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Pass on Day One

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Hospice & palliative nursing · Addiction counseling · Sleep technology

Walk into your certification exam knowing its rules

Free practice questions and checked exam facts for hospice nurses, addiction counselors and sleep technologists.

Pass on Day One is a free reference for four certification exams taken by hospice nurses, addiction counselors and sleep technologists: what each exam asks, how its score is set, who may sit it, how to register and what is changing. Each figure carries a stamp saying which document it was copied from and when we last opened it, and every practice question explains each of its options. The name is the aim, not a promise.

Browse the fieldsWhich exam fits me?

Start with your field of practice

Each field page compares its credentials, among them several with no page here, and sets out the steps to certification in that line of work. Addiction counseling and sleep technology start with one exam each: the IC&RC counselor exam and the BRPT registry exam.

Hospice & Palliative Nursing

2 exams

HPCC certifies hospice and palliative nurses at two exam levels covered here: the bedside RN credential and the advanced practice one.

Field page

Addiction Counseling

1 exam

Drug and alcohol counselors in IC&RC member jurisdictions sit the IC&RC Alcohol and Drug Counselor exam, and the local board then issues its own title, such as CADC or LADC.

Field page

Sleep Technology

1 exam

Technologists who run overnight sleep studies can earn the BRPT registry credential, the RPSGT.

Field page

From your job title to an exam

Rows are grouped by field. Pick the role nearest yours: the note beside it says what the exam asks of you, and names a better-suited credential when one exists.

You are…Exam to look at
Hospice & Palliative Nursing
Hospice RN, home care or inpatient unitCHPN. HPCC asks for an unrestricted RN license plus 500 hospice or palliative nursing hours in the last 12 months, or 1,000 in the last 24.
Palliative care RN on a hospital consult teamCHPN. Palliative nursing hours count toward the RN exam, not only hours worked in hospice.
Pediatric hospice or palliative RNCHPN. HPCC's pediatric credential, CHPPN, is aimed at this role but has no write-up here; the RN exam is the one covered.
Hospice aide, CNA, LPN or LVNCHPN. HPCC certifies these roles through CHPNA and CHPLN, which are not written up here. The RN exam opens once you hold an RN license.
Nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist in palliative careACHPN. The advanced exam asks for APRN standing, a finished NP or CNS program and 500 palliative APRN hours in 12 months, or 1,000 in 24.
Certified hospice RN who has since become an APRNACHPN. Holding the RN credential is not a prerequisite or a shortcut: the advanced exam has its own application, outline and 175 questions.
Addiction Counseling
Drug and alcohol counselor working toward a CADC or similar titleIC&RC ADC. Your state or regional board issues the title, so the same exam can lead to a CADC, CAC or LADC depending on where you work.
Certified counselor moving to another stateIC&RC ADC. IC&RC reciprocity is set at the level of this exam, which is what lets a credential move between member boards.
Peer recovery or prevention workerIC&RC ADC. IC&RC's peer recovery and prevention specialist credentials have their own exams and no pages here; the counselor exam applies once your work becomes counseling.
Sleep Technology
Overnight sleep lab technician or traineeRPSGT. BRPT asks for 960 h of clinical polysomnography on its experience pathways. Its entry-level CPSGT has no pages here yet.
RRT, nurse or EEG technologist moving into sleepRPSGT. One BRPT pathway is for holders of an accepted healthcare credential and still asks for the clinical hours. The RRT-SDS is a separate respiratory therapy specialty from another organization.
Sleep technician who already holds the CPSGTRPSGT. BRPT does not count the CPSGT as one of the healthcare credentials accepted for that pathway.

Length, cut score and fee

ExamCredentialing bodyQuestionsExam timePassing scoreExam feeWhere you testSource
CHPN. Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse · HPCC Practice test Exam infoHPCC1503 h500 (scale 200–800)≈ $445. Credential page price; the December 2025 handbook lists $455 (read Nov 11, 2026).Test center or online[1][2][3]
ACHPN. Advanced Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse · HPCC Practice test Exam infoHPCC1753.5 h500 (scale 200–800)$515Test center or online[3][4][5]
IC&RC ADC. Alcohol and Drug Counselor · IC&RC Practice test Exam infoIC&RC1503 h500 (scale 200–800)≈ $175–$225. Confirm on your board's own fee page (read Nov 11, 2026).Test center or online (board allows)[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
RPSGT. Registered Polysomnographic Technologist · BRPT Practice test Exam infoBRPT1753 h350 (scale 200–500)$550Test center only[13][14][15][16]

Read the rows with three cautions. The two HPCC prices are non-member prices, and members of HPNA pay less. The counselor exam's fee is set by your board, not by the consortium. And the cut scores do not share one scale: the sleep exam's scale and cut differ from those of the other three, as the passing-score column shows. Scoring, pass rates, retakes and outline changes are compared on the exam directory.

