CNMT is the credential the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board awards for passing its nuclear medicine technology exam. This is the path from program graduate to certified, with NMTCB’s own figures for each step.
Updated October 2026
NMTCB requires completion of an accredited nuclear medicine technology program that it recognizes. Every eligibility requirement has to be completed within the five years immediately after you finish the program.
The examination processing fee is $200, and it is nonrefundable. NMTCB asks for applications and fees two months before the test date you want. If you do not sit within one calendar year of being approved, you pay the full fee again to reactivate. Applying for the CNMT and NMTCB(CT) exams together costs $350.
You have one hour and fifty-five minutes for 90 questions. The exam is computer adaptive: NMTCB uses computerized classification testing, so the questions you see depend on your earlier answers, and you cannot skip a question or return to one.
A preliminary pass or fail appears at the test site when you finish. Your final score is mailed about three weeks later. NMTCB reports a scaled score, and 375 is the passing score.
CNMT renews every year: you complete an annual renewal statement with ethics questions and pay the annual renewal fee, currently $40. You also need 24 continuing education hours every two years, with a prorated first cycle after you pass. BLS and CPR training does not count toward that CE.
Sources: NMTCB nuclear medicine exam information, the NMTCB continuing education policy and renewal fee schedule. Check nmtcb.org before you apply — fees and policies change.
NMTCB publishes results every year. In its 2025 annual examination report:
| Candidates | Sat | Passed | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| All examinees | 647 | 532 | 82.2% |
| First-time, nuclear medicine program graduates | 553 | 496 | 89.7% |
| Repeat examinees | 90 | 33 | 36.7% |
The gap between first-time and repeat candidates is the number to take seriously. Nine in ten program graduates pass on their first attempt; barely one in three repeat candidates does. Preparing properly for the first sitting is far easier than recovering from a failed one.
Source: NMTCB Annual Examination Report 2025.
After a first failure you can apply to retake the exam as soon as two weeks after the date you sat. Each attempt needs a new application. After six unsuccessful attempts NMTCB requires you to complete further approved education before you can sit again.
Use the score report to rank your domains, then study strictly in that order rather than starting from the beginning.
NMTCB publishes the approximate content distribution as clinical procedures 40%, pharmaceutical and radiopharmaceutical agents 25%, instrument operations and quality control 15%, radiation safety and regulations 13%, and radiation physics and detection 7%. What to study in each domain is laid out on the NMTCB practice questions page, and the 8-week study plan turns the weighting into a schedule.
500 NMTCB and ARRT(N) questions across all five domains, each with a worked explanation, plus clinical case studies, timed mock exams and per-domain progress tracking. 25 questions are free, no card and no account.