- The exam has 120 multiple-choice questions in two hours: 100 scored plus 20 unidentified unscored pretest items.
- Monitoring, Auditing, and Internal Reporting Systems is the heaviest domain at 20%; Communication, Education, and Training follows at 18%.
- Current initial exam fees are $350 for members and $450 for non-members; higher rates start January 1, 2027.
- Eligibility needs one year of full-time compliance work (or 1,500 hours in two years) plus 20 CCB CEUs, 10 of them live.
Which CHRC This Sheet Covers
"CHRC" is an acronym several unrelated credentials share, so start with the right one. This cheat sheet covers the Certified in Healthcare Research Compliance (CHRC) credential, governed by the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) and issued by the independent Compliance Certification Board (CCB). It is not a human-resources credential, not a clinical research coordinator certification, and not a cardiac rehabilitation designation. If you are brand new to the term, our explainers on what CHRC is and what CHRC stands for walk through the naming in more depth.
Everything below is organized so you can scan it in one sitting and then use it as a checklist before you sit for the exam. Facts here come from the issuer's published materials. Where the issuer has not published something, this sheet says so instead of guessing.
The Exam at a Glance
| Item | Verified fact |
|---|---|
| Credential | Certified in Healthcare Research Compliance (CHRC) |
| Governing body / issuer | HCCA / independent Compliance Certification Board (CCB) |
| Testing provider | PSI |
| Delivery options | Test-center computer, remote proctoring, and paper-and-pencil at selected HCCA/SCCE events |
| Question count | 120 multiple-choice (100 scored + 20 unscored pretest) |
| Time allowed | Two hours |
| Language | English only |
| Open or closed book | Closed book; reference materials and personal electronic devices restricted |
| Passing criterion | Angoff-established standard on scored questions; fixed numerical cut score not publicly verified |
| Published pass rate | Not publicly disclosed in official materials located |
Two format details deserve attention. First, the 20 pretest questions are not labeled, so you cannot identify and skip them; treat every item as though it counts. Second, the remote-testing FAQ expressly prohibits handheld calculators. An on-screen calculator was not verified, so do not plan around having one. The exam is also not known to be adaptive, so you should not expect it to change difficulty based on your answers.
The Seven-Domain Blueprint
The exam objectives come from the CHRC Candidate Handbook's Detailed Content Outline (printed pp. 22-24). The percentages below equal the outline's published item counts out of 100 scored questions. Note that the older archived "CHR" handbook uses a different blueprint and should not be used for this exam.
| Domain | Name (full heading) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Standards, Policies, and Procedures | 17% |
| 2 | Compliance Program Administration | 15% |
| 3 | Screening and Evaluation of Researchers, Employees, Physicians, Sponsors, Vendors, Contractors, and Others | 8% |
| 4 | Communication, Education, and Training | 18% |
| 5 | Monitoring, Auditing, and Internal Reporting Systems | 20% |
| 6 | Enforcement, Discipline, and Incentives | 8% |
| 7 | Investigations and Remedial Measures | 14% |
Add up the weights and you get 100%. Domains 5, 4, and 1 together account for 55% of scored items, which is why they anchor the review order later in this article. For a fuller walk through each content area, see the complete guide to all seven CHRC content areas.
Fees, Eligibility and Renewal
Initial exam fees
The current official initial exam application fee is $350 for SCCE/HCCA members and $450 for non-members. An eligible re-exam costs $75. The fee page lists a $75 non-refundable application amount, but no extra $75 is added on top of the published initial totals.
Eligibility checklist
- Work experience: one year in a full-time compliance position, or 1,500 hours of direct compliance duties within the two years before applying, with duties related to the Detailed Content Outline.
- Continuing education: 20 CCB-approved CEUs earned in the 12 months before the exam, at least 10 of them live.
- Accredited-university pathway: per the current FAQ and a January 29, 2026 support article, this pathway satisfies the work-experience requirement for 24 months and the CEU requirement for 12 months.
- No separate degree or reference requirement was verified.
One unresolved wrinkle: after the first 12 months, the support sources say graduates need 20 new CCB CEUs including 10 live, while the handbook and "Become Certified" wording tells graduates to sit within 12 months. If you are relying on the university pathway and are near or past month 12, confirm directly with CCB before you pay. Details on every prerequisite are in our CHRC requirements guide.
Validity and renewal
The credential is valid for two years. Renewal requires 40 CCB CEUs earned in that renewal period (at least 20 live), an application with attestations, and a renewal fee of $145 for members and $265 for non-members until the 2027 change. Older handbook text may still show $125/$245; the current fee and FAQ pages take precedence. CEUs earned for the initial exam and any excess renewal CEUs do not carry into the next period.
Domain-by-Domain Must-Knows
The outline headings tell you what the exam rewards: practical judgment inside a research setting, not recitation. Use the points below as prompts, then confirm the detail against primary regulations and the Detailed Content Outline itself.
Domain 5: Monitoring, Auditing, and Internal Reporting Systems (20%)
The heaviest domain. Expect scenarios about how a research compliance program detects problems before they become violations.
- Distinguish routine monitoring from formal auditing, and know why each exists.
- Understand how internal reporting channels (hotlines, open-door routes, anonymous options) support detection and why non-retaliation matters.
- Be ready to reason about research billing and coverage analysis: whether items and services in a study are billed to the sponsor, the study account, or a payer.
- Know that a finding should lead to a documented follow-up, not just a note in a file.
Domain 4: Communication, Education, and Training (18%)
The second-heaviest domain tests how a compliance function gets the right message to the right audience.
