- The CPDN is issued by BONENT and consists of 150 multiple-choice questions with a 3-hour limit.
- Nursing Process is 60% of the blueprint and Education is 20%, so those two domains drive your result.
- Passing means a scaled score of 70 on a 1-100 scale, not a verified 70% raw score.
- Fees are $235 for paper testing and $255 for computer-based testing in the United States.
What the CPDN Credential Actually Is
The Certified Peritoneal Dialysis Nurse credential is awarded by the Board of Nephrology Examiners Nursing and Technology (BONENT). It validates the knowledge of licensed nurses who care for patients treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD), the home-based modality in which the peritoneal membrane acts as the dialyzing surface. It is not the BONENT technician examination (CHT), and it is not any other dialysis-nursing certification that happens to share letters with it. If you are still sorting out terminology, our explainers on what CPDN certification is and what CPDN stands for cover the basics.
Because the exam is built around PD nursing practice, it rewards candidates who work with patients, catheters, exchanges, and home-training programs, not those who memorize isolated facts. Expect scenario-driven multiple-choice questions that ask what a nurse should assess, do, teach, or report in a given situation.
Eligibility and the Application Packet
BONENT sets two eligibility routes depending on your license type. Both require active participation in an ESRD facility, and both require a valid nursing license.
| Requirement | RN Route | LPN/LVN Route |
|---|---|---|
| License | Valid nursing license | Valid license |
| Nephrology experience | At least 1 year | At least 2 years |
| Facility involvement | Active participation in an ESRD facility | Active participation in an ESRD facility |
Applicants who are currently unemployed may still qualify. BONENT's published exception allows qualifying unemployed applicants to document their experience through their immediate past supervisor. For a fuller walkthrough of prerequisites, see our guide to CPDN requirements and how to qualify.
The Two Signed References
Your application needs two signed, dated references: one from your immediate supervisor and one from another nephrology professional. Treat this as a logistics task with real lead time. Supervisors rotate, medical directors travel, and a missing date or signature can stall an otherwise complete packet. Ask early, tell each reference exactly what BONENT requires, and confirm the forms come back signed and dated before you submit.
Fees, Paper vs. CBT, and Scheduling Rules
BONENT offers two delivery methods: paper-and-pencil testing and center-based computer-based testing (CBT). The content is the same; the logistics differ.
| Feature | Paper-and-Pencil | Computer-Based (CBT) |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. exam fee | $235 | $255 |
| Questions | 150 multiple-choice | 150 multiple-choice |
| Time allowed | 3 hours | 3 hours |
| Scheduling | Fixed administration | Test within six months of your confirmation letter |
| Location | Paper administration site | Center-based testing site |
CBT candidates locate testing centers through BONENT's official CBT center directory, which is hosted at smttest.com. The six-month window that begins with your confirmation letter is a hard boundary, so schedule your sitting early enough to leave room for a reschedule if life intervenes. The CBT interface lets you review questions and change answers, which matters for pacing strategy discussed below.
The fee figures above are the current United States prices from BONENT's eligibility and fees page; older handbook pricing is superseded by that page. For the complete money picture, including the annual maintenance fee, read our CPDN certification cost breakdown, and for timing details see CPDN exam dates, windows, and deadlines.
Inside the Blueprint: Four Domains, Unequal Weights
The four domains below are formal examination objectives with official weights published by BONENT in its Detail of Examination Content. They describe what the exam measures, not how a prep course should divide your hours. The imbalance is dramatic: one domain alone accounts for most of your score.
Domain 1: Nursing Process (60%)
This is the exam. Roughly 90 of the 150 questions fall here, covering the clinical reasoning cycle applied to PD patients: assessment, diagnosis, planning, intervention, and evaluation.
- Peritoneal dialysis modalities and prescriptions, including how exchange schedules relate to patient needs
- Catheter exit-site and tunnel assessment, and recognition of infection signs
- Peritonitis presentation, cloudy effluent, and the nursing response, including specimen handling
- Fluid balance, ultrafiltration problems, and hypertension or edema assessment
- Lab interpretation and complication recognition across the ESRD population
- Medication considerations in kidney failure
Domain 3: Education (20%)
PD is a self-care therapy, so patient and caregiver teaching is not an add-on; it is core practice. About 30 questions test whether you can teach safely and effectively.
- Training patients and caregivers in aseptic exchange technique
- Teaching recognition and reporting of infection signs and other warning symptoms
- Adapting instruction to literacy, vision, dexterity, and cognitive differences
- Assessing learning, reinforcing training, and handling retraining needs
Domain 2: Administration (10%)
Program-level responsibilities that a PD nurse touches even when not in a management role.
- Documentation, record keeping, and regulatory expectations
- Quality improvement and the nurse's role in monitoring outcomes
- Care coordination across the interdisciplinary team
Domain 4: Professional Development (10%)
Standards of practice, ethics, scope, and ongoing competence.
