CEN · Certified Emergency Nurse
Pass the CEN — or get every dollar back. Guaranteed.
Don't pass? Full refund — and Lifetime pays your $200 retake fee
Full-length 175-question papers at the real exam length. Know exactly what to study and when you're ready.
From $59 · 7-day, 30-day or Lifetime
- 1,400 exam-style questions, every one with a written explanation
- Every flashcard deck on spaced repetition — what you miss comes back sooner
- A readiness score that tells you when you're actually ready to sit
- Works offline — study anywhere, no signal needed


What’s inside your study portal
The full CEN Fast Track Study System.
One system, paced to your exam date. Every practice question, every flashcard deck, full-length mocks, narrated audio, Miles the AI tutor and the whole study guide — every pass opens all of it, backed by the SurePass Guarantee.
- Every practice question — Tutor, Timed and Quiz modes — and every flashcard deck
- Full-length mock exams, narrated audio on every chapter, and Miles, the AI tutor
- Your CEN cheat sheet — the highest-yield facts as a PDF, instant to download
- The whole study guide — every chapter, not a preview — as the depth behind the questions
- Your readiness meter and study plan, paced to your exam date, on every device
The Capital Prep Method
What to study, when to study it & the exact moment you're ready.
Cut out the months of studying you don't need. CEN prep that adapts every day — no guessing what to do next.
SurePass readiness
A readiness score built from your own answers — not a progress bar. It moves as you answer, and recent work counts most, which is what you want when you are studying in the gaps between shifts.


Anywhere Mode · Study from your pocket
Ten minutes of scrolling — or ten minutes closer to passing.
Your phone is already in your hand. Two taps, no signal needed.
- Quick Ten — One tap. Ten questions, with the rationale on every one.
- It downloads itself — No button, no setup, nothing to remember.
- No bars? Still works — Airplane mode, the subway, a cabin in the woods.
- Nothing gets lost. Ever. — Saves as you tap, syncs when you're back.
Flashcards and practice questions work offline. The study guide, audio and full-length mocks need a connection.

Flashcards that work offline
Before you decide how to study
Nearly halffail the CEN exam
BCEN publishes the counts itself, as its accreditation requires. Of the 8,172 CEN exams it reported as passed or failed in calendar 2025, 3,974 did not pass. It is also BCEN's largest program by a distance — 8,889 exams delivered that year, and 41,636 nurses currently holding the credential — so this is not a small-sample artefact.
Source: BCEN’s own published certification statistics (calendar year 2025).
That is exactly why we guarantee it.

Pass the CEN — or get your money back.
- Every pass: full refund — and you keep Lifetime access, free.
- Lifetime (SurePass Pro): we also pay your $200 BCEN retake fee.
From $59 · 7-day, 30-day or Lifetime
What you get with each CEN pass
Every pass includes the full study system. Only the length of access and the guarantee payout change.
Lowest price
7-Day Pass
one-time · 7 days of access
Less than the BCEN retake fee ($200)
Cram-ready full access for the final week before your exam.
Click any feature to see it.
- Retake fee not covered
- Full refund if you don't pass
- Keep full access, free, until you do
One payment · no subscription · secure checkout by Stripe
Strong guarantee
30-Day Pass
one-time · 30 days of access
Less than the BCEN retake fee ($200)
A full month to prep — backed by our pass guarantee.
Click any feature to see it.
- Retake fee not covered
- Full refund if you don't pass
- Keep full access, free, until you do
One payment · no subscription · secure checkout by Stripe
Best guarantee
Lifetime
one-time · never expires
Less than the BCEN retake fee ($200)
Study at your pace, forever — backed by our pass guarantee.
Click any feature to see it.
- We pay your $200 retake fee
- Full refund if you don't pass
- Lifetime access already included
One payment · no subscription · secure checkout by Stripe
- Instant access
- Full study system with every pass
Don't pass? Full refund. On Lifetime, your retake fee is covered too. Terms apply
Questions before you choose? Ask an advisor →
CEN · Features and Pricing
How Capital Prep compares
Tap any i to learn more about a feature.
