Free Practice Questions for CDCES

The CDCES (Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist) is a professional certification offered by CBDCE (Certification Board for Diabetes Care and Education). It validates expertise in diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) for healthcare professionals including nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, and other licensed providers. The certification demonstrates competency in assessing, educating, and supporting individuals with diabetes and those at risk.

CDCES eligibility requires: 1) a current, active, unrestricted U.S. license or registration in a qualifying discipline (such as RN, RD, pharmacist, physician, PA or NP), 2) at least 2 years of practice in that discipline, 3) at least 1,000 hours of diabetes care and education within the past 5 years, with at least 200 hours in the most recent year, and 4) 15 hours of diabetes-related continuing education within the past 2 years. Health professionals with a health-related master's degree who lack a qualifying discipline may apply through CBDCE's Unique Qualifications Pathway.

The CDCES exam consists of 175 multiple-choice questions. Of these, 150 are scored questions and 25 are pretest (unscored) questions used for future exam development. You have 4 hours to complete the exam. The exam is administered via computer at PSI test centers or through live remote proctoring.

The CDCES exam uses a scaled scoring system with a range of 0-99. The passing score is 70. Because the exam uses scaled scoring, the number of questions needed to pass may vary slightly between exam forms. CBDCE reported a 63% pass rate for the 1,485 first-time candidates tested from July 2024 to June 2025.

The CDCES initial certification application fee is $350, and CBDCE charges no separate exam fee. Candidates approved through the Unique Qualifications process pay $200 for their first examination application. Each retake requires a new application and fee.

The CDCES exam covers three domains: Assessment (25%) including physical/psychosocial health, self-management behaviors, learning readiness; Care and Education Interventions (70%) including person-centered education, disease process management, evaluation/documentation, and education plans; and Standards and Practices (5%) including NSDSMES, National DPP, population health, collaboration, evidence-based practice, and DEI principles.

Effective preparation includes: 1) Reviewing the CBDCE Exam Content Outline, 2) Studying diabetes pathophysiology, medications, and self-management, 3) Working through timed practice questions across all three domains, 4) Focusing on the largest domain: Care and Education Interventions (70%), 5) Understanding the ADCES7 Self-Care Behaviors framework and National Standards for DSMES. Use our AI tutor to master difficult concepts and rationales.

CDCES certification is valid for five years for people certified through 2026; people certified on or after January 1, 2027 move to a three-year cycle. Renewal by continuing education currently requires at least 1,000 hours of professional practice and 75 diabetes-specific CE hours in the cycle; the three-year cycle requires 600 practice hours and 45 CE hours.

CBDCE does not publish salary data, and no federal occupational series tracks CDCES holders separately. Pay depends mainly on your licensed profession (for example RN, RD or pharmacist), location and employer, so compare salary data for your own discipline and ask employers whether they pay a certification differential.