Certifications › Specialty nursing board certifications
Board exam · Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB)
CMSRN — Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse (CMSRN)
CMSRN is the MSNCB certification for registered nurses with 2,000 medical-surgical practice hours in the past three years. You recertify every five years by contact hours or by exam, and either route needs 1,000 med-surg practice hours in the last five years.
Named in 20 of 29,080 postings on this site as of 11 Nov 2026, mostly Registered Nurse (20).
The facts, from the issuer
- Eligibility
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You need a current, unencumbered RN licence in the US, its territories or Canada.
MSNCB — CMSRN Certification · checked ·
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“You must hold an unencumbered and current license as a Registered Nurse (RN) in the United States, its territories, or Canada.”
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You need 2,000 practice hours in a medical-surgical setting in the past three years.
MSNCB — CMSRN Certification · checked ·
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“You must have worked 2,000 practice hours within the past three (3) years in a medical-surgical setting.”
- Format
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Passing takes a standard score of 95, about 71% correct.
MSNCB — CMSRN Certification · checked ·
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“To pass the CMSRN exam, you must achieve a standard score of 95, which is about 71% correct.”
- Length
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The exam has 150 multiple-choice questions, 125 of them scored.
MSNCB — CMSRN Certification · checked ·
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“The CMSRN exam has 150 multiple choice questions, and 125 of the questions count toward your score.”
- How long it lasts
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You recertify every five years, by contact hours or by exam.
MSNCB — CMSRN Recertification · checked ·
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“As a certificant, you are required to recertify every five years to keep your CMSRN credential.”
- Renewal
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Either renewal route requires 1,000 practice hours in a medical-surgical setting in the last five years (clinical, manager or educator).
MSNCB — CMSRN Recertification · checked ·
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“You must have worked 1,000 practice hours in a medical-surgical setting in the last five years.”
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Recertifying by contact hours takes 90 verified contact hours earned in the last five years.
MSNCB — CMSRN Recertification · checked ·
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“To recertify by contact hours, you must have earned 90 verified contact hours in the last five years.”
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Of the 90 contact hours, 68 must be medical-surgical and only 22 may be professional development.
MSNCB — CMSRN Recertification · checked ·
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“Sixty-eight of those contact hours must be designated as medical-surgical. Only 22 contact hours may be designated as "Professional Development".”
- Cost
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The initial exam is $394, or $267 for AMSN members; a first-time retake is $315, or $189 for members.
MSNCB — Exam Processes, Scheduling, and Fees · checked ·
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“Exam Attempt Exam Fee AMSN Member Discount Initial Exam $394 $267 First-time Retake Exam $315 $189”
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Recertification by contact hours costs $225 for AMSN members or $325 standard; by exam $267 or $394.
MSNCB — CMSRN Recertification · checked ·
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“AMSN Member: $225 AMSN Member: $267 Standard Fee: $325 Standard Fee: $394”
- Find a class or test site
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MSNCB exams are delivered by Pearson VUE at a test center or online with OnVUE.
MSNCB — Exam Processes, Scheduling, and Fees · checked ·
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“MSNCB offers two options for your exam experience through Pearson VUE.”
Where to take it
Start with the issuer’s own test-site search:
- Book the exam at a test site: Pearson VUE — MSNCB (pearsonvue.com)
CMSRN is an exam taken at test sites, so there are no classes to list here; use the test-site search above.
Distances are straight-line from the ZIP or city centre (U.S. Census 2024 gazetteer), not drive times. Listings come from state approved-program lists, issuer directories and providers' own pages. A listing is not a partnership; confirm dates, price and seats with the provider.
Related
- Current Registered Nurse jobs
- CEN — Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN)
- CPEN — Certified Pediatric Emergency Nurse (CPEN)
- TCRN — Trauma Certified Registered Nurse (TCRN)
- CNOR — Certified Perioperative Nurse (CNOR)
- RNC-OB — Inpatient Obstetric Nursing (RNC-OB)
- RNC-NIC — Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing (RNC-NIC)
- C-EFM — Electronic Fetal Monitoring (C-EFM)
- OCN — Oncology Certified Nurse (OCN)
- CHPN — Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse (CHPN)
Every fact above was read on the issuer’s own page on the date shown, with the exact words quoted. Anything the issuer does not publish is left out, so a missing fee means the issuer leaves pricing to the class provider or did not publish one. Employers decide which cards they accept; check the posting.