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Competitor prices read 26 Sep 2026 — check before you buy. Trademarks are their owners'; Capital Prep is not affiliated with or endorsed by BCEN.
Worried about how you'll do on the CEN?
Talk to an advisor.
Ask about the guarantee, which pass fits, or how the study system works. We read every message and reply within a few hours.
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Questions, answered
What's inside the study portal?
The full Fast Track Study System — every practice question, every flashcard deck, full-length mock exams, narrated audio, Miles the AI tutor, and the entire study guide, every chapter readable and highlightable. The cheat sheet — the highest-yield facts as a PDF — is in the study portal on every pass, with instant access to download it. Every pass opens all of it, backed by the SurePass Guarantee.
How does the SurePass Guarantee work?
Score 80%+ on one full-length mock, sit the real exam, and if you don't pass we refund what you paid. On Lifetime, clear two mocks with your readiness meter at "Getting close" or above and we also pay your full $200 retake fee. You file the claim in your study portal with your official BCEN score report.
How many full-length mocks do I get?
Four scored full-length sittings, each a brand-new 175-question paper weighted to all eleven content areas and timed to the real three hours. Practice questions and timed practice are unlimited and never use one. The pool is the whole bank, eight distinct papers' worth at that length, so every sitting draws fresh. For scale: the certifying body's own practice exam draws 150 items — not even the real form length — and allows three timed attempts.
Which pass should I buy?
Match it to your exam date. Your BCEN eligibility gives you a 90-day window to test in, so the 30-Day is the shape of most people's run at it. Sitting within a week, the 7-Day is built for that. Lifetime if your date is not set yet, or if you want it still there in four years when you recertify — and worth knowing: if you do fail, BCEN makes you wait 90 days before you can try again, which is a long time to have lost your study system.
What does the exam itself cost, and what does a retake cost?
$380 paid to BCEN, or $285 if you are an ENA member, and $195 for active-duty service members, reservists and veterans. A retest is $200 — BCEN discounts it, and unlike the initial fee it is a single figure with no membership split. Two clocks matter more than the price: you must wait 90 days after a failure before you can test again, and the discounted $200 retest is only available for one year from your initial exam date, after which a second attempt is a fresh $380 application. That is why our Lifetime tier covers your full $200 retake fee if you qualify and don't pass.
What is on the exam?
175 items in 180 minutes, of which 150 are scored and 25 are unscored pretest items, plus five familiarisation questions before the timer starts. Eleven content areas, and the scored items are spread thinly: Cardiovascular Emergencies is the largest at 18 of the 150, then Respiratory and Neurological at 17 each, Medical at 15, Gastrointestinal at 14, Mental Health and Environment/Toxicology/Communicable Diseases at 13 each, Professional Issues at 12, Musculoskeletal and Wound at 11, and Genitourinary/Gynecology/Obstetrical and Head, Eye, Ear, Nose, Throat at 10 each. Nothing is safe to skip.
What score do I need to pass?
BCEN publishes this outright, and as a raw number rather than a scaled score: you must answer 99 of the 150 scored items correctly, which is 66%. BCEN adds two things worth carrying with it — the passing score is not set on a curve, and it is subject to change every few years after each role delineation study, so check the current figure when you apply. Our mocks are scored against that same 66% bar; the guarantee has its own, higher qualifying score, and the page says which is which everywhere it appears.
How many CEN exams end in a fail?
Nearly half, and BCEN publishes the counts itself every year in line with its accreditation. Of the 8,172 CEN exams BCEN reported as passed or failed in calendar 2025, 3,974 did not pass. BCEN's table also prints a larger "exams delivered" figure of 8,889 without explaining the difference, so if you divide by that instead you get 44.7% — either way it is the hardest published pass rate of any exam we prepare people for.
What about the certifying body's own review course and practice exam?
BCEN sells both and they are worth knowing about. The CEN Review Course: Essentials of Emergency Nursing is $250, follows the content outline, carries 21 CEs and nearly 250 practice questions, and expires one year after you buy it. The CEN Practice Exam is $50 for 90 days or $75 for 365 days, draws 150 items at random from a bank, gives you three timed and three non-timed attempts, and carries 3 CEs. BCEN is unusually straight about what they are: it states that the course "does not provide any unfair advantage in passing the exam because there is no proprietary information shared within these lessons", that it "does not endorse any certification exam review resources", and that it "makes no guarantees as to the success of a candidate". They are good products from the people who write the exam. They are also small, they expire, and they carry no guarantee.
