How many questions are on the RD exam?

The numbers at a glance

Every question has four answer options. Questions from all four domains are mixed together, not grouped by topic. You can’t tell which ones are pretest, so answer each one as if it counts.

Why the length changes

The exam is computer adaptive. After each answer, the computer picks the next question based on how you’re doing, and it stops once it can make a clear pass or fail decision. Some people finish at 125 questions, and others see up to 145.

Getting more questions doesn’t mean you’re failing. It just means the computer needed more answers to decide.

You must answer each question to move on. You can’t skip questions, go back or change an answer. If you haven’t answered at least 125 questions when the 3 hours run out, the exam is scored as a fail.

What’s on it

For exams taken through December 31, 2026, CDR uses these four domains:

Passing score and pass rate

You need a scaled score of 25 on a scale of 1 to 50. The number of right answers that equals 25 changes from exam to exam, because each person gets a different set of questions. A slightly harder set needs fewer right answers.

CDR’s statistics show that, for candidates whose one-year window after their first attempt ended in 2025, 83.93% had passed. That’s 2,863 of 3,411 examinees. Future graduate (FG) program candidates had the highest rate, 89.79%. Dietetic internship candidates were at 83.23%.

The exam changes in January 2027

New test specifications start on January 1, 2027. The domains become Fundamentals of Dietetics Practice (23%), Community and Public Health Nutrition (22%), Human Nutrition and Medical Nutrition Therapy (40%) and Food Science and Food Systems (15%).

If you’ll test in 2027 or later, study from the 2027-2031 outline. CDR’s handbook doesn’t say whether the number of questions will change, so check it again before you book.