United States · Certification exam
After your nurse practitioner (NP) program, a national exam makes you board certified. The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB) and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) each give one for several NP specialties. Either way, the nurse practitioner boards follow the same steps: you apply, get approved, book a seat and sit a computer exam. The boards differ in length, fees and the credential you earn.
Key facts
How it works
Topics
These are the knowledge areas in AANPCB’s family NP (FNP) exam blueprint, with the body systems, drug classes and age groups ANCC’s FNP outline adds. Each board groups its questions differently.
Taking a history, examining the patient and choosing the right tests.
How disease works, system by system and across the lifespan.
Prescribing safely, and the treatments that aren’t drugs.
Turning findings into a diagnosis and a plan, and seeing the plan through.
The legal, ethical and team side of the NP role.
Test day
Study options
Both boards publish free blueprints or outlines and reference lists. The paid review courses below are priced from each company’s own page.
| Option | Price | Free to use | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official and free | |||
AANPCB: candidate handbooks and reference listsOfficial · exam blueprints and the sources exams are written fromEach handbook covers eligibility, testing policies, scoring and the exam’s blueprint. AANPCB sells its practice exams separately. | Free | All of it, as PDF downloads | |
ANCC: study aids for each nurse practitioner examOfficial · test content outline, reference list and role studyEach of ANCC’s certification pages lists its own study aids. ANCC says it doesn’t endorse any product or service. | Free | Outline, reference list, role delineation study and sample questions | |
| Review courses | |||
APEA: live review and MyQBankLive certification review and question banksMyQBank comes in 3, 6 and 9 month plans. The live review runs onsite or as a live webinar. | $590 live review, $519 if booked 6 or more weeks ahead. MyQBank $115 to $225 | Not listed | |
Fitzgerald Health Education Associates: FNP reviewIn person, live online or on demandEach format includes a printed workbook. On-demand access lasts 180 days, and the live online course keeps its recordings for 180 days. | $399 on demand, $629 live online, $679 in person. Early bird $529 and $579 | Webinars for nurse practitioner students and a certification podcast | |
Prices and ratings checked November 2026.
Explore
The two boards
After you pass
FAQ
They’re the national certification exams NPs take after graduate school. Pass one and you’re board certified in a population focus, such as family or adult-gerontology primary care, with a credential to use after your name.
No. ANCC says its certification exam can only be taken at a testing center, and AANPCB’s exams are given at testing centers too.
No. Your state board of nursing licenses you, and it decides which certifications it accepts. AANPCB says all US state boards of nursing recognize its certifications.
No. AANPCB’s handbook says membership isn’t required, and ANCC lists a price for non-members. Members of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and some other groups pay less at both boards, and ANCC also gives American Nurses Association members a lower price.
Yes, in two ways. AANPCB’s adult-gerontology primary care exam uses a revised blueprint from January 1, 2027, and ANCC changes its renewal options for applications from February 1, 2027. The renewal page lists the three pathways. ANCC’s family NP outline took effect on October 30, 2026.
You can apply to take the exam again. AANPCB caps your tests per calendar year, and ANCC makes you wait before a retest and caps tests in any 12 months. You send a new application and fee to either board.
Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.