Enrollment open: 2,000 original practice questions built on NBRC’s official Detailed Content Outline for the January 2027 examination. Enroll today and start with free sample questions.
Verified questions
Every question in this program is original — written for PassProfessor from the official exam blueprint, never copied from a test bank or another provider’s materials. Before enrollment opened, each answer key was independently verified: reviewers re-answered sampled questions blind, disagreements were settled against the primary sources, and every numeric answer was recomputed from first principles. Questions whose facts could not be confirmed were removed, and the bank passed a text-overlap screen. Practice exams draw a fresh, blueprint-weighted set from the full bank on every attempt, so no two practice exams are the same.
The Respiratory Therapy Examination is the NBRC’s new single credentialing exam for respiratory therapists. It replaces the two-step TMC and CSE pathway with one multiple-choice examination in two portions — Breadth of Knowledge and Depth of Clinical Judgment — scored against two cut scores on a single total: reach the lower cut and you earn the CRT credential, reach the higher cut and you earn the RRT. The first administrations are January 4, 2027. PassProfessor’s NBRC RTE program prepares you with 2,000 original practice questions built to the published January 2027 outline at its exact weights.
What the program covers
Every content area on NBRC’s outline is covered at its published weight. The bank’s question count in each area, and what a full practice exam draws from each:
- I-A Evaluate Data in the Patient Record — 37 practice questions; 3 per full practice exam
- I-B Perform Clinical Assessment — 75 practice questions; 6 per full practice exam
- I-C Perform Procedures to Gather Clinical Information — 62 practice questions; 5 per full practice exam
- I-D Evaluate Procedure Results — 88 practice questions; 7 per full practice exam
- I-E Recommend Diagnostic Procedures — 50 practice questions; 4 per full practice exam
- II-A Troubleshoot Devices During and After Assembling — 238 practice questions; 19 per full practice exam
- II-B Infection Prevention, Safety, and Quality Assurance — 75 practice questions; 6 per full practice exam
- III-A Maintain a Patent Airway and Care of Artificial Airways — 75 practice questions; 6 per full practice exam
- III-B Perform Airway Clearance and Lung Expansion Techniques — 50 practice questions; 4 per full practice exam
- III-C Support Oxygenation and Ventilation — 125 practice questions; 10 per full practice exam
- III-D Administer Medications and Specialty Gases — 37 practice questions; 3 per full practice exam
- III-E Make or Recommend Changes to the Respiratory Care Plan — 125 practice questions; 10 per full practice exam
- III-F Use Evidence-Based Practice — 38 practice questions; 3 per full practice exam
- III-G Provide Respiratory Care in High-Risk Situations — 63 practice questions; 5 per full practice exam
- III-H Assist a Physician or Provider in Performing Procedures — 50 practice questions; 4 per full practice exam
- III-I Interact with Team Members, Patients, and Families — 62 practice questions; 5 per full practice exam
- Depth — Chronic Lung Disease — 212 practice questions; 17 per full practice exam
- Depth — Medical: Infectious Disease — 63 practice questions; 5 per full practice exam
- Depth — Medical: ARDS — 63 practice questions; 5 per full practice exam
- Depth — Medical: Other — 62 practice questions; 5 per full practice exam
- Depth — Cardiovascular — 63 practice questions; 5 per full practice exam
- Depth — Pre- and Post-Operative Care — 62 practice questions; 5 per full practice exam
- Depth — Trauma — 50 practice questions; 4 per full practice exam
- Depth — Neurological and Neuromuscular — 50 practice questions; 4 per full practice exam
- Depth — Pediatric — 50 practice questions; 4 per full practice exam
- Depth — Neonatal — 75 practice questions; 6 per full practice exam
Practice in the real exam’s shape
A full practice exam draws 160 scored questions — the scored length of the real exam — across all 26 content areas at their outline weights, inside a 240-minute limit that mirrors the real four-hour clock. The real exam administers 185 questions: the same 160 scored questions plus 25 unscored pretest questions mixed in; this program’s draws are scored questions only. Practice exams are scored against a 70% practice benchmark: the real exam’s two cut scores are not published numerically by the NBRC, so treat the benchmark as a practice target, not an NBRC standard.
How the program works
Enrollment gives you the full bank of 2,000 questions. Full practice exams draw a fresh set every attempt, weighted to the official outline, and never repeat the same exam twice. Short 10-question drills let you work one content area at a time — all 26 areas, from device troubleshooting to neonatal resuscitation scenarios. Every question includes an explanation of why the correct answer is right and why each of the other options is wrong. A fixed set of 12 free sample questions is available before you enroll, so you can see the question style first.
The real exam at a glance
- Questions on the real exam: 185 administered (160 scored + 25 unscored pretest)
- Time limit: 4 hours, administered in two 2-hour sessions
- Format: entirely multiple-choice — a Breadth of Knowledge portion (100 scored questions) and a Depth of Clinical Judgment portion (60 scored scenario-based questions)
- Scoring: one total score with two cut scores — the lower cut earns the CRT credential, the higher cut earns the RRT; the NBRC does not publish the numeric cut scores
- Exam fee: $360 for a new applicant ($300 for a repeat attempt)
- First administrations: January 4, 2027 — the TMC examination it replaces is offered for the last time on December 31, 2026
- Results: reported the same day you test
What changed in 2027
The NBRC has replaced the old two-exam pathway with this single examination. The dates and details that matter for your preparation:
- The Therapist Multiple-Choice Examination (TMC) is offered for the last time on December 31, 2026; the last day to apply for it is December 15, 2026.
- From January 4, 2027, the Respiratory Therapy Examination is the entry-level credentialing exam — one sitting instead of the old two-exam pathway.
- The Clinical Simulation Examination (CSE) remains available through December 31, 2027, only to candidates who passed the TMC at the higher cut score on or before December 31, 2026.
- The NBRC’s published counts show 11,086 TMC administrations in 2025; that candidate flow — roughly 11,000 candidates a year — now consolidates into this single examination.
One scoring point to be clear about: the 70% figure used inside this program is a practice benchmark only. The real exam’s two cut scores are set by the NBRC and are not published as numbers, and no percentage — ours or anyone else’s — is the CRT or RRT passing standard.
One format point: the Depth of Clinical Judgment portion is scenario-based multiple-choice — on the real exam and in this program. It is not the retired Clinical Simulation Examination’s interactive format, and this program does not claim to reproduce that format.
One scope point: if you passed the TMC at the higher cut score before the end of 2026 and plan to finish through the CSE during 2027, this program is not CSE preparation — it is built entirely to the new Respiratory Therapy Examination outline.
Free study sheet (PDF): Download the NBRC Respiratory Therapy study sheet — ventilator settings and pressures, modes, oxygenation formulas, and airway and weaning numbers, plus the 2027 RTE at a glance, on two printable pages
Exam change alert: the TMC retires December 31, 2026
This program prepares you for the NBRC’s new Respiratory Therapy Examination — first administered January 4, 2027, as the TMC retires and the two-step TMC + CSE pathway ends. Read the NBRC exam changes page for the full transition