pass rates, and do not blend the future outline into your TMC/CSE preparation. Check current scheduling in our RRT exam dates and deadlines guide.

Sequencing Prep Around the Data

If the pass-rate data points to anything actionable, it is this: the TMC high cut is the gatekeeper, and repeaters struggle most there. Here is a sequence that aims preparation at where the weight and the failures concentrate, assuming a candidate still testing under the current pathway:

For a fuller plan, see our RRT study guide, and keep the RRT cheat sheet nearby for quick-reference review. When you are ready to test yourself against exam-style items, our RRT practice tests let you measure progress by content area, and you can start from the main practice test site at any point.

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