1.2 Maintaining Certification & Eligibility

Maintaining the PA-C Credential: A 10-Year Cycle

NCCPA certification is not a one-time achievement. It is maintained on a recurring 10-year certification maintenance cycle that has two main components working together:

1. Continuing Medical Education (CME): Ongoing learning logged with NCCPA throughout the cycle.
2. Recertification exam: Either the proctored PANRE or the PANRE Longitudinal Assessment (PANRE-LA).

Both components must be satisfied to keep the Physician Assistant-Certified (PA-C) credential active. CME demonstrates continuous learning; the exam demonstrates that core knowledge remains current.

Continuing Medical Education (CME) Requirements

CME is logged in repeating two-year periods within the larger 10-year cycle. NCCPA requires a total number of CME credits per two-year period, split into two types:

Key principles to remember:

• There is a minimum number of Category 1 credits required within each two-year period, plus a total credit requirement that Category 1 and Category 2 together must meet.
• CME must be logged on time in the NCCPA certification record; earning credits without logging them does not satisfy the requirement.
• Missing a CME deadline can place certification in a delinquent or lapsed state, which is harder and more costly to recover from than staying current.

Because exact credit totals are periodically updated by NCCPA, always confirm the current numbers against the official NCCPA certification maintenance page before planning a cycle.

When Can You Take the Recertification Exam?

The timing depends on which path you choose:

• Proctored PANRE: Typically taken in year 9 or year 10 of the certification maintenance cycle. NCCPA defines a limited number of attempts within this window (more attempts are allowed in year 10 than in year 9), with a maximum total across the two years.
• PANRE-LA (longitudinal): Enrollment opens earlier in the cycle than the year-9 PANRE window. Participants answer a set number of questions each quarter over a multi-quarter span, completing the assessment gradually rather than in one sitting.

How PANRE-LA Completion Works

PANRE-LA is designed for continuous engagement rather than a single high-stakes day:

• Questions are released in quarterly batches over a defined number of quarters.
• Each question has a set time limit, and limited reference use is permitted during the window.
• A candidate must meet the passing standard across the required number of quarters to satisfy the recertification exam requirement.
• Participants who do not meet the longitudinal standard generally must take the proctored PANRE to complete recertification.

Registration and Eligibility Checklist

To be eligible to sit the proctored PANRE or participate in PANRE-LA, a candidate must:

1. Hold current NCCPA certification (not lapsed).
2. Be in the correct cycle window for the chosen path.
3. Pay the applicable registration/exam fee ($350 for the proctored PANRE).
4. Register through NCCPA and, for the proctored exam, schedule at Pearson VUE within the eligibility period.
5. Stay current on CME logging, since the exam alone does not maintain certification.

Plan early. Test center availability, the limited PANRE attempt windows in years 9-10, and CME logging deadlines all reward candidates who map their cycle out well in advance instead of waiting until the final year.