Ep #163: AANP vs ANCC: An Updated Guide to Choosing Your NP Certification Exam

Welcome to the Real Deal Nurse Practitioner Club, the podcast for nurses who are ready to pass their boards and thrive in their careers as real deal nurse practitioners. I’m Anna and I’m the Director of Nursing Content at Blueprint Test Prep. Whether you’re deep in exam prep or stepping into practice, I’ve got you. It is time to become the confident, knowledgeable NP that you’re meant to be. Let’s dive in. 

Anna: Hey, hey there. Welcome back to the Real Deal Nurse Practitioner Club. I’m Anna, and I have Alex here again, and today we’re tackling one of the most common and, honestly, one of the most stress-inducing questions that we hear from primary care NP students all the time. I think every day in our social communities like on our Facebook and our Instagram page, and that is, which certification exam should I take, ANCC or AANP?

Alex: Hi, everyone. This is such a good topic because the decision can feel way bigger than it actually is. Students often worry that picking the wrong exam could affect their career when, in reality, that’s not how this works at all. We’ll say this upfront: there is no wrong choice. Passing either exam makes you a certified nurse practitioner.

Anna: Exactly. But I know I remember like when I was studying and preparing for my exams, my program did not tell me the difference. I was completely on my own looking these up, and I even remember asking my clinical coordinator like, “Hey, which one should I take?” And they’d either give an answer with absolutely no reasoning or not respond at all. So if that is you, this episode is going to be what you need. We are going to break this down in a calm and practical and up-to-date way.

And so this is up to date as of April 2026. I know we had a past episode on this topic, but exams change. So we are going to talk today about what the exams have in common, how they differ, and how to decide which one is right for you, because this is an individual choice.

All right, let’s start with the big picture. Both the AANP and ANCC certification exams exist to answer one core question: is this person safe and competent to practice as an entry-level nurse practitioner? That is it.

Alex: Yes, neither exam is trying to trick you. Neither is trying to rank you against other test takers. And neither is trying to test in really obscure gray areas. Both exams are designed to assess major safety points and entry-level competency. And once you pass either one, remember, you earn the exact same thing: NP certification.

Anna: Absolutely. And I will just throw in there, both Alex and I have taken and passed both the ANCC and the AANP. So we have personal experience with these exams, myself with the FNP exam and Alex with the Adult-Gero exam.

Now, from an employer standpoint and from a licensing standpoint and even from a credentialing standpoint, these are equivalent. So with that being said, we’re going to talk about the similarities because there’s a lot. 

Both are computer-based exams. They are taken at approved testing centers. They last between three and three and a half hours. They’re scored electronically, and report results are pass/fail. There are no percentile rankings here. Your score is not compared to other test takers. You are just measured against a standard. You are not measured against other testers or other classmates, and sometimes you don’t even know what your numerical score is.

Alex: Absolutely. And both exams also include what we call pre-test questions, so 15 to 25, depending on the exam, which are questions that don’t actually count towards your score but are mixed in with the scored questions. The certifying bodies are collecting data on these pre-test questions before making them official questions, basically. 

And here’s the important part: you don’t know which ones these are. So the rule is simple: treat every question like it counts. Both organizations also provide exam blueprints, which outline the content areas covered. These are incredibly helpful for guiding your studying and something we strongly recommend reviewing.

Anna: And finally, both ANCC and AANP offer testing accommodations for candidates with documented needs. So if you had accommodations in school, it is worth looking into that process, but please look into it early because it can take some time.

All right, now let’s get into the differences between these exams, because this is where that test anxiety can spike a little bit. The biggest thing I think I hear primary care NP students say is ANCC has professional role, and AANP is only clinical.

Alex: And while that’s partially true, it’s oversimplified. Yes, the ANCC exam blueprint does include more clearly defined professional practice components, things like ethics, legal considerations, research, evidence-based practice, health systems, policies. But the truth is, both exams can include non-clinical content.

