CPNRE Pass Rate and Passing Score: Official Alberta Numbers

Two questions come up more than any others once a practical nursing graduate starts preparing for the CPNRE: what score do I need, and how many people actually pass? Most answers online guess at both. Some quote a 65% or 70% pass mark that no official source has ever published. Others give a pass rate with no year, no province and no source.

For the full picture of the Alberta LPN licensing exam (fees, 2027 dates, attempts and the official prep tools), see our LPN licensing exam prep guide.

This guide answers both from the official record. The pass mark comes from the exam’s own FAQ on cpnre.ca. The pass rates come from the College of LPNs and HCAs of Alberta (CLHA), the regulator that manages access to the exam in Alberta, which publishes five years of results on its CPNRE statistics page and a detailed annual report. Every figure was checked against those pages on 24 October 2026.

At the end there are four free CPNRE practice questions with full rationales, written in the style of the real exam, so you can test yourself before you read about what the numbers mean for you.

What is the CPNRE passing score?

There is no fixed passing percentage, and anyone who quotes one is guessing. The official FAQ explains how the pass mark is actually decided:

• It is set by experts, not by a curve. “The pass mark is set by a panel of content experts from across Canada”, and it is “NOT set using a norm-referenced approach such as bell curving”.
• It describes a competent beginner. The pass mark is “set at a level that represents the performance expected of a competent entry-level practical nurse”.
• It depends on the questions. It is “set in reference to the content and the difficulty of the test questions”, and for each form of the exam it is the same across provinces, territories and writing centres, and in English and French.

Scoring itself is simple. “Each exam question has the same value: one mark,” and your score is the number of questions you answered correctly. If that number is equal to or higher than the pass mark, you pass; if it is lower, you fail. “There are no critical questions” that you must get right to pass.

Two practical consequences follow. First, because a curve is not used, you are not competing with the other people writing in your window. Second, because there is no penalty beyond the lost mark, a guess on a question you cannot answer costs you nothing. Never leave a question blank.

Why there is no single number

Since January 2022 the CPNRE has used linear-on-the-fly testing, or LOFT. The CLHA’s 2025 report explains that each candidate’s questions are pulled from a bank so that every exam is comparable in content and difficulty, but the combination of questions is unique to you. A pass mark tied to the difficulty of the questions is why a fixed percentage would not mean the same thing on every form.

The CPNRE pass rate in Alberta, 2021 to 2025

The CLHA publishes the average CPNRE pass rate for graduates of Alberta practical nursing programs every year, beside the national average. Its 2025 annual report describes these as first-time writers:

The CLHA also breaks the results down by school. In 2025 every Alberta program was at 90% or above: Columbia College at 90%, Bow Valley College at 97% of 512 writers, NorQuest College at 97% of 578, and Keyano College and Portage College at 100%. Where a program has only a few dozen writers, one result moves the percentage a long way, so read small programs with care.

Pass rate for internationally educated nurses

The numbers look very different for nurses who trained outside Canada. The CLHA’s CPNRE 2025 Annual Report, published on 12 March 2026, reports first-time results by where the candidate was educated:

Internationally educated nurses who wrote in Alberta in 2025 were primarily from India, the Philippines and Ghana. Across the six windows, 247 of 322 passed on their first attempt, a 76% annual average. Their monthly pass rate ranged from 63% in January to 88% in March. If you trained outside Canada, the exam asks you to show Canadian scope of practice, documentation and law as well as clinical knowledge, and that is where most extra preparation should go. Our guide for internationally educated nurses covers the route to the exam.

Is the CPNRE hard?

Most Alberta graduates pass on their first attempt: 96% in 2025. Read the other way, that is still about one candidate in twenty-five who does not, and for internationally educated nurses it was nearly one in four. The exam is not designed to trick anyone, but it is long, and it is built to find the gaps that a nursing program can leave.

What makes it demanding is its shape, set out in the CPNRE blueprint:

• 160 to 170 questions, each with a short stem and four options, written over a single sitting.
• 40 to 60% case-based questions, where several questions follow one client scenario, and 40 to 60% stand-alone questions.
• 76 competencies across professional, ethical and legal practice, foundations of practice, and collaborative practice.
• Three cognitive levels: knowledge and comprehension, application, and critical thinking. Most questions ask you to apply what you know to a client, not to recall a fact.

Candidates who struggle usually report the same three things: running short of time on case-based sets, second-guessing priority questions, and weak spots in professional and legal practice such as consent, documentation and scope. All three improve with timed practice on exam-style questions, which is the only way to find out where your own gaps are before the exam does.

What happens if you fail the CPNRE in Alberta?

