NAB NHA Exam: Practice Test and Study Tips

A useful NAB NHA exam practice test starts from the two exams NAB actually publishes, not from a single mixed quiz. NAB’s exam information page lists CORE as 100 scored questions, 25 pretest questions, and 125 total, with a seat time of 150 minutes. The NHA line of service exam is 60 scored questions, 15 pretest questions, and 75 total, with a seat time of 90 minutes. Your state board has to approve you. NAB says it cannot approve an NHA application. Practice for both on the NAB NHA exam practice test only after you know which exams your state requires.

I am Chris Groves, a licensed nursing home administrator. I wrote this note, and I wrote the practice questions. Neither one is a NAB publication. NAB’s pages are the source for the counts, the seat times, the combo fee, the attempt limit, and the way scores are released. If a number is not on those pages, it is not in this article.

Seat time is longer than the questions

NAB is explicit about the clock. Seat time includes time to read the welcome, the non-disclosure agreement, and the post-test questions. The time you have to answer the exam questions stays the same whether or not you read those other sections. When you practice, time the questions. When you sit the real exam, expect the appointment to include the extra sections. Do not build a practice timer that pretends the welcome screen is part of your question count.

Pretest items are in both exams: 25 on CORE and 15 on the NHA line of service. They are part of the total, and the page does not say they are scored. Study as if every item on the screen could be one of the scored ones, because you will not be sorting them during the exam.

The same line-of-service counts apply to RCAL and HCBS. A nursing home candidate is usually looking at CORE plus the NHA line of service. Confirm that with your state board before you pay. NAB tells candidates to consult the board about which exams are required. Applying for the wrong pair is an expensive way to discover the difference.

The fee, the attempt limit, and the handbook

Effective February 1, 2026, NAB lists a CORE plus NHA combo application at $480. The same page lists a CORE plus RCAL combo at $480. If you apply for the incorrect exam and need to withdraw, NAB says a 40 percent processing fee per application is withheld from any refund. Read the Exam Candidate Handbook before you submit the application. The handbook is where NAB tells you to look for structure, fees, scheduling, and withdrawals.

Effective January 1, 2026, NAB limits attempts during an examination cycle that runs from July 1 to June 30. CORE, NHA, and RCAL exams allow up to four attempts per cycle. HCBS exams allow up to three. The count resets each July 1. The page says the exam content will not change because of that limit. Four attempts is a ceiling, not a study plan. Missing three of them because you sat before you were ready is a hard way to use a cycle.

You cannot schedule until you have submitted an exam application on NAB’s site and your state has approved it. NAB says it does not approve exam applications that sit under state jurisdiction. After approval, the scheduling note in the email or Pearson VUE at 800-834-1426 is the path NAB prints. ADA accommodations have to be requested when you submit the application, not after.

How the score comes back

NAB’s score interpretation page says every candidate gets a preliminary PASS or FAIL immediately after the exam. That preliminary report is not the detailed score report. The detailed report is available after the state board or agency releases the score. The detailed report is the one that shows where you were strong and where you were not. If you need to sit again inside the attempt limit, wait for that report before you guess which domain to restudy.

NAB also says all examination content reflects current practice, and that questions are referenced to the recommended reference list. NAB does not recommend one single book. I will not name a favorite textbook as if NAB had ranked it. Use the reference list on NAB’s site, then practice explaining a rule in a sentence a surveyor would recognize.

How I would practice

• Confirm CORE, NHA, or both with your state board before you pay the combo fee.
• Practice 100 CORE items and 60 NHA items as separate sittings. Those are the scored counts.
• Leave room in the appointment for the welcome and the agreement. Do not treat 150 minutes as 150 minutes of questions.
• After a preliminary result, read the detailed report when the state releases it, then spend the next attempt on the weak domain.
• Count your attempts against the July-to-June cycle so a fourth try is a choice, not a surprise.

NAB sells its own study material. Use it if you want NAB’s material. The practice set below is mine. It is not NAB’s exam, and it is not a copy of NAB’s items. A practice question that teaches the rule is useful. A practice question that pretends to be a leaked item is not, and I do not write those.

A practice set sized to the two exams

NHA Ready: NAB has 408 original practice questions for CORE and the NHA line of service, with timed practice and Drive Mode. Pro is $69 once. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by NAB. The shop page collects the NAB NHA exam practice test and study tips in one place, including the link into the app. Five free questions a day keep the domains in front of you between the longer timed sittings.

Sources

• NAB exam information: question counts, seat time, combo fee, and attempt limits
• NAB Exam Candidate Handbook
• NAB exam score interpretation: preliminary result and the later detailed report

Questions

NHA Ready: NAB is my practice set for CORE and the NHA line of service. Five questions are free each day. Try 5 free questions a day

NHA Ready: NAB practice test

Talk with Chris or call (828) 490-9271.