1.3 Scoring, Retakes, and Recertification
Key Takeaways
- CPHIMS uses a scaled score of 200–800; 600 is the passing standard, set with the Angoff method and equated across forms.
- The score report is Pass/Fail plus a diagnostic by content area; Pearson VUE shows it immediately and does not report scores by phone, email, or fax.
- After a fail, wait 60 days to retest; you may apply immediately, but eligibility starts 60 days after the last attempt.
- Up to two retakes are allowed at the retake rate within one year of the initial application; after three failures, submit a new application and the full fee (the 60-day wait still applies).
- Certification lasts 3 years and renews by exam (pass no more than 6 months before expiration) or 45 clock hours of CE including 2 ethics/conflict-of-interest hours and at least 25 hours from HIMSS or HIMSS-approved providers.
Quick Answer: Pass CPHIMS with a scaled 600 on a 200–800 scale. Fail, and you wait 60 days (you may apply immediately). You get two retakes at the retake rate within one year of the first application; a third failure means a new full-fee application. Recertify every 3 years by exam (within 6 months of expiration) or 45 CE hours including 2 ethics hours and 25 from HIMSS or HIMSS-approved providers.
Scoring and renewal are where otherwise qualified health-IT leaders lose the credential. CPHIMS is not graded like a university final, and it is not maintained by paying dues. You have to understand scaled scores, Angoff, diagnostic bars, the 60-day / two-retake / one-year cage, and the three-year / 45-hour / 2-ethics / 25-HIMSS renewal math.
Why a scaled 600 is not “70 percent”
Pearson issues the official score report on behalf of HIMSS. When you finish a production form, Pass or Fail appears on the screen. Pearson then emails instructions for viewing the report in your portal. Scores are not reported over the telephone, by electronic mail, or by facsimile. Do not call HIMSS or Pearson asking a proctor to read a number.
The report’s decision is based on the total examination, not on passing every domain. Scores are placed on a scale from 200 to 800, and 600 is required to pass. The report also includes a diagnostic scale — a bar graph for each content area on the outline. Farther right means more proficient in that area. Individual item responses are not disclosed, so you cannot argue a single stem after the fact.
The initial passing standard is set with the Angoff method: expert judges estimate the probability that a minimally competent CPHIMS professional would answer each item correctly. Those ratings are averaged into a preliminary raw cut, then checked against candidate performance. When HIMSS introduces a new form, some items are replaced. Forms are equated so a slightly harder form does not punish you and a slightly easier form does not gift you. That is why everyone sees the same passing scaled score of 600 even though raw cuts can differ by form.
Practical consequences:
- You cannot convert 600 into a promised “get 70 of 100 correct.”
- Pretest items (15 of the 115 on the current HIMSS page) do not feed the scaled score, but you cannot see which they are.
- There is no penalty for guessing; unanswered items cannot help you.
- HIMSS does not publicly publish a CPHIMS pass rate. Forum percentages are not a planning input.
- You generally cannot appeal a failing score just because you disagree with the cut. Appeals exist for eligibility, recertification, suspension, or revocation decisions — not for “I think 600 is unfair,” and not for a review of item text or an answer key.
If you pass, HIMSS mails a certificate of recognition in about eight weeks to the address on your membership record. HIMSS may recognize certificants publicly. Keep that address current; the name on the certificate comes from the same record.
Failing, waiting, and the retake-fee window
If you do not pass, the same report’s diagnostic bars become your study map. A short bar under Healthcare Information and Systems Management is a Domain III problem, not a reason to reread only informatics vocabulary.
Handbook retake rules:
- Wait sixty (60) days before testing again.
- You may apply for a retake immediately; eligibility to test begins 60 days after the last exam date.
- You may retake up to two (2) times at the lower retake rate within one (1) year of the initial application.
- A new 90-day eligibility period is awarded 5–7 days after the retake fee is paid.
- If you fail three (3) times, you must submit a new CPHIMS application, meet current requirements, and pay the full examination fee. The 60-day wait still applies.
Fee sources disagree by date. The current HIMSS CPHIMS page lists retake $359 and extension $149. The May 2024 handbook lists retake $319 and extension $129. Cite the source and date; confirm the cart. Do not invent a third number.
A no-show or a late cancel is not a scored fail, but it still burns money. You typically reapply as a reexamination candidate if you remain eligible; otherwise you submit a new full-fee application. Pearson’s current HIMSS page says missing the reschedule/cancel cutoff (it prints 48 hours) or failing to appear forfeits the fee and requires a retake application and a new ATT. Pair that with the handbook’s 60-day language if the missed appointment followed a scored attempt.
HIMSS can void a score after computer malfunction or misconduct. Copying items, using a phone, or walking out with scratch paper is how people turn a 599 into a disciplinary file.