- Match training content to role: investigators, coordinators, administrators, and leadership need different depth.
- Understand when training is required at onboarding versus refreshed periodically or triggered by a change or incident.
- Know how to document training so completion can be demonstrated later.
Domain 1: Standards, Policies, and Procedures (17%)
This is where the regulatory landscape lives. The outline names agencies such as FDA, USDA, ORI, OCR, and OHRP.
- Know which agency's authority attaches to which kind of research activity (human subjects, animal research, research misconduct, privacy).
- Understand how written policies translate regulatory expectations into operating procedures.
- NIH is an issuer-recommended preparation resource, not a separate weighted domain, so use it for context rather than as a stand-alone study track.
Domain 2: Compliance Program Administration (15%)
Program structure and governance.
- Understand the role of a compliance officer and committee, their independence, and their access to leadership and the governing body.
- Know how resources, reporting lines, and risk assessment shape a program.
Domain 7: Investigations and Remedial Measures (14%)
What happens once a concern surfaces.
- Sequence matters: intake, assessment, preservation of records, fact-finding, determination, corrective action, and follow-up.
- Know when and why an organization escalates, reports externally, or refunds overpayments.
- Corrective action should address root cause, not only the individual incident.
Domains 3 and 6 (8% each)
Smaller, but together they equal 16% of scored questions.
- Screening and Evaluation: exclusion and sanction checks, vetting of researchers, vendors, sponsors, and contractors, and managing conflicts of interest before relationships begin.
- Enforcement, Discipline, and Incentives: consistent, documented discipline that applies at every level, and incentives that reward ethical behavior rather than just productivity.
Scoring Facts That Are (and Aren't) Public
Candidates often want a single number to aim for. The honest answer is that the issuer has not published one. The passing standard is established using the Angoff method and applied to the 100 scored questions, but a fixed numerical cut score was not publicly verified. Likewise, no pass rate appears in the official materials located. Any site quoting a precise pass rate or "percent needed" is either guessing or relaying an unverified claim. Read our pages on the CHRC passing score and the CHRC pass rate for how to separate issuer facts from marketing.
Key Takeaway
Don't aim for a rumored percentage. Aim for consistent competence across all seven domains, weighted by the blueprint, and treat practice scores as a readiness signal rather than a guarantee.
A Blueprint-Weighted Review Order
This is the one place the article leans on study structure, and it is tied to the weights above. Schedule heavy domains first so they get the most repetition, and leave the lighter ones for a final consolidation pass. For a fuller preparation roadmap, see our CHRC study guide.
Domain 5 (20%)
- Monitoring versus auditing, reporting systems, and research billing coverage analysis.
- Take a short quiz on the domain and note every miss.
Domains 4 and 1 (18% + 17%)
- Role-based training design and documentation.
- Agency roles: FDA, USDA, ORI, OCR, OHRP.
Domains 2 and 7 (15% + 14%)
- Program governance, then the investigation-to-remediation sequence.
Domains 3 and 6, then mixed review (16% combined)
- Screening, discipline, and incentives, followed by timed mixed sets under exam conditions.
When you reach the mixed sets, use a full-length run on the CHRC practice test to confirm your pacing against the two-hour limit. HCCA states that no official study guide exists; its public sample questions and a candidate-only 50-question practice exam are the official preparation resources, and the Research Academies are not exam-preparation classes. Independent study aids fill the gap, so check them against the Detailed Content Outline before trusting them.
Common Traps on the Cheat Sheet
- Importing facts from the wrong CHRC. Other credentials share the acronym. Fees, dates, and pass rates for those do not apply here.
- Quoting 2027 prices as current. The $375/$475 initial and $155/$275 renewal rates begin January 1, 2027.
- Assuming a published cut score. None is verified; the standard is Angoff-based.
- Trying to spot the pretest questions. The 20 unscored items are not identified.
- Shortening domain names. Several competitors abbreviate headings. Learn the full names, especially "Internal Reporting Systems" and the long Screening and Evaluation title.
- Treating the exam as open book. It is closed book, with delivery-specific proctoring rules on materials and devices.
- Treating salary as a guaranteed premium. A CHRC-specific pay premium was not verified. The broader 2026 Healthcare Compliance Compensation Survey covers the profession, so see the CHRC salary guide and our analysis of whether the certification is worth it for a careful reading of what the data does and does not show.
Frequently Asked Questions
The exam has 120 multiple-choice questions to be completed in two hours. Of those, 100 are scored and 20 are unidentified, unscored pretest questions, so you should answer every item as though it counts.
The initial exam application fee is $350 for SCCE/HCCA members and $450 for non-members, and an eligible re-exam costs $75. Higher initial fees of $375 and $475 are scheduled to begin January 1, 2027.
The passing standard is established using the Angoff method and applied to the scored questions. A fixed numerical cut score has not been publicly verified, and no official pass rate was found in the issuer's published materials.
Monitoring, Auditing, and Internal Reporting Systems is the largest at 20%, followed by Communication, Education, and Training at 18% and Standards, Policies, and Procedures at 17%.
The credential is valid for two years. Renewal requires 40 CCB CEUs earned in that period with at least 20 live, an application with attestations, and a renewal fee of $145 for members or $265 for non-members, which rises on January 1, 2027. You can also confirm session timing and scheduling details on our CHRC exam dates page.
Keep this sheet beside the Detailed Content Outline, verify any fee or date against the issuer before you pay, and use timed practice to turn the weights above into real recall. For the broader certification picture, our CHRC certification overview is a good next stop.