Part of the expanding PassProfessor catalog: The Certified Genetic Counselor (CGC) credential is granted by the American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) to genetic counselors who hold a master’s degree in genetic counseling from a program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling (ACGC) and receive a passing score on the ABGC Certification Examination: 200 multiple-choice questions — 170 scored and 30 pretest items — in 4 hours, offered in published February and August examination windows. Certification is valid for five years, after which diplomates recertify. PassProfessor’s Certified Genetic Counselor program is in development.
This program is part of the expanding PassProfessor catalog — join the notify list and we’ll email you when enrollment opens.
The genetic counselor is the professional who helps patients and families understand genetic risk, choose testing wisely, and make decisions with results that can reshape a family’s future. PassProfessor’s Certified Genetic Counselor program is in development as part of the expanding PassProfessor catalog, built on ABGC’s published certification examination content outline.
Which examination is this?
This page covers the American Board of Genetic Counseling’s certification examination for the Certified Genetic Counselor (CGC) credential. The governing distinction is educational: unlike experience-route credentials, the CGC examination sits at the end of a single defined pipeline — a master’s degree in genetic counseling from an ACGC-accredited program, whose supervised clinical training is built into the degree itself. Graduates apply for Active Candidate Status, which ABGC grants for five years from graduation, and sit the examination within that window. ABGC alone grants the credential when its requirements are complete; where a state licenses genetic counselors, that licence is a separate, additional requirement resting on the same certification.
What will the program cover?
Practice mapped to the published outline, area by area. The program is being built on the certifying body’s own published content structure for this examination, organized around the areas the outline itself defines, as recorded in the table below. Preparation time lands where the examination itself puts the emphasis, instead of spreading evenly across ground the outline treats unevenly.
Results you can read by content area. Because practice will be organized by the outline’s areas, your results can be read area by area — a thin area shows while there is still time to repair it, instead of hiding inside an overall score.
Original questions, written from the outline outward. When the program opens, every question will be an original PassProfessor practice question written to the published outline and current authoritative sources for this field. None will be an actual examination item, a recalled item, or another provider’s material, and no question will ask you to recite a code, section number or citation — knowledge is tested, citations never are.
Timed practice at the real sitting’s shape. The program’s design includes sustained timed practice modeled on the recorded facts of the real sitting — its length and pace as set out in the fact table below — so pacing is trained rather than discovered on the day. That design is PassProfessor’s preparation choice; the real examination’s own facts stand in their own table.
The real exam at a glance
| Fact of record | Detail |
|---|---|
| Credential | Certified Genetic Counselor (CGC) |
| Awarding body | American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) |
| Examination | 200 multiple-choice questions — 170 scored items and 30 pretest items — delivered by computer at Prometric testing centers |
| Time | 4 hours |
| Examination windows | Published February and August examination windows, as ABGC publishes the schedule |
| Scoring | Candidates must receive a passing score on the examination, as ABGC publishes it; ABGC sets the passing standard for the examination and these pages state no converted percentage |
| Content | The ABGC certification examination content outline, derived from ABGC’s most recent practice analysis (see outline below) |
| Eligibility | A master’s degree in genetic counseling from a program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling (ACGC) is the primary qualification, as ABGC publishes it; ABGC also publishes a category for internationally trained genetic counselors |
| Certification period | ABGC certification is valid for five years; diplomates then recertify through continuing education or by taking the examination, as ABGC publishes the routes |
How will practice map to the outline?
| Content area | Share of the examination |
|---|---|
| Genetics and Genomics Concepts | Content area of ABGC’s published outline |
| Risk Assessment and Calculation | Content area of ABGC’s published outline |
| Genetic Testing and Interpretation | Content area of ABGC’s published outline |
| Counseling and Communication | Content area of ABGC’s published outline |
| Clinical Practice and Care Coordination | Content area of ABGC’s published outline |
| Professional Practice, Ethics, and Resources | Content area of ABGC’s published outline |
What does Genetics and Genomics Concepts cover? (Content area of ABGC’s published outline)
The scientific foundation: inheritance patterns, molecular and cytogenetic principles, genetic variation, genomic technologies, and the interpretation of genetic information at the level of the gene, the genome and the population. Items ask the candidate to reason from a pedigree, a variant or a laboratory method to its genetic meaning.
