Exam Information

Exam Information

Attention Exam Candidates:

• Please consult with your state licensing board regarding which exams are required prior to applying. If you apply for the incorrect exam(s) and need to withdraw your application, a 40% processing fee per application will be withheld from any refund. Please see the Exam Candidate Handbook.  
• If you have applied for a license with your state board, you must complete an exam application(s) on the NAB website. Once submitted, your state jurisdiction will be notified. The state will review and approve or deny your application. NAB does not approve exam applications under state jurisdiction. If approved, you will receive an email with scheduling information. You cannot schedule an exam until you have submitted an exam application on the NAB website and been approved. 

For all other exam candidate questions, please contact NAB or refer to the Exam Candidate Handbook.

For login credentials to NAB's website, please contact NAB:
nab@nabweb.org

NAB Examinations

NAB offers the following national exams. The number of exam questions and seat time are as follows: 

• CORE Exam – 100 scored /25 pretest questions/ 125 total questions. Seat time 150 minutes.
• NHA, RCAL, & HCBS Exams – Each line of service exam has 60 scored/15 pretest questions/ 75 total questions. Seat time 90 minutes.

Seat time include time to read the welcome, the non-disclosure agreement, and answer post-test questions. The time to answer questions will remain the same, regardless of whether you read or do not read other sections.

Please Note: Candidates must be approved to test through their respective state licensure board(s). NAB is unable to approve any NHA exam applications. Please contact your state board to determine if you are eligible to take the below exam(s) prior to submitting an exam application. Once approved by a state licensure board, candidates can apply for examinations through the NAB website. 

All examination content reflects what is current practice.

Those applying for the NAB Health Services Executive (HSE qualification) will need to complete both the RCAL and HCBS LOS exams and should choose "NAB-HSE" as their state jurisdiction.

Refunds: All refund requests must be made in writing to nab@nabweb.org within 60 days of an exam application's denial or withdrawal.

The NAB Exam Candidate Handbook will answer questions regarding the exams structure (number of questions and seat time), fees, scheduling, withdrawals, and much more. Please read prior to applying for exam(s). 

Once approved by a state licensing jurisdiction, log in or create an account and apply online for the NAB exams. If you need technical assistance please contact nab@nabweb.org. To schedule an exam, after you have received an exam approval email, we recommend using the scheduling link found in the email or call Pearson Vue: (800)834-1426.

Consult the Recommended Exam References list for the Core of Knowledge, NHA, RCAL, and HCBS exams. All exam questions are referenced to a minimum of one reference listed. NAB is not able to recommend one, specific reference as all resources are used in exam development.

Test Score Interpretation - Do you have questions regarding interpreting your exam scores? Using an example score report, this comprehensive test score interpretation document will assist in truly understanding your test score.