NCMHCE Practice Exam and Practice Tests, Timed

The short answer

A good practice score is in the 60s or 70s, not the 90s. Passing marks people reported were 59 to 66 out of 100.
Practice like the exam: about 20 minutes per case, then read every explanation.
The real exam usually isn’t harder. The format is what trips people up.

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Your client is a 65-year-old man whose sister found shutoff notices under his unopened mail. Seven weeks of low mood, eight pounds lost, fleeting wishes not to wake up, and a rifle in the closet. How would you plan his care?

A good practice score: 60s to 70s, not the 90s

The numbers to know, from score reports people shared since November 2022
Passing mark on the real exam	59 to 66 out of 100 scored, most often 66
Typical real exam score of people who passed	74
Typical practice average of people who passed	60s to 70s

Before you read too much into a number:

Products differ. The same person can score 80s on one and 50s on another. Track one product over time.
Retakes inflate. You remember the answers. Count first attempts only.
One case is one case. Act on a falling trend, not a single bad case.

How people who passed used practice exams: 1 to 3 full cases a day

The routine that came up most
When	What they did
Every day	1 to 3 full cases, about 20 minutes each
After each case	Read every option’s explanation, including the ones they got right
When stuck	Paused cases to fix the content gap, then came back
Last month	A full timed exam each weekend, with clock checkpoints
Last day	Rest. Scores dropped when people crammed.

One rule underneath all of it: answer the textbook way. Safety first, assess before you intervene. How people passed has the full counts.

Is the real exam harder than practice? Usually not.

About half of the people who compared scored higher on the real exam than in practice. What catches people out is the format:

What trips people up, and how a simulation helps
On exam day	Practice it by
Long case reading	Working full cases, not single questions
Two answers that both look right	Reading why each wrong option is wrong
Sections that lock	Settling flagged questions before moving on
The clock	Timed exams with checkpoints

What the full practice exam includes

Licensure Lab practice exams
Format	11 cases, 3 locking sections each, 225 minutes
Case bank	170 cases, 2,105 questions
Fresh cases	Cases you’ve already reviewed are left out
Debrief	Every option explained
Practice modes	Coach (explain as you go) or Exam (explain at the end)
Version	Current exam, used through June 30, 2027
Price	$249 for 6 months

A practice score here measures how you reasoned through these cases. We’ll publish how well it predicts real results once we have enough of them.

NCMHCE practice exam FAQ

Is there a free NCMHCE practice exam?

Yes. You can work one full case here free, with no account: 14 questions in three parts, every answer explained, about 20 minutes. Most prep companies also offer one free sample; NBCC lists them on its exam prep page.

What is a good NCMHCE practice exam score?

There is no single number, because products differ in difficulty. On score reports people shared since the November 2022 format change, the passing mark for their form fell between 59 and 66 of the 100 scored questions. Most people who passed and gave their practice numbers were scoring in the 60s and 70s on practice, not the 90s. Watch your trend on one product rather than comparing products.

Is the real NCMHCE harder than practice exams?

For most people who compared, no: about half scored higher on the real exam than in practice, and more said practice felt harder than the reverse. What catches people out is the format: long reading, two answers that both look right, sections that lock and the clock. Practice under those conditions matters more than practice difficulty.

How many NCMHCE practice exams should I take?

People who passed usually worked cases steadily over several weeks, often one to three cases a day, and sat a few full timed exams in the last month to practice pacing. Taking the same exam again inflates the score, because you remember the answers.

How many NCMHCE practice questions are there?

The full course has 170 cases with 2,105 questions in the current exam format, each with an explanation for every answer option.

Want to see the question style first? Twenty sample questions with every answer explained, no account.

The free case needs no sign-up. The full course has 170 cases in the current format and starts with a Google sign-in. Your first case in the course opens right after.