Free TMC Practice Exam

The Therapist Multiple-Choice Examination has 160 multiple-choice questions and a 3-hour time limit. 140 questions are scored; the other 20 are unscored pretest questions mixed in so you cannot tell them apart. Every question has four answer choices.

The NBRC sets two cut scores on the 140 scored questions and reports raw scores, not percentages. The low cut score is 86 correct, which earns the Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) credential. The high cut score is 92 correct, which earns the CRT and makes you eligible for the Clinical Simulation Examination on the way to the Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) credential. Below 86 you reapply. No sub-scores are reported.

Three sections from the NBRC Detailed Content Outline: Patient Data (50 scored questions), Troubleshooting and Quality Control of Devices and Infection Control (20), and Initiation and Modification of Interventions (70). The outline also sets cognitive levels: 33 recall, 66 application and 41 analysis questions, and requires about 4 pediatric and 3 neonatal questions.

The fee is $190 for new applicants and $150 for repeat applicants, paid for every attempt. You can attempt the TMC three times without waiting; after that you must wait at least 120 days between attempts.

Yes. The NBRC says it "is transitioning to a single examination," the Respiratory Therapy Examination, "which will be implemented in January 2027," "eliminating the Clinical Simulation Examination." The NBRC describes it as 185 multiple-choice items (160 scored and 25 pretest) with a 4-hour time limit, $360 for new applicants and $300 for repeat applicants, with two cut scores: the low cut earns the CRT and the high cut earns the RRT. Its Candidate Handbook lists the TMC as ending December 31, 2026. Candidates who pass the TMC at the high cut score before December 31, 2026, can take the CSE through December 31, 2027. The NBRC says the new exam organizes its breadth-of-knowledge section around the same content domains and cognitive levels as the TMC.

The CSE is the second exam on the current RRT pathway, open to candidates who passed the TMC at the high cut score. The NBRC describes it as 22 branching clinical problems (20 scored and 2 pretest) in 4 hours for a $200 fee, offered through December 31, 2027. This site practices the multiple-choice TMC only; the CSE format is different and is not simulated here.

Our full mock has 160 four-option questions in 3 hours, drawn to the outline’s proportions (57 Patient Data, 23 Equipment and Infection Control, 80 Interventions). You can move between questions, flag any to revisit and submit when you are done or when time runs out. Your report scales your score to the NBRC’s 140-question scale and shows where it falls against the 86 and 92 cut scores, plus a breakdown by section and topic and an explanation for every question.

In 2025 the NBRC administered 11,086 TMC exams. Among new candidates 78.5% reached the low cut and 68.2% reached the high cut. Among repeat candidates only 48.9% reached the low cut and 29.4% the high cut, so a first attempt prepared for the high cut is the best plan.

After the NBRC accepts your application and payment you schedule at a PSI test center; the NBRC lists more than 300 assessment centers testing Monday through Saturday. The NBRC also offers a free online TMC practice examination and sells a Self-Assessment Examination with rationales. Our drills and timed mock add explanations for every answer and a cut-score readout.