Free PTCE practice test

A full-length PTCB practice test weighted to the PTCE content outline in force — the one that took effect on 6 January 2026. 80 scored questions across four domains, an explanation for every one, nothing to sign up for.

PTCE full-length practice

80 scored questions. 110 minutes.

That is the full clock the real paper gives you, spent on the 80 questions that count. On the day, 10 unscored pretest items share the same 110 minutes, so the real pace is about 1.2 minutes an item — this run is deliberately a little kinder than that. The questions are dealt in the proportions the content outline publishes rather than evenly. The clock starts when you press the button and submits the test when it runs out, and you will not be told whether an answer was right until the end — that is the point of a full run.

1.2 min an item on the day No calculator Weighted to the published outline No account, nothing saved off your device

Practise one area at a time

The full test tells you where you stand. These tell you what to do about it: untimed sets with the explanation right after each answer, which is the one thing a timed run cannot give you.

The figure beside each domain is this site’s share of the 80 scored items, worked out from the percentage PTCB publishes for it. PTCB publishes the percentage and not a count — the percentages are on this page so you can check the arithmetic.

Medications 28/80 Names and classes, duplications, interactions, side effects, indications, stability and storage published 35% of the examinationFederal requirements 15/80 Controlled substances, hazardous waste, restricted programmes, recalls and DSCSA serialisation published 18.75% of the examinationPatient safety and quality assurance 19/80 High-alert and LASA drugs, error prevention, pharmacist intervention, event reporting, infection control published 23.75% of the examinationOrder entry and processing 18/80 Calculations and Sig codes, administration supplies, lot numbers and NDCs, and returns published 22.5% of the examination

The outline changed in January 2026, and a lot of material has not

The paper itself is precise and easy to state: 90 multiple-choice questions, of which 80 are scored and 10 are unscored, four options each with one correct or best answer. The unscored items are not identified and are scattered through the exam. The appointment runs two hours — a five-minute tutorial, a one hour fifty minute exam, and a five-minute survey — at a Pearson VUE test centre.

What changed is the content. A new PTCE content outline took effect on 6 January 2026, and it moved the weights in one direction hard: federal requirements went from 12.5% of the exam to 18.75%, half as many questions again. Medications went the other way, from 40% down to 35%. Patient safety went from 26.25% to 23.75%, and order entry and processing edged up from 21.25% to 22.50%.

The bigger difference is what left. The previous outline listed procedures to compound non-sterile products, the incompatibilities that go with them, narrow therapeutic index medications, and — inside its calculations area — alligations. None of those appear in the outline in force. Alligation is the single most drilled calculation in free PTCE material, and it is no longer listed content. Meanwhile the new outline added DSCSA serialisation and tracing, VAERS reporting and continuous quality improvement, which older material does not cover at all. If you want one check on whether a practice test is current, look for whether it still teaches alligation as an exam topic.

Scoring is one of the few places on this shelf where the publisher states the standard outright: results are reported as scaled scores from 1,000 to 1,600, and the passing scaled score is 1,400, set by a panel using the modified-Angoff method. That is a scale, not a percentage — a raw count from this site or anywhere else does not convert into it.

Frequently asked

How many questions are on the PTCB exam?
Ninety are presented and eighty are scored. PTCB’s guidebook states that the exam “contains 90 questions: 80 scored questions and 10 unscored questions”, that each lists four possible answers with one correct or best answer, and that the unscored questions “are not identified and are randomly distributed throughout the exam”.
How long is the PTCE?
The exam itself is one hour and fifty minutes. PTCB asks candidates to “commit 2 hours” for the appointment, made up of a five-minute tutorial, the one hour fifty minute exam, and a five-minute post-exam survey. It is delivered at Pearson VUE test centres.
What score do you need to pass the PTCE?
A scaled score of 1,400. PTCB reports results as scaled scores on a range of 1,000 to 1,600, and set the standard with a subject-matter-expert panel using the modified-Angoff method. Because it is a scale rather than a percentage, no raw count and no percentage — from this site or any other — converts into it.
Did the PTCE content outline change in 2026?
Yes. A new outline took effect on 6 January 2026. Federal requirements rose from 12.5% to 18.75% of the exam, medications fell from 40% to 35%, patient safety and quality assurance from 26.25% to 23.75%, and order entry and processing rose from 21.25% to 22.50%. The four domains and the test length stayed the same.
Is alligation still on the PTCE?
It is not listed in the content outline in force. The previous outline named alligations inside its calculations knowledge area, alongside procedures to compound non-sterile products and the incompatibilities related to them; the outline effective 6 January 2026 lists none of those. Free material that still drills alligation as a PTCE topic is teaching to the superseded outline. Calculations themselves are very much still on the paper — ratios, proportions, conversions, days supply, quantity, dose, concentration and dilutions are all listed.
Which domain should I revise first?
Federal requirements, if your material predates 2026. It is the domain that grew — from 12.5% to 18.75% — and it gained a whole knowledge area in DSCSA product serialisation, tracking and tracing that older study guides do not cover. Medications is still the largest single domain at 35%, but it is the one that shrank.
Are these the real questions?
No, and nobody publishing the real ones would be doing so lawfully. Every question here is original, written against the published content outline so that practising it covers what the examination covers rather than reproducing it.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no sign-up and nothing to buy. Your scores are kept in your own browser and never sent anywhere.

The other half of certification

Eligibility comes before the examination. PTCB requires either completion of a PTCB-Recognized Education/Training Program or equivalent work experience, and its credentials are designed for use in the United States and its territories, so testing outside the US is limited to defined circumstances. Those requirements change on PTCB’s schedule rather than this site’s, so nothing here restates them in detail — check PTCB’s own guidebook before you apply.

112 original questions are in the bank behind this test, across the 4 content areas above.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from one of the documents below, with the date it was read. Requirements change; if a source has moved on since that date, the source is right and this page is out of date.

Allied Exam Bank is independent practice material and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by Credentia, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, or any state nurse aide registry. NNAAP® is a registered trademark of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. Programme and examination names are used only to describe what this material prepares you for. Every question here is original and none is taken from any actual examination. This site is not a nurse aide training programme and does not prepare you for the skills evaluation.