- The only published ACMA figures are 2022 component rates: RN core 64.9%, RN simulation 60.3%, SW core 50.2%, SW simulation 67.6%.
- Those rates are not a combined pass rate and do not describe the revised 2026 exam.
- The 2026 exam is 110 core questions (90 scored) plus 31 specialty questions across 12 simulation cases.
- Passing means meeting each portion's form-specific, criterion-referenced standard, not a fixed raw percentage.
What the Published Data Actually Says
Candidates searching for an Accredited Case Manager pass rate usually want one tidy number. The honest answer is that the American Case Management Association (ACMA) does not publish one. What it does publish, in its ACM Certification FAQ, is a set of component-level results from 2022. Those are the most concrete figures available, and they come with important limits.
| Credential Track | Exam Portion | 2022 Reported Rate |
|---|---|---|
| ACM-RN | Core examination | 64.9% |
| ACM-RN | Simulation examination | 60.3% |
| ACM-SW | Core examination | 50.2% |
| ACM-SW | Simulation examination | 67.6% |
These four numbers are the entire public record at the time of writing. They are historical, they are split by discipline and by exam portion, and they predate the 2026 revisions to the simulation format. Treat them as context, not as a forecast of your own odds.
Reading Four Component Rates Correctly
The Accredited Case Manager credential is built from two parts: one shared core examination and one discipline-specific simulation examination. Because ACM-RN and ACM-SW candidates take the same core content but different simulations, the data splits naturally into four cells, and each cell tells a different story.
Core versus simulation
For the RN track, the core rate (64.9%) sat slightly above the simulation rate (60.3%). For the SW track the pattern reversed sharply: the core rate was 50.2% while the simulation rate was 67.6%. The SW core figure is the lowest of the four, which is worth noticing if you come from a social-work background and have spent less time with clinical utilization and care-delivery content.
What these numbers cannot tell you
- They are not a combined pass rate. A candidate must satisfy both portions, and the FAQ does not report how many candidates cleared both.
- They do not separate first-time from repeat testers. A rate that mixes both groups can look lower than the odds a well-prepared first-timer faces.
- They do not describe the 2026 forms. The simulation format changed, as covered below.
If you want a broader sense of difficulty beyond these figures, the companion piece How Hard Is the ACM Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 walks through where candidates tend to struggle.
Why There Is No Single ACM Pass Rate
Three structural features of the credential explain why a single headline pass rate would be misleading even if one existed.
Two disciplines, one shared core
ACM-RN and ACM-SW are both retained, and neither credential replaces the other. Both groups sit the same core examination, but their simulation examinations differ.
- RN candidates and SW candidates arrive with different clinical and psychosocial backgrounds.
- A single blended number would hide the fact that the SW core rate and the SW simulation rate diverge by more than 17 percentage points in the 2022 data.
Two portions, scored independently
Passing requires meeting each portion's standard. A candidate can clear the core and miss the simulation, or the reverse, and the retest pricing reflects that: one portion costs less to retake than both.
- Component rates are the only honest way to describe results.
- Your own plan should treat the two portions as two separate targets.
Form-specific, criterion-referenced standards
The passing standard is tied to the form you receive and to a defined competency criterion. It is not a fixed raw-percentage cutoff. That means "you need 70%" style advice does not apply here. See ACM Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass for a fuller explanation of how this works in practice.
What Changed in the 2026 Exam
The most important reason to avoid reading the 2022 numbers as a 2026 prediction is that the exam itself moved. According to the ACMA transition information, the core outline retains an effective date of January 1, 2024, while new multiple-choice simulation forms began on January 5, 2026.
In practical terms, the simulation portion is now delivered as multiple-choice questions attached to simulation cases. Your 2026 handbook specifies the question format explicitly. The handbook also still contains some legacy language about information-gathering and decision-making scoring. If you encounter that text, prioritize the explicit 2026 question-format specification and verify any legacy scoring language before building study habits around it.
Exam Format and How Passing Works
Understanding the structure helps you interpret any pass-rate figure, because the two portions behave differently.
| Component | Question Count | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Core examination | 110 multiple-choice (90 scored, 20 unscored pretest) | 2 hours |
| Specialty simulation examination | 31 multiple-choice across 12 simulation cases | 90 minutes |
| Combined arithmetic total | 141 questions | 210 minutes |
The combined line is simply the sum of the two portions. It does not mean there are 141 core questions. Twenty of the core items are unscored pretest questions, and you will not know which ones, so every question deserves full effort.
Delivery
The exam is delivered through DRC/Pearson VUE, either at a test center or through OnVUE remote proctoring. It is given in English and is based on United States practice, so state-specific or international care-delivery norms are not what you are being tested on. If you are choosing between testing modalities and timing, ACM Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling covers the scheduling mechanics.