- Scope-of-practice boundaries and professional responsibility
- Ethical considerations in dialysis care and patient autonomy
- Continuing education and credential maintenance
For a deeper look at how questions map to each area, see our full CPDN exam domains guide.
How Scoring Works
BONENT reports results on a scaled score, and passing requires a scaled score of 70 on a 1-100 scale. That is not the same as getting 70% of questions right. Scaling adjusts for the difficulty of the particular question set, so the raw number of correct answers needed to reach a scaled 70 is not something candidates should assume or calculate. Plan to know the material well rather than to hit a guessed percentage.
This also means you should be skeptical of any source that claims a precise raw-score cutoff. Our page on the CPDN passing score goes into what is and is not publicly established, and the CPDN pass rate analysis explains why published pass-rate claims deserve careful reading.
Exam-Day Rules
The exam is closed book. You will need your confirmation documents and approved identification. Personal books, calculators, and electronic devices are prohibited, so any calculation that appears (for example, reasoning about fluid volumes or exchange totals) must be done by hand or in your head.
- Bring: confirmation documents and approved ID, checked against BONENT's day-of-exam instructions beforehand.
- Leave behind: study notes, phones, smartwatches, and calculators.
- Pace yourself: 150 questions in 3 hours averages 72 seconds per question. Answer the straightforward items quickly and mark harder ones for review; CBT lets you revisit and change answers.
Sequencing Your Preparation by Domain
Because the blueprint is so lopsided, your calendar should be too. The sequence below assumes an eight-week runway and ties each block to the weight of the domain it covers. Adjust it to your own clinical strengths; a nurse who handles PD training daily may compress the Education block, while one who works mostly in-center hemodialysis may need extra clinical time.
Nursing Process (60%)
- Cover modalities, prescriptions, and exchange mechanics first
- Spend dedicated sessions on catheter care, exit-site assessment, and peritonitis response
- Work through fluid balance, ultrafiltration, labs, and complications
- Take scenario-style practice questions weekly to test clinical judgment
Education (20%)
- Review training content for patients and caregivers
- Practice questions on adapting teaching to barriers and verifying competence
Administration and Professional Development (20% combined)
- Documentation, quality improvement, scope of practice, and ethics
- Short, high-yield review rather than a deep dive
Mixed Review
- Timed full-length practice sessions at 150 questions per 3 hours
- Return to missed topics, weighted toward Nursing Process
For a complete method, see our CPDN study guide, and keep the CPDN cheat sheet handy for last-week review. If you want to gauge how demanding the exam feels before you commit to a test date, our article on how hard the CPDN exam is sets realistic expectations. You can also try timed sets on the CPDN Exam Prep practice test site to experience the question style and pacing firsthand.
Key Takeaway
Put your hardest effort into Nursing Process and Education. If your practice results show weakness in either, fix that before polishing the smaller domains, because those two represent 80% of the exam.
Renewal Every Four Years
Certification renews every four years. Under the 2026 Recertification Booklet, effective January 1, 2026, routine recertification requires 40 contact hours, including at least 30 nephrology-related Group A hours. Two alternatives exist: you can retake the examination, or use BONENT's once-in-a-lifetime continuing-education waiver. Note that maintenance fees remain payable under the waiver.
| Renewal Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Cycle length | Every four years |
| Contact hours | 40 total, with at least 30 nephrology-related Group A hours |
| Alternative routes | Examination retesting, or the once-in-a-lifetime CE waiver |
| Annual maintenance fee | $65 per year, or $240 when four years are prepaid |
| Processing fee | None additional for routine recertification when maintenance requirements are satisfied; the examination route requires its exam fee |
Prepaying four years of maintenance costs $240 versus $260 paid annually, a modest saving. Start logging qualifying education early in your cycle rather than scrambling in year four, and keep certificates organized by category.
Where the Credential Leads
PD nurses work in home dialysis programs, dialysis clinics with PD units, hospital-based nephrology services, and training-focused roles where patient education is central. Whether the credential pays off depends on your employer, region, and role, so rather than quote unverified figures, use our analyses of CPDN earnings, CPDN jobs, and whether the certification is worth it to evaluate the decision against your own situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Board of Nephrology Examiners Nursing and Technology (BONENT) awards the Certified Peritoneal Dialysis Nurse credential. It is separate from BONENT's technician examination and from other dialysis-nursing certifications.
The exam has 150 multiple-choice questions with a 3-hour time limit. It is offered as paper-and-pencil testing or as center-based computer-based testing.
You need a scaled score of 70 on a 1-100 scale. This is a scaled score, not a verified 70% raw-score threshold, so avoid planning around a specific number of correct answers.
In the United States, the fee is $235 for paper testing and $255 for computer-based testing. Always confirm against BONENT's current eligibility and fees page, which supersedes older printed pricing.
Renew every four years with 40 contact hours (at least 30 nephrology-related Group A hours), or use the exam retest or once-in-a-lifetime CE waiver alternatives. Annual maintenance costs $65, or $240 if you prepay four years.