Sources and checking

A figure goes on a page only from material issued by the body that runs or delivers the exam, such as handbooks, outlines, fee schedules and statistics pages. When two of its documents disagree, the table says which one it follows and why. Proposed changes, such as the 2027 hospice nursing outlines, are shown as posted and never as already in force.

Our editorial policy sets out the full rules, and the six checks behind every practice question are listed on how we review.

Documents read for launch

Each entry below is a first reading for this site. The date shows when we opened the documents, not when the body published them.

November 11, 2026

  • The RN exam: HPCC's December 2025 candidate handbook, the current Detailed Content Outline, the posted 2027 outline and the recertification page. Three sections tie as the largest, at 28 items each: Symptom Management; Support, Education, and Advocacy; and Practice Issues.
  • ACHPN: the same set of HPCC documents for the advanced practice exam. Assessment and Data Collection is the biggest section, at 44 items.
  • HPCC exam statistics for 2025 and PSI's page of HPCC exams open for booking, the sources of the pass rates and the open testing windows for both nursing exams.
  • IC&RC ADC: the ADC candidate guide effective November 2022, the General Candidate Guide updated April 1, 2025, and the consortium's pages on scores, retakes and rescheduling. Evidence-Based Treatment, Counseling, and Referral carries the most weight, 30%.
  • Six boards that use the ADC exam: the credential and fee pages of the IC&RC member boards for Florida, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, and of Maine's state board.
  • RPSGT: BRPT's web handbook, exam blueprint, eligibility pages and its notice on CPR and BLS cards for 2026. Scoring questions follow the AASM scoring manual.

Documents we read

  1. [1]HPCC: CHPN (Registered Nurse) credential page advancingexpertcare.org, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  2. [2]HPCC: CHPN Computer Based Examination Candidate Handbook, December 2025 (PDF) advancingexpertcare.org, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  3. [3]HPCC: Live remote proctoring advancingexpertcare.org, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  4. [4]HPCC: ACHPN (Advanced Practice RN) credential page advancingexpertcare.org, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  5. [5]HPCC: ACHPN Computer Based Examination Candidate Handbook, December 2025 (PDF) advancingexpertcare.org, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  6. [6]IC&RC: General Candidate Guide, updated April 1, 2025 (PDF) internationalcredentialing.org, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  7. [7]IC&RC: Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ADC) Candidate Guide, effective November 2022 (PDF) internationalcredentialing.org, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  8. [8]IC&RC: Scores and verification internationalcredentialing.org, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  9. [9]Florida Certification Board: Fees flcertificationboard.org, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  10. [10]Maine IC&RC Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ADC) exam form form.jotform.com, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  11. [11]MCBAP (Michigan): Payments mcbap.com, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  12. [12]Illinois Certification Board: Schedule of fees, effective July 1, 2025 (PDF) iaodapca.org, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  13. [13]BRPT: RPSGT Candidate Handbook (web page) brpt.org, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  14. [14]BRPT: RPSGT credential page (holders and pass statistics) brpt.org, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  15. [15]BRPT: RPSGT exam blueprint brpt.org, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  16. [16]BRPT: RPSGT FAQs brpt.org, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  17. [17]HPCC: CHPN Detailed Content Outline, current exam (PDF) advancingexpertcare.org, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  18. [18]HPCC: ACHPN Detailed Content Outline, current exam (PDF) advancingexpertcare.org, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  19. [19]IC&RC notice of the updated ADC and PS exams (March 1, 2023), posted by the New Hampshire OPLC (PDF, archived copy) web.archive.org, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  20. [20]HPCC: Exam statistics (2025 exam results) advancingexpertcare.org, consulted Nov 11, 2026
  21. [21]BRPT: RPSGT eligibility brpt.org, consulted Nov 11, 2026

Before you start

Does a credentialing body stand behind these pages?

No. HPCC, HPNA, IC&RC and its member boards, BRPT and the test vendors have no part in writing, checking or paying for this site. Where one of their current documents differs from a page here, follow the document.

What does it take to start a practice test?

Nothing beyond loading it: no sign-up and no fee. Answers are scored by the page itself and never leave your browser; the privacy notice lists the one log line a visit can create.

Why is the counselor exam listed under titles like CADC or LADC?

Because IC&RC writes the exam while state and regional boards award the credential. Passing the IC&RC ADC exam is one step toward the title your board grants, alongside the education, supervised hours and application it reviews; the addiction counseling page shows how the boards we checked name it.

Will the 2027 hospice nursing outlines change what I should study?

Not for now. The CHPN and ACHPN study guides follow the outline in use today and show the posted one beside it.