A fail is not the end, but it is expensive and the number of attempts is limited. According to the CLHA:

• You get a performance profile. If you are unsuccessful, the CLHA says a performance profile is emailed within five business days of results being posted. It shows where you were weakest, and it is the best starting point for your next attempt.
• You pay again and wait for a window. Each attempt costs $610, and the exam runs only in six windows a year, so the next attempt is at least two months away.
• Attempts are limited. The CLHA’s May 2026 Registration Requirements policy says provisional LPNs have their registration and practice permit cancelled if they do not pass after three attempts, or when the one-year permit expires, whichever comes first. The CLHA’s exam page still mentions a fourth attempt, but the newer policy is the one to plan around: plan on three.

After a permit is cancelled, the CLHA’s policy says the applicant must retake a full practical nursing program to be considered for registration again. That is why the first attempt matters so much more than any single practice score.

When do CPNRE results come out?

The CLHA releases results within four to six weeks of the testing window closing, and graduates who pass move to the general register shortly after. If you are planning around a job offer, count from the last day of your window, not the day you wrote.

The next windows and their deadlines, from the CLHA’s CPNRE page, are below. The deadline is the date your application must be received, approved and your $610 invoice paid, and not writing in a window you were placed in costs a $100 Did Not Write fee.

For the full fee breakdown and what changed this year, see our CPNRE 2026 dates and fees guide.

How to give yourself the best chance

No practice exam can predict a result, and nothing here is a promise about yours. What the official numbers do show is where effort pays off:

• Practise under real conditions. Sit full-length, timed exams of 160 to 170 questions, so the length and the case-based sets are familiar before exam day. Our guide to what to expect on exam day covers the sitting itself.
• Study the blueprint, not a textbook. Weight your time the way the exam weights the competency categories.
• Fix your weakest domain first. One weak domain can cost more marks than a little extra polish everywhere else.
• Read every rationale. Know why the right answer is right and why each wrong one tempted you.

The exam provider’s own preparation tools are the Canadian Practical Nurse Exam Prep Guide and the CPNRE Predictor Test, sold on cpnre.ca, and the provider does not endorse any third-party course. CPNRE Practice Test is an independent practice app built to the published blueprint: full-length timed sittings, a rationale for every answer, and a readiness score that shows which domain to fix next. Our guide on how to study for the CPNRE shows how to plan the weeks before your window.

Free CPNRE practice questions with answers

These four questions are original, written for this guide in the style of the exam: one client, four plausible options, one best answer. Cover the answer, choose, then read the rationale.

Question 1 — professional, ethical and legal practice

An LPN is about to change a client’s wound dressing as ordered. The client says, “I don’t want that done right now.” What should the LPN do first?

• A. Explain that the order must be done on time
• B. Ask a colleague to help complete the change
• C. Ask the client about the reason for refusing
• D. Document that the client is being uncooperative

Answer: C. A capable client can refuse care at any time, and consent can be withdrawn. Exploring the reason comes first: it may be pain, fatigue or a misunderstanding the LPN can resolve. Insisting (A) or bringing in help to proceed (B) ignores the refusal, and labelling the client uncooperative (D) is judgement, not documentation of what was said and done.

Question 2 — foundations of practice

At the start of a shift, which client should the LPN assess first?

• A. A client with pneumonia who is newly confused and restless
• B. A client two days after hip surgery reporting pain of 4 out of 10
• C. A client with diabetes whose breakfast tray has not yet arrived
• D. A client waiting for discharge teaching before going home

Answer: A. New confusion and restlessness in a client with pneumonia can signal hypoxia or sepsis, a change in condition that needs assessment now. Moderate expected pain after surgery (B), a late tray with no insulin given (C) and discharge teaching (D) all matter, but none is an acute change.

Question 3 — collaborative practice

Which task can the LPN appropriately assign to a health care aide?

• A. Assessing a client’s new report of chest pain
• B. Teaching a client how to use a new inhaler
• C. Evaluating a client’s response to pain medicine
• D. Helping a stable client walk to the bathroom

Answer: D. Helping a stable client walk is a routine, predictable task within a health care aide’s role. Assessment (A), client teaching (B) and evaluating the response to a medication (C) require nursing judgement, so they stay with the nurse.

Question 4 — foundations of practice

A client is on contact precautions for Clostridioides difficile. Which action by the LPN is correct after removing gloves before leaving the room?

• A. Use alcohol-based hand rub after removing gloves
• B. Wash hands with soap and water after removing gloves
• C. Keep the same gown on to see the next client on the unit
• D. Wipe the stethoscope with a dry paper towel only

Answer: B. C. difficile forms spores that alcohol-based hand rub does not reliably remove, so hands are washed with soap and water. A gown is never worn from one client to the next (C), and equipment needs an approved disinfectant, not a dry towel (D).

The real exam asks 160 to 170 questions like these in one sitting. If you would like to see how you do across all three domains, start a practice exam and get your readiness score, or try 15 more free CPNRE practice questions first.