How should you prepare for Genetics and Genomics Concepts? Survey the area early, note where your reasoning breaks down, and return with focused practice rather than rereading. The work here rewards applied judgment in realistic situations, so pair every block of reading with timed practice, then examine why each wrong option was wrong. Keep a running list of the distinctions this area tests most finely, and revisit the area in mixed practice before you test, so competence does not depend on knowing the topic in advance.
Reason from mechanism: inheritance pattern and molecular consequence together predict most genetics items before the options are read.
What does Risk Assessment and Calculation cover? (Content area of ABGC’s published outline)
Quantifying genetic risk: pedigree analysis, Bayesian and conditional probability, empiric risks, recurrence risks for Mendelian and complex conditions, and the communication of numerical risk. Items give a family structure and ask for the figure — or for what additional information would change it.
How should you prepare for Risk Assessment and Calculation? Start with the area’s core decisions and work outward to its edge cases. Preparation should alternate short reading blocks with timed questions on the same material, because retrieval under time pressure is the skill the sitting itself demands. Log every miss by cause — knowledge gap, misread situation, or wrong priority — since each cause has a different repair, and lumping them together hides the pattern your next study block should attack.
Risk items are pedigree arithmetic: draw the pedigree, condition on the stated facts, and only then calculate.
What does Genetic Testing and Interpretation cover? (Content area of ABGC’s published outline)
Choosing and interpreting testing: test selection and methodology, indications and limitations, variant classification, results interpretation including variants of uncertain significance, incidental findings, and the integration of results into care. Items present a clinical question and ask which test answers it — or what a returned result does and does not establish.
How should you prepare for Genetic Testing and Interpretation? Treat this area as a set of decisions, not a set of facts: for each topic, ask what the practitioner must notice first, what must happen next, and what must never happen. Practise in timed blocks, review every error the same day, and return to the area after a gap of several days so that retention, not recognition, is what carries you.
Testing items turn on fit between question and method: the right test is the one whose scope and limitations match the clinical question asked.
What does Counseling and Communication cover? (Content area of ABGC’s published outline)
The counselling encounter itself: psychosocial assessment, counselling theories and techniques, facilitating informed decision-making, communicating risk and results, supporting adaptation, and working with families across cultures and circumstances. Items present a session moment and ask for the response that informs without directing.
How should you prepare for Counseling and Communication? Build a one-page map of this area before drilling it: its central concepts, its recurring traps, and the situations in which its rules change. Then work timed practice against that map, correcting the map whenever a question exposes a gap in it. Finish the area with mixed practice alongside earlier areas, so the knowledge has to be selected, not merely recalled.
Counseling items protect autonomy: the strongest option informs, explores and supports — options that decide for the patient fail the profession’s core test.
What does Clinical Practice and Care Coordination cover? (Content area of ABGC’s published outline)
Genetic counselling in the care system: clinical evaluation and differential diagnosis across practice settings — prenatal, paediatric, cancer, adult and specialty care — management recommendations, referrals, and coordination with the wider care team. Items present a presentation and ask for the evaluation step, the referral, or the follow-up plan.
How should you prepare for Clinical Practice and Care Coordination? Survey the area early, note where your reasoning breaks down, and return with focused practice rather than rereading. The work here rewards applied judgment in realistic situations, so pair every block of reading with timed practice, then examine why each wrong option was wrong. Keep a running list of the distinctions this area tests most finely, and revisit the area in mixed practice before you test, so competence does not depend on knowing the topic in advance.
Practice items follow the case: history, evaluation, testing, disclosure, follow-up — find which step the stem is standing on before choosing.
What does Professional Practice, Ethics, and Resources cover? (Content area of ABGC’s published outline)
The profession’s framework: ethical principles and dilemmas, legal and regulatory considerations, documentation, professional standards, and the resources — registries, support organisations, literature — counsellors connect families to. Items ask what the counsellor must do, must not do, or must offer.
How should you prepare for Professional Practice, Ethics, and Resources? Start with the area’s core decisions and work outward to its edge cases. Preparation should alternate short reading blocks with timed questions on the same material, because retrieval under time pressure is the skill the sitting itself demands. Log every miss by cause — knowledge gap, misread situation, or wrong priority — since each cause has a different repair, and lumping them together hides the pattern your next study block should attack.
Ethics items rank duties: consent, confidentiality and non-directiveness constrain every otherwise-attractive option.
How is Certified Genetic Counselor (CGC) scored?
