The NHA Phlebotomy Exam

There is no single phlebotomy certification test. Several organizations certify phlebotomists, each with its own exam, eligibility rules and content outline. This page describes one of them: the Certified Phlebotomy Technician exam from the National Healthcareer Association (NHA).

Before you register for any phlebotomy exam, find out which certification your employer, your training program or your state expects. The facts on this page apply to NHA's exam only.

Start with the requirement that sets this exam apart from a purely written one. You must be able to show at least 30 successful venipunctures and 10 capillary or finger sticks, and NHA specifies that they are performed on live individuals. If your program is short on live draws, sort that out before you plan an exam date.

Two other conditions apply. One is a high school diploma or its equivalent; NHA offers a provisional certification to candidates who will have it within 18 months. The other is a route into the field: a phlebotomy program at an accredited or state-recognized school, or supervised phlebotomy work, a year of it in the last three or two in the last five.

2 hours for 120 questions, which is one a minute. Your score comes from 100 of them; NHA uses the remaining 20 to try out new questions.

Only one task in the test plan says "calculate": working out how much blood can safely be drawn from a child or an older patient. A PSI-delivered sitting has had an on-screen calculator since June 1, 2026, and a whiteboard in place of scratch paper. We could not confirm the tools at a school-run session, so ask your proctor.

NHA launched a new version of this exam on January 7, 2026. It is built on a test plan drawn from a job analysis NHA completed in 2024, and NHA's FAQ says there was no pilot scoring period for it.

For you, the practical consequence is about study materials. Anything written for the earlier exam may be organized around a different set of domains, so check it against the five domains below before you rely on it.

Five domains: Routine Blood Collections (28%), Safety and Compliance (26%), Patient Preparation (20%), Processing (14%) and Special Collections (12%). With 100 scored questions, each percentage point is one question, so the weights are also the question counts.

The test plan adds a layer that belongs to no single domain. It lists 23 statements of core knowledge that can be tested anywhere: the role of the phlebotomist, terminology, the components of blood and blood groups, the anatomy of the heart and vessels, how bleeding stops, errors that happen before a specimen reaches the analyzer, asepsis and precautions, privacy, communication, labeling and documentation.

What to study in each domain is the subject of the separate study guide, linked at the end of this page.

Your school may proctor the exam itself. Otherwise it runs through PSI: at one of its test centers, or on your own computer with a live remote proctor. Your program, or NHA if you register on your own, will tell you which you can book.

This page gives neither number, because we could not read either one on NHA's own site. The passing standard is in NHA's candidate handbook. For the fee, ask your phlebotomy program first, since it may already have paid it; otherwise NHA's store lists it.

You can sit again 30 days after a first failed attempt, and 30 days after a second. A third failed attempt brings a one-year wait. You register and pay the exam fee afresh each time, and NHA's candidate handbook is the authority if the rule changes.