- CHPLN is awarded by the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC), with HPNA providing prep resources.
- The exam has 150 questions (135 scored, 15 pretest) in three hours, administered by PSI.
- Passing requires a scaled score of 500 on a 200-800 range.
- Eligibility needs 500 hours of hospice/palliative practice in 12 months or 1,000 hours in 24 months under RN supervision.
What CHPLN Actually Stands For
CHPLN stands for Certified Hospice and Palliative Licensed Nurse. This is a specialty credential for LPNs and LVNs who work in hospice and palliative care settings, distinguishing their expertise in end-of-life symptom management, comfort care, and interdisciplinary collaboration. If you've landed here searching for a quick answer, our companion piece What Is CHPLN? covers the same core definition, while CHPLN Meaning and What Does CHPLN Stand For? dig into the terminology from slightly different angles.
It's worth being precise here because several credentials in nursing and other fields share overlapping abbreviations. The Certified Hospice and Palliative Licensed Nurse credential specifically recognizes practical/vocational nurses (LPN/LVN) practicing under RN supervision in hospice or palliative settings - it is not a credential for registered nurses, nurse practitioners, or administrators. If your license type or practice setting doesn't match, this particular certification is not the right fit, and you should look for the credential aligned to your role instead.
Who Awards the CHPLN Credential
The Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC) is the certifying body that develops the exam blueprint, sets the passing standard, and issues the CHPLN credential. The Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) is the professional nursing association aligned with this specialty and is a primary source of preparation materials and continuing education. PSI is the testing vendor that actually administers the exam - either at a physical test center or via live remote proctoring, giving candidates some flexibility in how they sit for the test.
Understanding this three-party structure matters when you're troubleshooting logistics: HPCC handles eligibility and the credential itself, HPNA offers educational resources, and PSI handles scheduling and test-day delivery. For a full walkthrough of what earning this credential involves, see CHPLN Certification and What Is CHPLN Certification?.
Who Can Sit for the CHPLN Exam
Eligibility for the CHPLN exam is built around license type and recent clinical practice, not years of general nursing experience. Specifically, candidates need:
- A current, unrestricted LPN or LVN license valid in a U.S. state or territory.
- Hospice or palliative nursing practice performed under RN supervision.
- At least 500 hours of that practice within the preceding 12 months, or at least 1,000 hours within the preceding 24 months.
There is no separate "years of experience" requirement layered on top - it's purely about the hour thresholds and the supervision structure. This makes CHPLN attainable relatively early in a hospice-focused LPN/LVN career, provided the hours are documented accurately. A deeper breakdown of documentation, acceptable practice settings, and edge cases (like part-time or PRN roles) lives in CHPLN Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Key Takeaway
Track your hospice/palliative hours now if you're planning to apply - the 12-month and 24-month windows are calculated backward from your application date, so gaps in practice can push your eligibility date later than expected.
Exam Format, Fees, and Scoring
The CHPLN exam is a closed-book, computer-based test consisting of 150 four-option multiple-choice questions, of which 135 are scored and 15 are unscored pretest items used to evaluate future questions. Candidates get three hours to complete the exam, and because pretest items are unmarked, there's no way to identify (or skip strategizing around) which 15 don't count - every question should be treated as scored.
Passing requires a scaled score of 500 on a 200-800 range. This is not a raw percentage-correct cutoff; the scaled score accounts for question difficulty across exam forms, which is why HPCC doesn't publish a simple "you need X correct answers" figure. For the mechanics of how scaled scoring works and what it means practically, see CHPLN Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total questions | 150 (135 scored, 15 unscored pretest) |
| Time allotted | 3 hours |
| Passing score | 500 on a 200-800 scale |
| Initial fee (HPNA member) | $260 |
| Initial fee (nonmember) | $365 |
| reTEST Assured (one-time) | $135 |
On fees: the initial examination costs $260 for HPNA members and $365 for nonmembers. Candidates who want a safety net can purchase reTEST Assured for a one-time $135, which permits a retake in one of the next three testing windows (not the same window you originally tested in). This is a meaningful decision point for anyone unsure about their readiness - a full cost comparison, including recertification fees, is in CHPLN Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
The Seven CHPLN Content Domains
The CHPLN exam blueprint is organized into seven domains, each weighted by a specific number of scored items out of the 135 total. Here's the official allocation:
Domain 1: Patient Care: End-Stage Disease Process
18 scored items. Covers disease trajectories in terminal illness - cardiac, pulmonary, renal, neurological, and oncologic end-stage processes - and how they present near end of life.
- Recognizing disease-specific decline patterns
Domain 2: Patient Care: Pain and Comfort Management
27 scored items. Focuses on pain assessment tools, opioid and non-opioid management, and comfort-focused interventions for terminally ill patients.
- Titration principles and non-pharmacologic comfort measures
Domain 3: Patient Care: Symptom Management
39 scored items - the largest domain by far. Covers dyspnea, nausea, delirium, anxiety, constipation, and other common end-of-life symptoms beyond pain itself.