BCEN sells a second attempt. How does that compare?
It is called BCEN Test Assurance: $70, added to your registration at application time, and it makes your second attempt free instead of $200. BCEN prices the saving itself at "up to $130". It has to be bought before you test, it is non-refundable and non-transferable if you pass, the 90-day wait still applies, and the second attempt is forfeited if you do not file a retest application within one year — "BCEN cannot extend this date," in its own words. It comes with no content, no questions and no guide. Our Lifetime tier includes that same retake cover, plus a full refund of what you paid us, plus the whole study system. Worth saying plainly: at $70 the board's cover is cheaper than our Lifetime pass, because it is only the cover.
What about ENA's review course?
ENA — the Emergency Nurses Association, the specialty society rather than the certifying board — sells the course most candidates are pointed at. CEN Online Review 3.0 is $164 for members and $205 for everyone else: ten interactive self-paced modules, 18.0 CNE contact hours, a 150-item pre- and post-test, and access that expires on 31 December 2027. ENA also publishes the CEN Review Manual, 6th Edition, with 1,100 items through the manual and two 175-question digital practice exams, and bundles the two. They are taught content and they are good; they are a different job from a question bank with a readiness meter, and a candidate who does both is better prepared.
Does this get me continuing-education credit?
No, and it is worth being straight about it. BCEN's own review course carries 21 CEs and ENA's carries 18.0 CNE contact hours, because both are accredited CE providers. We are not one, so nothing here earns you contact hours. If you need CEs for recertification as well as a pass, you need a CE provider alongside this — what we sell is preparation for the exam itself.
Am I eligible to sit the CEN?
BCEN requires a current, unencumbered RN licence or equivalent. Two years of emergency nursing experience is recommended and, in BCEN's own words, "this is not required" — there are no logged hours to accumulate and no employer sign-off, which makes this one of the more open specialty certifications to sit. Check BCEN's current eligibility requirements before you apply.
What happens when my pass expires?
Your account stays; the paid features stop. Your notes, highlights and flashcard history are all still there if you come back, and Lifetime never expires.
Are the questions like the real exam?
Every item is written to the content outline effective 6 July 2026, weighted content area by content area against BCEN's own scored-item counts, with four options and one best answer — the same shape as the sample questions BCEN publishes. Every key was recomputed from its own stem before the explanation was read. What we will not do is claim a number we have not measured: where we have run a construction audit we publish it, and on this bank it did not come back clean, so no page here claims that it did.
My exam date moved. Does the plan adjust?
Yes. Change the date and the Game Plan rebuilds around the new one — it works backwards from your date, so a move forward compresses it and a move back spreads it out. Nothing is lost.
Can I use it on my phone, and does it work offline?
Yes to both. Add it to your home screen and it behaves like an app. Your due flashcards and a set of practice questions download automatically, so you can revise with no signal. The whole study guide downloads too, narrated audio included; scored mocks and the tutor still need a connection.
Do you offer refunds if I change my mind?
Yes, separately from the pass guarantee: 24 hours on the 7-Day Pass, 48 hours on the 30-Day Pass, or 72 hours on Lifetime, measured from your purchase (or from your upgrade, if you upgraded) — no questions asked, as long as you haven't sat your exam yet. EEA and UK buyers also keep their 14-day statutory right. The SurePass Guarantee is the other promise — that one is about your exam result, not about changing your mind.
Why are SurePass guarantees limited?
Because we honor them. Every guarantee is a real financial commitment we may genuinely pay out, so a limited number opens for this exam each day. The allocation resets at midnight in your own time zone, and the counter shows how many of today's are still open.
Have questions or concerns?
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Every CEN pass carries the guarantee — pick yours and keep the whole system open.
From $59 · 7-day, 30-day or Lifetime








