RRT Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass

The Short Answer: Why There Is No Single "Passing Score"

If you searched for one number that means "you passed the RRT," the honest answer is that no such number exists. The Registered Respiratory Therapist credential, issued by the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC), is awarded through a two-exam sequence, and each exam has its own scoring logic. Passing means clearing the TMC high cut score and then passing the Clinical Simulation Examination (CSE). Neither result alone earns you the RRT.

That structure is the most important thing to understand about passing score, because it changes what you should be studying for. Candidates who treat the whole process as one hurdle often underprepare for the CSE, which tests a completely different skill than the multiple-choice TMC. For a broader view of how demanding each stage feels, see our RRT difficulty guide.

Two Exams, Two Gates: TMC High Cut and the CSE

The current 2026 route works like a gate system. The Therapist Multiple-Choice Examination (TMC) produces results at more than one cut level, and the cut level you reach determines what it unlocks. Reaching the high cut is what makes you eligible to sit the CSE for the RRT. A result that clears only the low cut and not the high cut does not open the registry pathway.

Two further details matter. First, these are separate examinations, not one 182-question appointment; you schedule and sit them independently. Second, the CSE has its own eligibility layer: you need CRT status and a qualifying high-cut TMC result before you can sit it. Our RRT requirements guide walks through the full eligibility picture, including the conditional legacy CRT routes.

What We Can and Cannot Say About the Numbers

Let's be direct about what is established and what is not, because pass-score content online is full of confident-sounding numbers that go stale or belong to a different test.

What is established

• The TMC produces a high cut that gates RRT eligibility.
• The CSE is scored as one score summed across the examination according to the 2026 Candidate Handbook.
• Only scored items count: 140 of the TMC's 160 questions and 20 of the CSE's 22 problems.

What is not established here

• The exact current numeric cut scores for the TMC high cut or the CSE.
• Any conversion from "number of questions right" to "pass." Because pretest items are unscored and you cannot tell which ones they are, you cannot reliably back into a percentage target.

Inside the TMC: 160 Questions, 140 Scored

The TMC is a three-hour, closed-book, multiple-choice exam. The only calculator you may use is the supplied virtual calculator, and break time counts against your examination time, so a long mid-exam break is a real cost. Testing happens at supervised PSI assessment centers. Live remote proctoring ended December 31, 2024, so initial at-home delivery is not an option.

The scored items are distributed across three official exam-objective headings, and the allocations are specific:

No percentages are inferred here, and no combined TMC/CSE domain weights are established. What you can do is note the item counts: Interventions carries 70 of the 140 scored questions, which is why it deserves the heaviest slice of your study hours. For the full content breakdown, read our RRT exam domains guide.

Inside the CSE: 22 Problems, 20 Scored

The CSE does not look like a multiple-choice test. It presents 22 interactive clinical-simulation problems, 20 scored and two pretest, over four hours. Each problem can contain multiple sections and choices, so a single problem unfolds as a patient situation that you work through step by step, gathering information and making decisions as the case develops.

The CSE's three official headings repeat the TMC's themes, with one wording difference worth noticing:

• Domain 4: Patient Data
• Domain 5: Troubleshooting and Quality Control of Equipment, and Infection Control (note "Equipment" here versus "Devices" on the TMC)
• Domain 6: Initiation and Modification of Interventions

The "six domains" you may see referenced are the supplied heading count across two assessments, not an official combined six-domain RRT exam. The repeated headings and the Devices/Equipment wording difference are intentional.

Case assembly groups

The 20 scored problems are assembled from patient-population groups. These describe how cases are built, not extra domains or editorial weights:

Notice that chronic airways disease and adult medical or surgical cases together account for 12 of the 20 scored problems. If your clinical comfort lies mostly with one population, the pediatric and neonatal cases deserve deliberate practice, since they are only four scored problems but can feel unfamiliar under time pressure.

Reading the 2025 Pass Rates Without Misusing Them

The NBRC's calendar-2025 figures help set expectations, but they come with an important warning: these are separate cohorts, not a combined RRT pass probability. You cannot multiply or average them into a single "chance of becoming an RRT."

Reported 2025 activity was 11,086 TMC administrations, 9,004 CSE administrations, and 5,196 RRT credentials awarded. A few useful readings follow from the table without overreaching:

• The gap between the TMC low cut and high cut shows that clearing the high cut is meaningfully harder, and the high cut is the one RRT needs.
• Repeat candidates fare noticeably worse on the TMC high cut than first-timers, which is a strong argument for preparing thoroughly before the first sitting rather than treating it as a trial run.
• The CSE's repeat rate is much closer to its new rate, suggesting that experience with the simulation format helps in a way it does not as clearly on the TMC.

For a fuller treatment, see our RRT pass rate analysis.

Attempt Limits, Waiting Periods, and Fees

Your effective "passing score" strategy has to account for how many tries you get and what each costs.

• Attempts: For each examination, three initial attempts are permitted without the subsequent-attempt waiting interval. Later attempts require 120 days between attempts.
• TMC fee: USD 190 for a new attempt, USD 150 for a repeat.
• CSE fee: USD 200, new or repeat, with a one-time USD 40 first-CSE discount for eligible AARC members who use the prescribed application process.
• Standard first-attempt total: USD 390, or USD 350 with the AARC discount, excluding education, preparation, membership, and licensure.

Failing the TMC high cut means paying the repeat fee and re-sitting before you ever reach the CSE, so the financial case for passing the first time is real. The complete cost picture, including what falls outside exam fees, is in our RRT certification cost breakdown.

The 2026 Deadline Problem and the 2027 Exam

This is the part that can change your plans. The pathway described above is the current 2026 route, and it is closing.

• 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.
• Conditional legacy CRT routes do not automatically continue into the 2027 pathway.

What replaces it

The Respiratory Therapy Examination takes effect in January 2027. It contains 185 multiple-choice questions (160 scored, 25 pretest) over four hours, with fees of USD 360 new and USD 300 repeat. Its lower and higher cut scores lead directly to CRT and RRT respectively. Applications opened October 1, 2026, and the first examination availability is January 4, 2027. That future exam has its own outline, and its scope should not be blended with the current TMC and CSE domains described in this article. Confirm transition details at the NBRC's resources page, and see our RRT exam dates guide for scheduling.

A Score-Driven Study Sequence Built Around the Domains

Because you cannot target a verified percent-correct number, the smartest move is to allocate study time in proportion to where the scored items actually sit. Here is one sequence tied to the item counts above.

For a complete preparation framework, our RRT study guide goes deeper, and you can pressure-test your readiness with timed questions on the main practice test site. If you want a fast refresher near exam day, the RRT cheat sheet condenses must-know facts.

Frequently Asked Questions