- Given its weight, this domain deserves the most study time of any single area
Domain 4: Patient Care: Treatments and Procedures
12 scored items. Covers hands-on interventions, wound care, and procedural aspects of hospice/palliative nursing practice.
- Practical, procedure-based knowledge
Domain 5: Care of Patient, Family, and Other Caregivers
15 scored items. Addresses psychosocial, spiritual, and grief-related support for patients and their support systems.
- Family dynamics and caregiver burden
Domain 6: Patient and Family Education and Advocacy
13 scored items. Covers teaching patients/families about disease process, care plans, and advocating for patient wishes.
- Communication and advance-directive literacy
Domain 7: Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Practice Issues
11 scored items. Covers team-based care, scope of practice under RN supervision, and coordination across the hospice interdisciplinary team.
- Role clarity within the care team
Because Symptom Management alone accounts for nearly 30% of the scored questions, candidates who underinvest there often see it reflected in their overall score. For an item-by-item breakdown of subtopics within each domain, read CHPLN Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 7 Content Areas.
Testing Windows and Deadlines
CHPLN is offered during four testing windows per year: March, June, September, and December. Each window has its own online application deadline, falling on the 15th of the month roughly a month prior:
- March window → application deadline February 15
- June window → application deadline May 15
- September window → application deadline August 15
- December window → application deadline November 15
Missing a deadline means waiting a full quarter for the next opportunity, so mark these dates early if you're targeting a specific window. Full scheduling logistics, including how reTEST Assured windows interact with these dates, are detailed in CHPLN Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
How to Approach Preparation
Given the domain weighting, an effective study plan allocates time proportionally rather than spending equal effort across all seven domains. A rough four-week structure might look like this:
Symptom Management + Pain and Comfort Management
- These two domains combine for 66 of 135 scored items - start here
End-Stage Disease Process + Care of Patient, Family, and Caregivers
- Cover disease trajectories and psychosocial/family support content
Treatments and Procedures + Education and Advocacy + Interdisciplinary Practice
- Lighter-weight domains grouped together for efficient review
Full-length practice and weak-area review
- Use timed practice questions to simulate the 3-hour format
Techniques like spaced repetition and timed practice blocks work well here specifically because the exam rewards fast, confident recall under a three-hour ceiling with 150 questions - roughly 72 seconds per question if you pace evenly. Practicing with a realistic question bank on our CHPLN practice test platform lets you rehearse that pacing before test day. For a complete step-by-step study framework, see CHPLN Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and if you want a condensed reference for last-minute review, CHPLN Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts is built for that purpose.
If you're still deciding whether the exam is difficult relative to your current knowledge base, How Hard Is the CHPLN Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 walks through pass rate context and what makes certain domains harder to master than others. Speaking of pass rates, official 2025 data shows a first-time pass rate of 66.3% (57 of 86 candidates) and an overall pass rate of 69.6% (78 of 112 administrations) - numbers worth reviewing in full at CHPLN Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows.
Maintaining CHPLN Certification
CHPLN certification is valid for four years. Renewal happens through HPAR (HPCC's recertification pathway), which requires submitting evidence of continued practice and professional development through the LearningBuilder platform. Alternatively, candidates can recertify by re-examination if they prefer to demonstrate current knowledge rather than accumulate professional-development credits.
Renewal fees vary by membership status and timing:
| Pathway | Member | Nonmember |
|---|---|---|
| HPAR - Early | $235 | $340 |
| HPAR - Standard | $345 | $450 |
| Re-examination | $235 | $340 |
Planning ahead for the early-bird HPAR pricing can meaningfully reduce the cost of maintaining your credential over a nursing career - details on total cost of ownership are in CHPLN Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Who Hires CHPLNs
Employers seeking CHPLN-certified LPNs/LVNs typically include hospice agencies, palliative care consult teams within hospitals, skilled nursing facilities with dedicated comfort-care units, and home health organizations offering end-of-life services. Because the credential validates specialized competency in symptom control, pain management, and family support under RN supervision, it can differentiate candidates applying for hospice LPN roles or signal readiness for expanded responsibilities within an interdisciplinary team.
If you're weighing whether pursuing this credential will pay off in your specific career path, Is the CHPLN Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and CHPLN Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis both address that question directly. For job-market specifics, CHPLN Jobs covers where certified nurses are in demand, and CHPLN Training outlines preparation courses beyond self-study.
Frequently Asked Questions
CHPLN stands for Certified Hospice and Palliative Licensed Nurse, a credential awarded by the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC) for LPNs and LVNs practicing in hospice or palliative care under RN supervision. See What Does CHPLN Mean? for more context.
CHPLN is specifically designed for LPNs and LVNs. Eligibility requires a current unrestricted LPN/LVN license and hospice or palliative practice hours accrued under RN supervision.
The exam has 150 four-option multiple-choice questions total: 135 are scored and 15 are unscored pretest items, all completed within a three-hour time limit.
The initial examination fee is $260 for HPNA members and $365 for nonmembers. A one-time reTEST Assured option costs $135 and covers a retake within the next three testing windows.
CHPLN certification is valid for four years. Renewal is completed through HPAR with documented practice and professional-development evidence, or by re-examination.