Updated
PANCE Pass Rate 2025: 91.5% First-Time, and How Programs Compare
The national PANCE pass rate was 91.5% for first-time takers in 2025, per NCCPA: 13,145 people took it for the first time. Counting every exam given, retakes included, the rate was 88.4%.
Below is what those two numbers mean, our estimate of how retakes go, why every PA program posts a five-year report, what programs' own rates look like and how to read one. NCCPA and ARC-PA pages were read November 3, 2026. For each program's latest rate next to its acceptance rate, see our PA programs table.
What is the national PANCE pass rate?
NCCPA is the only certifying organization for PAs in the United States, and it publishes the PANCE results each year. The first-time rate has eased a little: 93.2% in 2021, 92.4% in 2024 and 91.5% in 2025, while the number of first-time takers kept rising. NCCPA counts 12,963 PAs who passed in 2025 and 201,038 certified PAs at the end of the year. Its full five-year table is in the NCCPA PDF.
By our math, about 1,117 first-time takers did not pass in 2025, roughly 1 in 12.
First-time rate vs all exams: what retakes look like
NCCPA's all-exams count includes people taking it again, so it is always lower. In 2025 there were 14,669 exams and 13,145 first attempts, which leaves 1,524 repeat attempts (our math). Working back from NCCPA's rounded percentages, we estimate that about 62% of those repeat attempts passed, so roughly 6 in 10. NCCPA does not publish a repeat rate, so treat this as our estimate.
The lesson is simple: the first attempt is the one to prepare for. You can take the PANCE up to six times in six years, but each retake comes after at least 90 days.
Why every PA program posts a five-year PANCE report
ARC-PA, which accredits PA programs, requires each program to publish its current NCCPA “PANCE Exam Performance Summary Report Last 5 Years” for prospective students, no later than April 1 each year (standard A3.11c in the 6th edition, in effect since September 1, 2025). That is why you find the same NCCPA layout on so many program sites.
ARC-PA also asks a single-campus program to file a PANCE report in any year its first-time pass rate for a class is 85% or less. That 85% line is a useful marker when you compare programs.
What do PA programs' own pass rates look like?
Of the programs on our PA programs pages, 30 publish a first-time rate for their latest class, each read on the program's own site. Our counts across them: the middle rate is 98%, 9 reported 100%, 28 were at or above the 2025 national first-time rate, and 2 were at 85% or less. Programs report different class years, so this is a rough comparison.
| Program | Latest class | First-time rate | Five-year rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | Latest class: class graduating August 2025 | First-time rate: 100% | Five-year rate: 93% (2021 to 2025) |
| Northwestern | Latest class: Class of 2026 | First-time rate: 100% | Five-year rate: 97% (2021 to 2025) |
| George Washington | Latest class: Class of 2026 | First-time rate: 98% | Five-year rate: 97% (2021 to 2025) |
| Butler | Latest class: Class of 2026 | First-time rate: 96% | Five-year rate: 93% (2022 to 2026) |
| WesternU | Latest class: Class of July 2024 (89 first-time takers) | First-time rate: 92% | Five-year rate: 86% (2021 to 2025) |
The gap between a latest class and the five-year figure is normal. Duke's latest class reported 100% and its five-year rate is 93%, which is why the five-year number is the better guide to a program.
How to read a program's PANCE report
Our five checks, in order:
- Use the first-time row. Programs and NCCPA both report first-time takers. All-attempt numbers mix in retakes and are always lower.
- Compare each class with its own year. The national rate moves a little each year, so set each class against that year's national figure.
- Count the takers. In a class of 30, one graduate who fails moves the rate by more than 3 points. A single low year means less in a small program.
- Read the five years together. A five-year average or a steady run near the national rate tells you more than one class.
- Check the graduation rate too. ARC-PA also has programs post their graduation rate each year. A high pass rate next to a low graduation rate can hide students who did not finish.
PANCE is one outcome among several. Weigh it with the rotations, the cost, the location and what you need from a program, then build your list with our guide to how many PA schools to apply to.
The exam itself
The PANCE is five 60-question blocks, 60 minutes each, so five hours of exam time in a six-hour appointment, at over 300 Pearson VUE centers. You apply after your program reports your expected graduation, pay $550, and can test as early as seven days after you finish, within a 180-day window.
Eligibility and retake rules
You must graduate from an ARC-PA accredited entry-level program. From graduation you have six years and six attempts, whichever runs out first, and you can test only once in any 90 days and three times in a calendar year. Each exam also has a few pretest questions that do not count toward your score. Details are on NCCPA's Become Certified page.
Use what you learned in the interview
Interviewers often ask why their program. Outcomes can be one honest part of the answer, as long as the rest is about the training itself. Try it out loud, then work through our PA program interview questions.
“Why do you want to attend our PA program?”
PANCE results can be part of your answer, but not the whole of it. Pair one fact about outcomes with what you want from the program's training and patients.
Example answer written by Confetto (the applicant is invented)
I have spent three years as an ER tech in a county hospital, and I want to train where most rotations are in underserved clinics, which is how your program is built.
I also looked at your outcomes. Your graduates have passed the PANCE at a high rate for five years running, and to me that says the didactic year prepares people well. Combined with your rural family medicine rotation, it is the program where I think I would learn the most and be ready on day one.
Sources: NCCPA's PANCE pass rates and Become Certified page, the ARC-PA standards and required reports, and each program's own report. Checked November 3, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is the PANCE pass rate?
In 2025, 91.5% of the 13,145 first-time takers passed, per NCCPA. Counting every exam given, retakes included, the rate was 88.4% of 14,669 exams. See NCCPA's five-year PANCE pass rates.
Is the PANCE pass rate going down?
Slightly. NCCPA reports a first-time rate of 93.2% in 2021, 92.4% in 2024 and 91.5% in 2025. More people take it each year, too. See NCCPA's five-year PANCE pass rates.
Why do PA programs publish five-year PANCE reports?
ARC-PA, which accredits PA programs, requires each program to post its current NCCPA PANCE Exam Performance Summary Report for the last five years, no later than April 1 each year (standard A3.11c in the 6th edition). Read the ARC-PA standards.
What PANCE pass rate is too low for a PA program?
ARC-PA requires a single-campus program to file a PANCE report in any year its first-time pass rate for a class is 85% or less, explaining the result to its accreditor. See ARC-PA's required reports.
How many times can you take the PANCE?
Six times within six years of finishing your program, whichever runs out first, and no more than once in any 90 days or three times in a calendar year. See NCCPA's PANCE eligibility rules.
How long is the PANCE?
Five blocks of 60 questions, 60 minutes each, so 300 questions in five hours of exam time, inside a six-hour appointment with breaks and a tutorial. The fee is $550. See NCCPA's PANCE overview.