The passing standard
To pass, you must meet each portion's form-specific, criterion-referenced standard. Because the standard is tied to the form, the same number of correct answers could represent different outcomes on different forms. This is a deliberate design choice in criterion-referenced testing: the goal is to certify competence against a defined bar, not to rank candidates against each other.
Where the Scored Items Sit
The handbook organizes content into three shared core areas followed by the single specialty-simulation area. Scored items in the core are allocated as 38, 45, and seven. Note that four supplied headings do not mean four core domains, and ACMA does not publish percentage weights, so none should be inferred.
Domain 1: Screening and Assessment
The foundation of the case-management process: identifying patient needs, gathering information, and framing the case.
- Screening for risk, complexity, and psychosocial and clinical needs
- Structured assessment that supports a care plan
Domain 2: Care Coordination, Intervention, and Transition Management
This is the largest core allocation, at 45 scored items. It rewards candidates who understand how care moves across settings.
- Coordinating services across the health-care delivery system
- Planning and executing safe transitions between levels of care
- Selecting and implementing appropriate interventions
Domain 3: Process Improvement and Evaluation
The smallest core area, with seven scored items, but not one to ignore because it is also the easiest to under-prepare.
- Evaluating outcomes and the effectiveness of interventions
- Contributing to quality and process-improvement efforts
Domain 4: Assessment, Care Coordination, and Intervention
This is the specialty-simulation area, where discipline-specific scenarios are tested through the 12 simulation cases and 31 questions. Because RN and SW candidates take different simulations, this is where your professional background shows most clearly.
For a deeper walk through each area and what to expect, see ACM Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas.
Eligibility, Fees, and Retake Math
Pass-rate conversations often skip the practical question: what does a miss cost you? The numbers are specific, and they should shape how you decide when to sit.
Who can sit
- A current RN license, or an accredited social-work bachelor's or master's degree, or a current social-work license.
- One year (2,080 hours) of supervised, paid case-management experience within the health-delivery system.
- Applicants with under two years of experience need supervisor contact information and an attestation.
- Internships do not count toward the experience requirement.
The full picture is in ACM Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Fees
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Examination fee | $359 |
| Expedited scheduling add-on | $46 |
| Retest, both portions | $359 |
| Retest, one portion | $200 |
| Renewal (every four years) | $209 plus 40 CE hours |
Renewal requires 40 continuing-education hours, at least 30 of which must be specific to health-care-delivery-system case management, and the credential is valid for four years. Because a single-portion retest is $200, failing only one portion is meaningfully cheaper than failing both, which is another reason to prepare for the two portions separately. For the full financial picture, read ACM Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Using the Data to Plan Your Preparation
Since the 2022 rates are your only benchmark, the useful move is to translate them into priorities rather than anxiety. One compact plan, tied to the exam's actual structure, looks like this.
Care Coordination, Intervention, and Transition Management
- Start with the largest core allocation (45 scored items) while your energy is highest.
- Work through transitions of care, level-of-care decisions, and service coordination scenarios.
Screening and Assessment
- Cover the 38-item area, focusing on how assessment findings drive the care plan.
- If you are SW-track, give extra time to clinical and utilization content, given the lower 2022 core rate.
Process Improvement and Simulation Practice
- Review the seven-item evaluation area so it does not become an easy miss.
- Practice the 12-case simulation format under the 90-minute limit using multiple-choice questions.
For a fuller plan, see ACM Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and for a condensed refresher the ACM Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts is useful in the final days. When you are ready to test yourself under realistic conditions, try the ACM practice tests and work through timed sets that mirror the two-portion structure.
Key Takeaway
Do not let a single historical percentage decide how hard you study. Treat the core and the simulation as two separate exams, weight your time toward the 45-item coordination and transition area, and verify any legacy scoring language against the 2026 handbook before you rely on it.
If you are still weighing whether the effort is justified, Is the ACM Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 lays out the career case, and you can check your readiness with additional material at the main practice site.
Frequently Asked Questions
ACMA has not published a 2026 pass rate. The only figures in its certification FAQ are 2022 component rates: RN core 64.9%, RN simulation 60.3%, SW core 50.2%, and SW simulation 67.6%. These are neither a combined pass rate nor results for the revised 2026 exam.
No. The four numbers describe different groups and different portions, and ACMA does not report how many candidates passed both portions. An average would be a number nobody measured and should not be treated as a real statistic.
No fixed raw-percentage cutoff is used. Passing requires meeting each portion's form-specific, criterion-referenced standard. The core has 90 scored questions plus 20 unscored pretest items, and the simulation has 31 questions across 12 cases.
You can retest just that portion for $200. Retesting both portions costs $359. This is a strong reason to identify early whether your weaker area is the core or the simulation.
Yes. The core outline retains an effective date of January 1, 2024, and new multiple-choice simulation forms began on January 5, 2026. Prioritize the 2026 handbook's explicit question-format specification over any remaining legacy scoring text.
Start with What Is ACM Certification? for an overview, and see ACM Jobs for the kinds of roles that value the Accredited Case Manager credential.