CDCES

Thecertifieddiabetescareandeducationspecialist(Cdces®)Exam

The CDCES exam is developed and administered by the Certification Board for Diabetes Care and Education (CBDCE). It measures the knowledge a practicing diabetes care and education specialist needs to assess people with diabetes and prediabetes, plan and deliver person-centered education, support self-management, and practice within professional standards. The content outline comes from a practice analysis of working specialists.

Exam Format

The exam contains 175 multiple-choice questions in 4 hours, which allows about 82 seconds per question. 150 questions are scored; the other 25 are unscored pretest questions being evaluated for future exams. They are mixed in with the scored items and are not identified, so answer every question as if it counts. Each question has four answer options and one best answer. Many questions describe a person with diabetes (age, type, medications, glucose data, labs, or statements) and ask which assessment, teaching approach, calculation, or action is most appropriate.

The Exam Content Outline

The CBDCE Exam Content Outline divides the 150 scored questions into three domains. Care and Education Interventions is by far the largest, and within it, person-centered education on self-care behaviors (nutrition, activity, medications, monitoring, complications, problem solving, and living with diabetes) accounts for 58 questions on its own.

Domain	ContentAreas
I Assessment .	A Physical and psychosocial (12); B Self -management behaviors and knowledge (15); C . . .
37questions·about25%	Learning(10)
II CareandEducationInterventions .	A Diseaseprocessandapproachtotreatment(22);B Individualizededucationplan(17);C . . .
105questions·70%	Person-centered education on self -care behaviors (58): nutrition principles and guidelines ,
	physicalactivity medicationmanagement monitoringandinterpretation acutecomplications , , , ,
	chroniccomplicationsandcomorbidities problemsolving andlivingwithdiabetesand , ,
	prediabetes; D Evaluation documentation and follow-up (8) . , ,
III StandardsandPractices .	Professionalstandardsandpracticesfordiabetescareandeducation includingDSMES ,
8questions·about5%	standards coverage rules evidence-based practice and professional and ethical conduct , , ,

Eligibility

Requirement	Details
Professionalcredential	Active unrestrictedlicenseorregistrationinaneligiblediscipline(forexampleRN RDN , , ,
	pharmacist physician PA OT PT optometrist podiatrist clinicalpsychologist clinicalexercise , , , , , , , ,
	physiologist MCHES or master's-level social worker); an alternative pathway exists for holders of , ,
	an advanced health -related degree
Professionalpractice	Atleast2yearsofpracticeintheeligiblediscipline
Diabetescareandeducation	Atleast1000hourswithinthepast5years withatleast20%(200hours)inthemostrecentyear , ,
Continuingeducation	At least 15 clock hours of diabetes-related continuing education from approved providers within
	the2yearsbeforeapplying

Scoring and Passing Requirements

Results are reported as a scaled score from 0 to 99, along with the raw number of scored questions answered correctly. The passing standard is a scaled score of 70, set through a criterion-referenced standard-setting study with practicing specialists rather than by comparing candidates with one another. Only the 150 scored questions count toward the result. There is no penalty for wrong answers, so never leave a question blank.

CDCES at a Glance

ExamAspect	Details
Delivery	Year-round at PSI test centers or online with live remote proctoring within 90 days of application ,
	approval
Examfee	$350 for initial certification ($200 for first-time applicants approved through the alternative
	advanced -degree pathway)
Retesting	Nolimitonattempts;eachattemptrequiresanewapplicationandfee
Renewal	Every5years throughpathwaysthatcombinetwoofthreeelements:atleast1000hoursof , ,
	professional practice 75 hours of diabetes-related continuing education (including activities on ,
	theADAStandardsofCareupdates) orretakingtheexam ,