Last Updated on April 15, 2025
Physician Assistant Exam: FREE PANCE Practice Test 2025 Official Study Guide [PDF]. Prepare for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE) with our updated 2024 practice test. Try our free Physician Assistant Exam Prep review questions to enhance your readiness for the PA certification exam.
The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) administers the PANCE. Use our practice test, featuring NCCPA exam questions and answers, to ensure you are well-prepared and improve your chances of success.
Physician assistants (PAs) must successfully respond to multiple-choice questions on Board exams to become certified and maintain their recertification status. Passing these exams requires not only medical knowledge but also test-taking skills.
PANCE Practice Test 2025
The National Commission designs these exams on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). The PANCE and PANRE are timed, and multiple-choice tests are presented and answered on a computer screen in local commercial testing centers.
Exam development and scoring information is available on the NCCPA website (http://www.nccpa.net). Examination candidates are encouraged to review the content blueprint to understand better the types of practices, tasks, and diseases covered by the Board examinations.
Pretest Topic wise Tests- Reproductive System (Male and Female)
- Renal System
- Pulmonary System
- Psychiatry Behavioral Science
- Neurologic System
- Musculoskeletal System
- Infectious Diseases
- Hematologic System
- Genitourinary System (Male and Female)
- Gastrointestinal System
- EENT (Eyes, Ears, Nose, and Throat)
- Endocrine System
- Cardiovascular System
- Dermatologic System
PA Certification
To attain certification, PAs must pass the PANCE. Administered year-round at more than 200 testing centers across the United States, PANCE is a multiple-choice test that includes 360 questions that assess medical and surgical knowledge. After passing PANCE, PAs are issued an NCCPA certificate, entitling them to use the Physician AssistantCertified (PA-C) designation until the end of the second year after its issuance.
To maintain NCCPA certification and retain the right to use the PA-C designation beyond the date of the initial certificate’s expiration, they must follow a multifaceted process involving documentation of continuing medical education (CME) hours and now, after 10 years, successful completion of the Physician Assistant National Recertifying Examination (PANRE; recertification by exam was required every 6 years until 2014).
| Test Name | Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination |
| Total Questions | 120 |
| Question Type | multiple-choice questions |
| Total Time Limit | two hours |
| Test center | Pearson VUE |
| Retake Exam Wating Time | 180 days |
| Certification Maintenance Cycle | 10 years |
| Website | http://www.nccpa.net |
Requirements
- Graduation from an accredited PA educational program
- Passage of the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE), administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA)
PANCE Exam Content
The examination is categorized in two dimensions:
- 1. Knowledge of the diseases and disorders physician assistants encounter; and
- 2. Knowledge and skills related to physician assistants’ tasks when treating patients.
Certified PAs work with NCCPA to continuously review the content included in PANCE to ensure it is relevant and current as the practice of medicine changes and treatment guidelines are revised or new ones are introduced.
Content Categories
(effective beginning January 2025 for all PANCE administrations)
Task Categories
*Medical content comprises 95% of the exam. All medical content questions are also coded to one of the task areas, except the professional practice task category. Questions related to professional practice issues comprise 5% of the exam. In addition, up to 20% of the exam may be related to general surgical topics. The specific percentage allocations may vary slightly on exams.
CAQ Exam
The CAQ is a voluntary credential that Certified PAs can earn in seven specialties: cardiovascular and thoracic Surgery, Emergency Medicine, Hospital Medicine, Nephrology, Orthopedic Surgery, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry.
The CAQ exam consists of 120 questions. PAs are provided two hours of exam time, 15 minutes of break time, and 15 minutes to take the tutorial. The exam is currently offered twice a year.
PANCE© and PANRE© are registered trademarks of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. NCCPA© is the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants registered trademark. AAPA© is a registered trademark of the American Academy of Physician Assistants.
*Test names are the property of the respective trademark holders.
Officail URL: https://www.nccpa.net/