CRC exam dates, rules and renewal

Exam facts

iFacts checked Oct 30, 2026 against the testing organizations; sources are listed under Source notes. Fees in detail: CRC cost. Pass rates and scoring: CRC pass rate.

2027 dates and deadlines

iFacts checked Oct 30, 2026 against the testing organizations; sources are listed under Source notes.

The Commission reviews the application first; once you are approved, Pearson VUE sends an authorization to test that is good for the upcoming window only, and you book a seat inside that window. You sit once per window (certification guide, Sections 11 and 16).

To move an appointment within the same window, change it with Pearson VUE at least 48 hours ahead (get certified). Moving to a later window is a deferral, covered under retakes below.

Who can apply

The application names one of three categories (get certified):

1. Category 1: a student in, or graduate of, a CACREP-accredited master's in rehabilitation counseling or clinical rehabilitation counseling. Graduates from before July 1, 2017 qualify through a CORE-accredited program.
2. Category 2: the same degree from a program that is not CACREP-accredited.
3. Category 3: a master's or doctorate in an approved related field, such as mental health counseling, social work, psychology, school counseling, addictions counseling or marriage and family therapy. This route starts with a paid pre-review of $85 and adds coursework across the knowledge domains and qualifying work experience.

Students in categories 1 and 2 can sit before they graduate, but the result is released only once the final transcript shows the degree and the completed internship.

How the exam runs

The exam comes in two locked sections, Rehabilitation and Disability and Counseling. The clock starts at the first question and runs for 210 minutes; when you lock the first section, the second opens at once and the first is closed to you for good (exam overview).

• Breaks. None between the sections unless extra time has been approved. At a test center you may step out for an unscheduled break, but the clock keeps running.
• Appointment length. Plan about four hours in all, with check-in, a tutorial and a short survey.
• Language. Candidates whose first language is not English may bring a word-to-word translation dictionary, which is inspected at check-in (get certified).
• Unscored items. The field-test questions are not marked, so give each question the same care.

Testing online with OnVUE

OnVUE puts a live remote proctor on your own computer, with no breaks at all, and the guide is blunt about the risk: if the session is invalidated because of your equipment, a shutdown or an unscheduled break, you pay the fees to retake in a new window, and later attempts may be required at a test center. Candidates with approved accommodations are advised to test at a center, since some accommodations cannot be given remotely (certification guide, Section 11).

Results and scoring

The pass or fail you see at the test site is preliminary; the official results packet comes by mail after the window closes. A candidate who fails also gets a score profile with diagnostic information by content area; a candidate who passes sees only the word "Pass".

Scores are scaled, with a separate cut for each section rather than a number correct. The mechanism and the recent pass rates are on CRC pass rate.

Retakes, deferrals and late cancellations

A retake is possible only in the next window, and it cannot be deferred: miss that window and the application closes. One application covers two sittings.

• Deferral. Only for the first sitting on an application, once, for $125. Cancel with Pearson VUE first; the Commission wants a screenshot or email of that cancellation with the deferral request.
• Late cancellation or no-show. Canceling 48 hours or less before the appointment, arriving late, a no-show or an ID that is not accepted all cost the retake fee. A no-show in the second window on an application closes it (certification guide, Section 16).

What a second or third sitting adds up to: CRC cost.

Keeping the credential: renewal and CE

The credential is renewed every five years, with 100 hours of continuing education, at least 10 hours in ethics, and the $405 fee. The online renewal application opens about four months before the certificate's valid-through date (CRC renewal).

• Pre-approved CE from approved providers is submitted at no extra fee. Whether the course itself costs anything depends on the provider; the Commission runs its own catalog, CRCC eUniversity.
• Post-approved CE, from a provider outside the pre-approved list, costs $18 per activity to submit.
• No renewal by exam. That option ended on March 31, 2022; continuing education is now the only route.

The fee side of renewal is on CRC cost.

What is not changing in 2027

No change to this exam for 2027 had been announced when we checked on Oct 30, 2026: the format, the two sections and the 2022 blueprint stay as they are. Its neighbors on this site do change: the NCE from July 1, 2027 (170 questions, pass at 360, NCE exam facts), the NCMHCE from the same date (10 cases, pass at 360, NCMHCE exam facts) and the MFT exam from the January 2027 window (155 scored, $389, MFT exam facts).

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 costOne application fee with the exam, the price of a retake, and five-year 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