The PMHNP-BC exam is 175 questions, and 350 is the score you need.
How many questions are on the PMHNP-BC exam?
175 questions. 150 are scored and 25 are pretest items ANCC is trialing for future forms. The pretest items are not marked and are mixed through the exam, so you answer all 175 as though every one counts.
How long do you get for the PMHNP exam?
Three and a half hours for 175 questions, which is 72 seconds an item. That is a comfortable pace for recall questions and a tight one for the longer clinical vignettes, so the time you save on the short items is what pays for the long ones.
What is a passing score on the PMHNP exam?
ANCC reports a scaled score, and a scaled score of 350 or higher passes. The scale tops out at 500. Because the score is scaled, no fixed number of correct answers guarantees a 350, and a percentage on a practice set is a measure of your own progress rather than a prediction.
What are the five PMHNP content domains and how are they weighted?
Advanced Practice Skills is the largest at 27 percent, 41 questions. Scientific Foundation is 22 percent, 33 questions. Diagnosis and Treatment is 22 percent, 33 questions. Ethics, Legal Principles, and Cultural Care is 17 percent, 26 questions. Psychotherapy and Related Theories is 11 percent, 17 questions.
Those figures are from the ANCC Test Content Outline effective April 28, 2023, which is the outline in force.
Is the PMHNP exam changing?
Not yet. ANCC posted a role delineation study dated October 29, 2025, and a role delineation study usually precedes a revised outline. ANCC has not announced a new outline or a transition date, and the file currently posted carries a 2026 brand update in its name but the same April 2023 effective date and the same content inside. Until ANCC says otherwise, the five domains above are what you study from.
Which ANCC exam is this?
The Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (Across the Lifespan) Certification, which carries the PMHNP-BC credential. It is the only PMHNP certification ANCC currently offers, so if a study product says PMHNP without qualification, this is the exam it means.
How many times can you take the PMHNP exam?
ANCC sets the waiting period between attempts and the number of attempts allowed in a year. Confirm the current rule on the ANCC site before scheduling a retake, since it changes occasionally.
What should you study first for the PMHNP exam?
Advanced Practice Skills, because it is the largest domain and the one where the exam is most scenario based. Most candidates spend the most time on psychopharmacology, which sits inside Diagnosis and Treatment and Scientific Foundation and is worth studying, but it is not the biggest block on the outline.
Our Psychiatric Mental Health NP Exam Prep bundle is built to the current ANCC outline, with practice questions weighted 22, 27, 22, 11 and 17 percent across the five domains.
Score yourself by section
The free PMHNP mini exam is 40 questions on the ANCC blueprint domains, with a written rationale for every answer. Score it by domain rather than overall, then put your next study hours into the domain furthest behind its weight. No card and no code.
If you want the arithmetic for turning those weights into weeks, it is in how to turn your exam blueprint into a study plan.
Watch the walkthrough
How the PMHNP-BC exam works in 2026. About 7 minutes, chaptered so you can jump to the part you need.
An independent study aid. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by ANCC. PMHNP-BC and ANCC are trademarks of the American Nurses Credentialing Center.