Recertification: three years, two doors
Initial certification and each renewal last three (3) years. You may submit a renewal application up to six (6) months before expiration. The two official sources disagree on the back end of that window: the May 2024 handbook says no later than 30 days before the date on the certificate, while the current HIMSS recertification page says you may renew and pay online “no later than the expiration date on your certificate.” Work to the handbook’s 30-day cutoff so a processing delay cannot strand you, and do not plan on filing in the final week. HIMSS emails courtesy reminders; you still own the date. Expired certificants may not use CPHIMS on letterhead, cards, directories, or signatures. The way back is to retake and pass the exam under ordinary testing fees and rules.
Renew through one of two doors.
Door A — Successful re-examination
Pass the CPHIMS exam no more than six (6) months before expiration and no later than expiration. Pay the recertification-by-exam fee (current HIMSS page $359). The handbook says an additional CPHIMS renewal fee is not required if you choose this door. Do not sit the exam two years early and expect that pass to restart the clock; the six-month window is part of the rule.
Door B — Continuing education plus renewal fee
Complete 45 clock hours of continuing professional education over the three-year period and pay the renewal fee. The current HIMSS CPHIMS page lists renewal at $359 member / $479 non-member. The May 2024 handbook still lists $319 / $429. Confirm at checkout.
Two quality constraints sit on top of the 45-hour total:
- Minimum two (2) hours related to ethics or conflicts of interest. In HIMSS’s transcript tool those hours must be categorized as the Activity Type Ethics.
- The HIMSS recertification page requires that at least 25 of the 45 CEs come from HIMSS or HIMSS-approved providers.
Eligible activities include professional-organization conferences, online courses, and academic courses you attend or teach. The handbook says there is no maximum on allowable hours. Random LinkedIn videos that are not HIMSS-approved will not fill the 25-hour bucket. Turnaround is another dated disagreement: the May 2024 handbook says renewal processing requires eight (8) weeks, while the current HIMSS recertification page asks you to allow up to one week to process the application (an audited file gets an updated certificate within about six weeks). Either way, after approval you can print a certificate with the new expiration date from your HIMSS record. If your renewal is selected for audit, you must supply documentation of every claimed CE hour within 30 days of written notice or the certification is revoked.
| Maintenance choice | Timing rule | What you pay | Extra constraints |
|---|---|---|---|
| Re-exam | Pass ≤ 6 months before expiration | Recert-by-exam fee (current page $359) | Ordinary exam rules apply |
| 45 CE hours | Across the 3-year cycle; apply within 6 months of expiration (handbook cutoff 30 days out, current HIMSS page says up to the expiration date) | Renewal fee (current page $359 / $479) | 2 ethics/COI hours; ≥ 25 of 45 from HIMSS or HIMSS-approved providers |
Failing to renew is not a grace-period technicality. The day after expiration, the letters come off the badge until you pass again.
Scenarios and traps
Scenario: 590 and a strong Environments bar. Jordan fails with a scaled 590. The diagnostic is weak on Information and Systems Management and Leadership, strong on Environments. The correct response is a 60-day rebuild on domains III and IV — selection, testing, privacy, stakeholders, vendors — not another pass through hospital-type flashcards. A 590 is not “almost 70 percent.” It is below 600 on an equated scale.
Scenario: retake calendar. Jordan applies the next morning (allowed), pays the current retake fee, and receives a new 90-day ATT about a week later. The earliest legal seat is still 60 days after the failed attempt. Booking day 30 is a wasted fee.
Scenario: third failure. After three fails, the cheap retake window is closed. Jordan files a new application, pays the full first-time fee, still waits 60 days, and must still be eligible under current rules. Experience that barely met the bachelor’s path five years ago must still meet it now.
Scenario: CE renewal that looks like 45 hours but is not. A director logs 45 vendor webinars, zero ethics, and only 10 HIMSS hours. The file is short on two different required subsets. Add ethics/COI hours and HIMSS or HIMSS-approved hours; do not assume “45 anything” renews CPHIMS.
Trap: asking for the score by phone. The handbook forbids telephone, email, and fax score reports. Use the Pearson portal.
Trap: treating diagnostic bars as pass/fail by domain. You can pass with a weaker bar in a small area if the total scaled score is 600. You can also fail with one strong bar. Study the total, then use bars to aim the next 60 days.
Trap: sitting a renewal exam eight months early. A pass outside the six-month window does not satisfy Door A.
Score confidentiality is the default: HIMSS does not send your number to an employer unless you direct that in writing. Do not confuse that privacy with secrecy about the passing standard — 600 is public; your form’s raw cut is not.
What is the CPHIMS passing standard described in the May 2024 handbook?
A candidate fails CPHIMS on the first attempt. Which retake rule matches the handbook?
Which recertification path keeps CPHIMS active for another three-year cycle?