ABGC states the requirement plainly: candidates must receive a passing score on the certification examination. The standard behind that score is ABGC’s, set for the examination as ABGC publishes it in its candidate materials, and these pages state no percentage conversion for it — a figure ABGC does not publish in that form should not be invented here. What candidates can rely on structurally is this: of the 200 items, 170 are scored and 30 are pretest items being trialled for future examinations, indistinguishable from scored items, so every item must be answered on its merits across the full 4 hours. ABGC publishes its candidate guide with the current scoring and results information, and that guide governs. The practical reading for preparation: the examination’s content outline is derived from ABGC’s practice analysis of what genetic counselors actually do, so preparation should weight applied case reasoning — risk calculation, test selection, result interpretation and the counselling response — at least as heavily as factual recall, and track practice results by content area from the first week.
Who can take Certified Genetic Counselor (CGC), and what does it certify?
As ABGC publishes it, the primary qualification to sit for the certification examination is a master’s degree in genetic counseling from a program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling (ACGC). The supervised clinical training ABGC expects is embedded in those accredited programs, so there is no separate post-degree experience route for standard applicants. Graduates of ACGC-accredited programs are eligible for Active Candidate Status (ACS) for five years from graduation; first-time and repeat examinees sit within the categories ABGC publishes, in the February and August examination windows. ABGC also publishes an examination category for internationally trained genetic counselors holding certification from a recognised international body. Certification is valid for five years; diplomates recertify through continuing education or by taking the examination. Confirm your category and window in ABGC’s current Candidate Guide before applying — ABGC sets, and periodically revises, these requirements.
How should you use this page while the program is in development?
- Join the notify list today. Enrollment is not open yet, and the notify list is how you hear the moment it is. While you wait, read the exam guide — it walks the outline area by area and lays out eligibility, scoring and study planning in full.
- Study from the official outline now. The published outline quoted on this page is the syllabus; organizing your reading by its areas and weights is useful work today, before any practice program opens.
- When the program opens, survey every area first. Early practice should touch each content area, so your first area-by-area picture of yourself is honest rather than flattering.
- Drill the area that costs you. Let results, not preferences, set the next block of study — outlines reward the candidate with no thin area.
- Finish with timed, mixed practice. Sit full timed practice at the real sitting’s pace, and test when your practice is consistently strong across areas.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sit the CGC exam without a genetic counseling master’s degree? As ABGC publishes it, the primary qualification is a master’s degree in genetic counseling from an ACGC-accredited program. ABGC publishes a separate category for internationally trained genetic counselors; there is no general experience-only route.
What is Active Candidate Status? ABGC’s status for graduates of ACGC-accredited programs approved to take the certification examination. As ABGC publishes it, ACS is granted for five years from graduation.
Are these the body’s actual examination questions? No. When this program opens, its questions will be original practice questions written by PassProfessor to ABGC’s published outline for this examination. We never use actual examination items, recalled items, or another provider’s material.
How long is CGC certification valid? Five years, as ABGC publishes it. Diplomates then recertify through continuing education or by taking the examination.
How many of the 200 questions are scored? 170 are scored and 30 are pretest items, as ABGC publishes the structure. Pretest items cannot be identified during the sitting and should be answered on their merits.
When will enrollment open? The program is in development. Join the notify list on this page and we will email you when enrollment opens.
Can I start preparing before enrollment opens? Yes. The published outline on this page is the syllabus: organize your reading by its areas and weights now, and work through the companion guide’s area-by-area walk. That preparation transfers directly into the program when enrollment opens.
How is this program different from the certifying body’s own materials? The body’s publications state the facts of the examination — its structure, outline and rules — and they govern. This program is preparation built on those facts: original practice questions mapped to the published outline, with results you can read area by area. It is not the body’s material and is not endorsed by the body.
What happens after I join the notify list? We email you when enrollment opens for this program. The notify list is used for that program’s enrollment notice; the guide on this site remains available to read in the meantime.
Disclaimer
PassProfessor is an independent exam-preparation provider; this program is not endorsed by, affiliated with or sponsored by American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC). The credential name is used on this page as a factual reference to the certifying body’s examination. This program is examination preparation only: examination details on this page are drawn from the official sources recorded in the companion guide and are current as of November 2026; the certifying body’s official publications govern if anything here differs from them. The credential is awarded by ABGC alone when its requirements are complete; this program confers no certification or license.