PANCE INFORMATION

The Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam or PANCE is the official certifying examination offered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) for individuals who have successfully completed a physician assistant or surgeon assistant program accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). The exam is computerized and comprised of 360 general medical and surgical questions. Individuals may register through the NCCPA web site, which requires a registration fee, within a 180 day block of time of their expected PA program graduation date. Registering secures the individual a time frame for which the exam may be taken. Scheduling of an actual test date must be done through a testing center (www.pearsonvue.com/nccPA) no earlier than seven days after program completion and approval of graduation by your PA program director. The earliest time an exam can be scheduled is seven days after program completion. The exam may only be taken once in a 90-day period, up to three times in a calendar year.

The NCCPA have developed a self assessment exam that consists of 120 similar PANCE questions. The exam is available online only and may be purchased at the time of registration.

Please visit the official NCCPA web site for further information, eligibility, self assessment information, and registration requirements.