Anna: And when prepping for the AANP exam, you still need to understand billing and coding basics, Medicare and Medicaid, the scope of practice, and legal and ethical responsibilities. You just might not be asked as many questions over it. But fortunately, this content is basic and it’s straightforward, and it’s essential knowledge for safe practice anyways.

Alex: Yeah, so the idea that you can completely avoid professional role test questions by choosing the AANP exam just isn’t accurate.

Anna: Now, I want to circle back to those exam blueprints that Alex mentioned. The content domains are grouped a tiny bit differently for each certification exam, but the core clinical knowledge, the assessment, the diagnosis, the planning, the management, all of that overlaps significantly. And when people ask us, “Well, which exam is harder?” the honest answer is that neither exam is inherently harder. They are just very different in emphasis and in style.

Alex: For sure. Another thing students fixate on is pass rates. And while pass rates can give some general insight, they do not tell the whole story.

Anna: Yeah, pass rates are influenced, right, by who is taking the exam, when they are taking it, how well they were prepared, and whether it’s their first attempt, right? They are not a guarantee of difficulty or ease for an individual student. I will say we may have new data by the time this podcast episode is released because around March or April is when the previous year is released. But as of last year, the FNP pass rates for first-time test takers for AANP and ANCC were very, very similar.

Alex: Yeah, and what matters far more than the exam you choose is how well you prepare and whether your prep aligns with that exam blueprint.

Anna: Yeah, that’s a big reason I always tell people, “Please do not compare your experience with an exam to someone else’s.” If you hear someone took one of the exams and they say it was so hard, that doesn’t mean that you are going to find it that way. Maybe they didn’t prepare the same way you did. Maybe their schooling was different than yours. Or maybe they just do better with a different style question and they prefer one exam over the other. 

So let’s get to the real question. How do you decide which exam to take? Again, this isn’t something to stress over. Look at the logistics, look at the timing, including test availability, application timelines, and personal schedules, as these can all play a role. Look at the exam blueprints, look at the renewal requirements.

Alex: Yes, ultimately, just go with your gut. Pick an exam and don’t look back. You only need to pass one.

Anna: Yeah, and I do want to address something else that’s important: not passing on the first attempt does not mean you can’t become a great NP. Both ANCC and AANP allow retesting, and both provide performance feedback reports to help guide your next study plan. And if you don’t pass one, you can also go ahead and just take the other. 

And if you pass it, you are still a real deal NP, because again, some people like one question style over the other. We have seen countless students pass on a second attempt and go on to thrive in practice and be some of the best NPs we know. So just keep in mind sometimes the educational contact hours are required before you can sign up to retest for the same exam.

Alex: Yes, and the great news is no matter which exam you choose, our prep resources are designed to support both ANCC and AANP test takers. And that goes for our live courses, self-paced video courses, and our question banks. We carefully look at both test blueprints and make sure they are well-covered in everything we offer, from clinical to professional role topics.

Anna: Yeah, so before we leave, I want to say this. Passing either exam, ANCC or AANP, it opens the same doors. If you don’t pass one and then you pass the other, your same doors are open. Passing one leads to licensure, and it leads to your career as a real deal NP.

Alex: Yes, there is no wrong decision here, only the decision that fits you best.

Anna: If you are feeling overwhelmed, take a breath. Talk with your program if you have support there. You can talk to our Facebook community and see what other learners are saying. Review the blueprints. Ultimately, just choose the path that helps you feel confident walking into exam day and don’t look back. Don’t start second-guessing yourself.

Now, if you are listening to this episode and you are starting to prep, stay tuned for our next few big episodes on this podcast where we are going to dive into some big exam topics. So in our next big episode, we are covering alternative antibiotics, which the exams, especially the AANP, like they love to test on it. 

And then in May, we are probably going to jump into some big topics like COPD and diabetes. And of course, we’ll keep doing our little mini episodes in between. But thanks for hanging out with us today, and we’ll see you next time.

Thanks for listening to another episode of the Real Deal Nurse Practitioner Club. If you want more information about the different types of support that we offer to students and new nurse practitioners, you can visit npreviews, with an S, dot com. We’ll see you next week.