RSC Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

What the Pass-Rate Data Actually Shows

Every candidate for the Radiation Safety Certification offered by the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board (NMTCB) eventually asks the same question: what percentage of people pass? The honest answer is narrower than most exam-prep sites admit. The verified record consists of two historical cohort reports from 2017 and 2018. It does not include a current-year rate, and it does not include a published numeric passing score.

This article lays out exactly what is known, what is not, and how to use the thin data that exists without over-reading it. If you want the broader picture of difficulty beyond the numbers, the companion piece How Hard Is the RSC Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 covers the content side, and RSC Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass addresses the scoring question directly.

The Two Historical Cohorts, Examined

The historical numbers originate from an NMTCB report authored by Katie Neal in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology (volume 46, issue 4, page 9A, 2018). The passages were verified through indexed primary-source text rather than a fully retrieved copy of the article, so treat the table below as a faithful summary of what was reported, not a re-audit of the underlying records.

A small discrepancy worth preserving

Divide 51 by 65 and you get roughly 78.46%, not 79%. The source reported 79%. We are preserving the report as published rather than silently correcting it, because it is not our place to rewrite an issuer's published figure. A difference of about half a percentage point is immaterial to your study decisions, but it is a useful reminder that even official summaries can be rounded or computed slightly differently than a reader's arithmetic.

What these cohorts can and cannot tell you

• They show a pattern: in both reported sittings, a clear majority of a small group of candidates passed.
• They do not show a trend: two data points cannot establish whether pass rates are rising, falling, or stable.
• They are small: 68 and 65 candidates are tiny samples, so a handful of results either way would move the percentage noticeably.
• They are historical: they are not current pass-rate estimates and should not be presented as such.

Why No Current Pass Rate Is Verified

NMTCB's current 2026 instructions on the radiation safety exam page describe the application process, fee, format, and eligibility rules. They do not publish a pass rate or a numeric passing score. The Summer 2026 NMTCB News discusses a 2026 job task analysis and the examination dates, but it is not a results report. Absent a verified issuer statement, any "2026 pass rate" quoted elsewhere should be treated as unsourced.

That matters for how you plan. A pass rate in the high seventies or low eighties from years ago is context, not a promise. The credential is a post-primary specialty taken by working technologists who already hold a qualifying credential and have documented radiation-safety duties, so the candidate pool is self-selected. If you are comparing your odds, your own preparation against the domain weights is a far better predictor than a stale cohort percentage. For the score side of the question, see RSC Passing Score 2026, and for the overall evidence base, our own RSC Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows hub page tracks what has and has not been verified.

Who Sits for NMTCB(RS)

Understanding the candidate pool explains why the historical pass rates look the way they do. This is not an entry-level exam. Initial eligibility requires:

• A qualifying active NMTCB, ARRT(N), ARRT(R), ARRT(T), or CAMRT (RTNM, RT, or RTT) credential held for at least two years.
• One calendar year of radiation-safety duties, documented by supervisor or Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) attestation.

A current listing, or a listing within the past seven years, as an RSO or Associate RSO on a radioactive materials (RAM) license satisfies the duties requirement. The issuer's task examples are illustrative, not an all-items checklist, so you do not need to have performed every listed task. A fuller walkthrough of eligibility lives in RSC Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.

Why this matters for pass-rate interpretation

Candidates arrive with years of professional experience and a track record of passing a prior certification. Many already work in settings where RAM licensing, shielding, and dosimetry are daily concerns. A pass rate computed on a pool like this is not comparable to the rate on a broad entry-level licensing exam, and it should not be benchmarked against one. The people who sit are largely those who believe they are ready, which tends to compress failure rates, but it also means the questions are written for practitioners, not novices.

Format, Fees and Logistics

The exam is delivered by IQT, Inc. / Iso-Quality Testing at proctored testing centers. Here is the verified format:

The calculator rule is worth underlining. Radiation safety problems involve decay corrections, shielding attenuation, and dose-rate arithmetic, and the calculator is not provided. Showing up without an approved one is an avoidable problem. For a complete cost picture beyond the application fee, see RSC Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

Where the Points Are: Domain Weights

The five domains come from NMTCB's Radiation Safety Certification Examination Content Outline (the 2017 FINAL document, still linked from the current issuer instructions). All five percentages are approximate allocations, printed with a tilde on NMTCB's page, not exact item quotas. The outline also distinguishes expertise areas from areas that require competence but not expertise, which shapes how deep your preparation should go in each.

For a deeper dive into each content area, read RSC Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 5 Content Areas.

How to Read Pass-Rate Claims

Because the verified data is limited, you will encounter confident claims elsewhere. A few sanity checks help.

Red flags

• A precise "2026 pass rate" with no source: NMTCB's current instructions do not publish one, so an unsourced figure is likely invented or borrowed from a different exam.
• A specific cut score stated as fact: no numeric passing score was verified in the retrieved issuer sources.
• Pass rates borrowed from other credentials: several unrelated certifications share the "RSC" acronym, and their statistics do not apply to NMTCB(RS).
• Salary premiums attributed to this credential: NMTCB's summer 2026 newsletter shares preliminary highlights from a broader nuclear medicine salary and workforce study, but those observations do not establish an RS-specific premium. Our RSC Salary Guide 2026 explains what can and cannot be said.

What a reasonable reader can conclude

From the verified record, the fair statement is this: in two reported historical sittings, roughly four in five candidates passed. That suggests the exam is passable for prepared, experienced technologists, without telling you the current rate or how close the margins are. The question of whether the effort is worthwhile is a separate one, covered in Is the RSC Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026.

Domain-Driven Prep Plan

Since the exam is approximately half RAM License content, your calendar should reflect that weighting rather than splitting time evenly. Here is a compact sequencing idea tied to the domains, not a generic schedule.

For a fuller method and resource list, see RSC Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and keep the RSC Cheat Sheet 2026 handy for quick recall. When you are ready to test yourself against realistic questions, try the RSC practice tests, and revisit them as you close gaps.

After the Exam: Results, Retakes and Renewal

Results arrive by mail in approximately four to six weeks, so there is no instant score report to lean on. If you do not pass, the rule of one attempt per twelve calendar months means you will wait before trying again.

Passing earns the NMTCB(RS) credential, which is valid for ten years with annual registration and fees. Successful completion of the RS post-primary exam earns 24 continuing education credits under NMTCB's continuing competence policy. For CNMT holders, the 24 CE every two years is a CNMT requirement, not an additional RS-only quota that has been verified.

At the ten-year mark, qualifying RSO or Associate RSO listing on a RAM license, or attested radiation-safety duties within the preceding seven years, supports a USD 100 recertification application. Otherwise, re-examination applies, and an expired credential requires requalification and examination. One caveat: initial admission includes radiography and therapy credentials, but the annual renewal and recertification or re-examination wording remains nuclear-medicine-specific, so do not assume it broadens automatically; confirm your situation with NMTCB.

If you are weighing where this credential leads, RSC Jobs discusses the roles where radiation safety expertise is relevant, and What Is RSC Certification? gives the foundational overview.

Frequently Asked Questions