PMH-BC Pass Rate and Passing Score (2026 Update): 71% vs. 350

The direct answer: 71% is a pass rate; 350 is a passing score

The latest official result available in 2026 is a 71% PMH-BC pass rate among first-time candidates in 2025. ANCC reports that 972 of 1,366 first-time Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing candidates passed. This is 2025 cohort data published for use in 2026; it is not a pass rate for a completed 2026 testing cohort.

The score required to pass is a separate number: 350 or higher on ANCC's scaled-score system, whose maximum is 500. A scaled score of 350 does not mean that a candidate must answer exactly 70% of the questions correctly. ANCC converts raw performance to its reporting scale and does not publish a fixed raw number or raw percentage that guarantees a pass.

Those distinctions are the center of this article. For eligibility, fees, application steps, and a full blueprint walkthrough, use the complete ANCC PMH-BC exam guide.

The official PMH-BC pass-rate trend

ANCC's annual certification reports define the tested and passed columns as first-time test takers. The three most recent completed reporting years show a narrow range rather than a dramatic swing.

Sources: 2023 ANCC Certification Data, 2024 ANCC Certification Data, and 2025 ANCC Certification Data.

The defensible conclusion is modest: ANCC reported 71% in both 2024 and 2025, after 73% in 2023. The reports do not explain the two-point change, identify which topics caused unsuccessful results, or provide candidate-level background data. It would be speculation to claim that the exam became harder, that one domain caused most failures, or that a particular study plan produced the annual result.

Do not combine these percentages with PMHNP-BC figures. PMH-BC is the RN specialty credential, while PMHNP-BC is an advanced-practice nurse practitioner credential with a different candidate population and examination. Search results often mix the two acronyms, but their pass rates are not interchangeable.

What the 71% first-time rate can—and cannot—tell you

The 2025 rate is useful as context. It shows that the exam is passable for a majority of first-time candidates while still producing a meaningful unsuccessful group. It also gives you an auditable numerator, denominator, population, and year instead of an unattributed claim that the pass rate is “about 71%.”

However, the figure is not an individual forecast. ANCC's public report does not break results down by years of nursing experience, work setting, education, study resource, practice score, or content-domain performance. It also does not include repeat attempts in the reported tested and passed columns. A first-time candidate with strong preparation is not assigned a 71% personal probability, and a returning candidate should not assume the statistic describes the returning-candidate pool.

The rate also cannot tell you why the other 29% did not pass. Implementation is the largest domain, but its weight alone does not prove it is the most common source of failure. Claims such as “most candidates fail pharmacology” require evidence that the annual reports do not supply. Use the official blueprint to allocate practice, not to invent a cause for someone else's result.

Why 350 does not equal 70% correct

The current ANCC Certification Handbook describes ANCC examinations as criterion-referenced. Candidates are measured against a standard for competent practice rather than ranked against one another. ANCC uses a Modified Angoff process in which subject-matter experts evaluate how a minimally qualified candidate would perform.

ANCC first determines a raw score from the number of scored items answered correctly and then converts that result to a scaled score. The reported scale has a maximum of 500, and 350 is the passing point. Scaling is why dividing 350 by 500 is the wrong operation. The quotient may be 70%, but it does not reveal the raw cut score.

The exam displays 150 questions: 125 scored items and 25 unscored pretest items. Candidates cannot identify the pretest items. Even knowing that 125 questions are scored does not let you calculate how many misses are allowed, because ANCC does not publish a universal raw cut score for candidates to use. Statements such as “you need exactly 88 of 125” are therefore unsupported.

A third-party practice percentage has a different purpose. It can show your trend when you use a reasonably consistent question source, but it cannot be converted directly to an ANCC scaled score. A 70%, 75%, or 80% practice result is not an official promise of a 350.

What a failed PMH-BC score report means

ANCC reports a pass or fail result. According to its scores and retesting policy, an unsuccessful candidate receives a score report with the scaled score and diagnostic feedback for each content area. The diagnostic categories are reported as high, medium, or low.

Treat those labels as directional signals, not precise domain subscores. A low label identifies a priority for repair, but it does not tell you the exact questions missed or prove that every topic in the domain is weak. A medium label is not a reason to ignore a domain, especially when it accounts for many scored questions. Pair the report with your own error log from mixed practice.

A practical review sequence is:

1. Map every diagnostic label to the current PMH-BC Test Content Outline.
2. Identify repeated decision errors, such as missing a safety cue, confusing the RN role, or choosing an intervention before completing assessment.
3. Relearn the relevant concept, then answer new questions that require the same decision in a different scenario.
4. Return to mixed, timed blocks so improvement survives outside a familiar topic set.

This approach extracts what the report can support without pretending its broad labels are a detailed psychometric breakdown.

Turn the statistics into readiness evidence

free PMH-BC practice questionsPractice questions with detailed explanations

Implementation deserves the largest share of a blueprint-weighted set because the outline assigns it 58 of 125 scored questions, or 46%. Assessment and Diagnosis has 28, Planning has 26, and Evaluation has 13. Weighting is not the same as studying Implementation exclusively. A weakness in a smaller domain still costs scored opportunities, and many scenarios integrate assessment, planning, action, and reassessment.

Look for several forms of evidence before scheduling:

• Stable results across multiple new, mixed sets rather than one unusually strong attempt.
• Fewer repeated errors tied to the same outline task or knowledge statement.
• Explanations that identify why the correct answer fits the psychiatric-mental health RN role and why the strongest distractor fails.
• Timed completion that accounts for all 150 displayed questions within the three-hour limit.
• Continued recall after spacing, using the PMH-BC flashcards and PMH-BC cheat sheet as supplements rather than substitutes for decisions in cases.

No single OEP practice percentage guarantees success. The goal is a body of evidence: coverage aligned to the official outline, stable mixed performance, repaired error patterns, and workable pacing.

If you did not pass, use the 60-day interval deliberately

ANCC permits another attempt after 60 calendar days from the previous test date and limits candidates to three attempts in any 12-month period. A new retest application, current eligibility, and the applicable fee are required. Confirm the live rule before applying because policies can change.

Do not spend the interval merely repeating the same question bank. In the first stage, translate the official report and your error history into two or three specific repair targets. In the second, rebuild those targets with content review and untimed cases. In the third, verify them in new mixed blocks under time. Keep a short log showing the cue you missed, the rule or reasoning that corrects it, and whether the same error recurs.

If all four diagnostic labels appear similar, examine process errors that a content label may not expose: rushing, reading past qualifiers, changing answers without new evidence, or choosing an advanced-practice action when the question asks for the RN response. The scaled score tells you the result; your review process must identify the changeable behavior.

What the official numbers do not establish

A careful PMH-BC score guide should leave some questions unanswered when the evidence is unavailable. ANCC's public data does not establish:

• A 2026 cohort pass rate before 2026 reporting is complete and released.
• A fixed raw passing percentage or exact number of questions you may miss.
• Individual odds based on years of experience or a commercial practice score.
• The most common failed domain or the reason candidates fail.
• A guaranteed study duration, readiness percentage, or course-based pass claim.

That restraint is useful. It keeps the 71% cohort statistic, the 350 scaled standard, and your personal readiness evidence in their proper roles. Start with the latest official facts, measure the decisions you can improve, and verify current policy with the ANCC PMH-BC certification page before acting.