CRC exam cost, from application to renewal

Fees and rules, sourced

iFacts checked Oct 30, 2026 against the testing organizations; sources are listed under Source notes. All fees are paid to the Commission in US dollars and are non-refundable apart from the ineligibility refund (certification guide, Section 16).

What the exam costs, sitting by sitting

Counting only the Commission's exam fees, as of Oct 30, 2026, and assuming no deferral:

1. Pass at the first sitting: the application fee$420
2. Pass at the retake in the next window: application plus retake fee$695
3. Fail twice and sit a third time on a fresh application$1,115

Source: CRCC get certified and the certification guide, Section 16; arithmetic ours.

Pooling the three most recent published windows, 54% (290 of 537) of first-time candidates passed, so a little under half did not pass at the first sitting. The Commission does not publish a pass rate for retakes, so we do not put a single expected-cost number on it.

What each fee is for

• Application: $420, with the first sitting included. If the Commission rules you ineligible, $75 of it comes back. It is paid when you apply and covers the sitting in the window on your application.
• Category 3 pre-review: $85, paid by phone before a related-field graduate applies. Graduates of rehabilitation counseling programs do not pay it (who can apply).
• Deferral: $125 to move your first sitting to the next window, once per application.
• Retake: $275, for the next window only. You also pay it for a cancellation inside the 48-hour cutoff, a late arrival, a no-show or a rejected ID (certification guide, Section 16). That makes a late cancellation the most expensive way to change plans.

Keeping the credential

Renewal costs $405 every five years, and the continuing education it requires has a price of its own. The Commission charges nothing extra to log pre-approved continuing education; post-approved activities cost $18 per activity to submit. The courses themselves are priced by their providers, so the real five-year cost of renewal is the fee plus whatever your 100 hours of CE cost you. Renewal by re-examination is no longer an option. Rules and timing: renewal.

Costs outside the Commission

• A state license. If you use the exam toward licensure in a state that accepts it, the board's application and license fees are a separate bill; the boards checked for this site are listed on the CRC overview, and state-by-state routes are on license requirements by state.
• Prep material. The Commission sells its own flashcard set and also offers the CRCC Self-Assessment, a timed practice assessment; the sample questions and the 12-week planner cost nothing (exam preparation). Textbooks are optional. A plan built on the blueprint: CRC study guide.
• Time. A sitting takes about four hours with check-in, and the windows come three times a year, so a retake means waiting months rather than weeks.

Pages for this exam

• CRCTwo separately scored sections, 12 domains, three testing windows a year
• CRC practice testA mixed set over all 12 domains of the 2022 blueprint, every option explained
• CRC exam facts2027 windows and deadlines, eligibility, test-day rules, retakes and CE renewal
• CRC pass rateFirst-time pass rates by window, and how the two section cuts are set
• CRC study guideAn eight-week plan by domain weight and by section, with what the 2022 blueprint added