BCEN certifications, all six in one place

TNCC, often mentioned alongside these, is not a BCEN credential: it is a course run by the Emergency Nurses Association. How it compares with the TCRN is on trauma nurse certifications.

The cost pages for all six exams show the same three initial prices: $380 list, $285 for members of the partner association named below, and $195 for active-duty service members, reservists and veterans (CEN, CPEN, CBRN cost pages, read November 11, 2026). The partner is what changes:

• ENA for CEN and CPEN;
• STN for TCRN;
• ASTNA for CFRN and CTRN;
• ABA for CBRN.

ENA membership does not discount the TCRN, a mix-up that is easy to make because ENA discounts the two emergency exams. Retest pricing and the optional Test Assurance add-on are the same across the six and are worked through on the TCRN cost page and the CFRN cost page.

Each of the six runs for four years and renews one of two ways: pass the current exam again, or attest to 100 contact hours earned during the four years (exam or 100 CE hours). Of the 100 hours, at least 75 must be clinical content in the specialty and up to 25 may be non-clinical (BCEN recertification, read November 11, 2026).

The accredited share rises in 2027. Today at least 50 of the hours must come from an accredited provider; for any application filed from January 1, 2027, the floor becomes 75 accredited. Nurses renewing in 2027 or later should check which of their banked hours carry provider accreditation before the cycle ends, because hours cannot be added after the application goes in.

BCEN no longer asks for a log at application, only an attestation, but it audits, so keep certificates. The recertification fee is $280 for every credential, $210 through the partner association named above and $195 for military candidates.

The board posts, for each calendar year, how many exams were delivered, passed and failed, and how many certificants hold each credential (BCEN exam statistics, 2025, read November 11, 2026). It does not post a pass rate. Dividing passes by passes plus fails gives the shares below; they are our arithmetic and include repeat attempts. Delivered exams run a little above passes plus fails, and the page does not say why.

• CEN: 4,198 passes and 3,974 fails, 51.4%; 41,636 certificants.
• CPEN: 689 passes and 447 fails, 60.7%; 5,827 certificants.
• TCRN: 1,260 passed, 884 failed, 58.8%; 8,741 certificants.
• CFRN: 57.8% of exams with a result; 7,769 certificants.
• CTRN: 98 passes and 75 fails, 56.6% of exams with a result; 669 certificants, the smallest of the six.
• CBRN: 184 passes and 126 fails, 59.4%; 722 certificants.

For each credential the board posts the exam content outline, sample questions and practice exams, and its BCEN Learn platform offers CE that counts toward renewal. The outline is the document to study from: this site's TCRN study guide and CFRN study guide are built on the outlines in force since November 29, 2025 and August 31, 2026.

There are two routes for every credential (BCEN certification verification, read November 11, 2026). Each certified nurse receives a digital badge through Credly that shows status, issue and expiration dates and can be shared with an employer. Alternatively, the nurse logs in to the BCEN dashboard and sends a credential verification request, and the board emails the employer the credential type, status and expiration date. In both cases the certified nurse starts the process.