PEPS Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass

What "Passing" Means on PEPS

Candidates searching for a PEPS passing score usually expect a number: a percentage, a scaled score, a minimum per section. Patient Encounters and Performance Skills (PEPS), Part III of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO) examination sequence, does not work that way. The exam is a performance assessment, and the result you receive is simply pass or fail.

That distinction changes how you should prepare. There is no magic number of correct answers to hit, because stations are not multiple-choice questions. Instead, trained evaluators and scoring rubrics assess what you actually do and say with standardized patients and at the hands-on skills stations. Passing requires meeting the overall NBEO cut-off for the examination.

If you are still orienting yourself to the exam, What Is PEPS? covers the basics, and PEPS Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify explains who can sit for it.

Why There Is No Scaled Score to Chase

Parts I and II of the NBEO sequence report scaled scores. PEPS does not. Many candidates carry over the habit of tracking a target number from earlier parts and then feel disoriented when no number appears on a PEPS result.

Here is how the reporting differs in practice:

Because the score is not scaled and not itemized for you, the most productive question is not "what number do I need?" but "where could I lose points across a 12-station performance?" The sections below answer that.

How Your Performance Is Built Across 12 Stations

The PEPS format has 12 stations: 10 standardized-patient encounters and two hands-on clinical-skills stations. One of the encounters is unscored data collection. That leaves nine scored encounters plus two skills stations that count toward your result.

This structure matters for your mindset. Because the unscored encounter is not identified to you as a throwaway, you should treat every encounter with full effort. The practical takeaway is that you cannot afford to coast through any station.

What the encounters assess

Each standardized-patient encounter evaluates a combination of competencies, including:

• Focused history-taking
• Clinical interpretation
• Management decisions
• Typed documentation
• Patient education and communication

Encounters are recorded, which means your communication and conduct can be reviewed in addition to the clinical content of your decisions.

What the skills stations assess

The two hands-on stations test your technique directly. NCCTO supplies the equipment, so your job is to demonstrate correct, efficient, patient-safe technique with the instruments provided rather than relying on your familiar school equipment. See PEPS Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 5 Content Areas for a deeper look at how skills are evaluated.

Domain Weights: Where the Points Live

The NBEO blueprint lists five weighted competency domains. These are official exam competency objectives, not preparation-curriculum headings, so use them as a map of what the exam rewards rather than as chapter titles for a study plan.

One labeling note: the blueprint table's exact headings control, while its prose uses slightly different phrasing, such as "Clinical Interpretation and Assessment" and "Communication and Professionalism." These refer to the same weighted areas. The blueprint also describes nine clinical-presentation categories, but those are a separate axis and not additional competency domains. For a full breakdown, read PEPS Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 5 Content Areas.

Reading the Published Pass-Rate Numbers Correctly

Because there is no published passing score, candidates often fall back on pass rates to gauge difficulty. Two figures circulate, and they are frequently confused:

• 69.0% is the published first-time result for the July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 administration year.
• 70.09% is the U.S. first-time Part III CSE/PEPS rate in the NBEO Institutional Yearly Performance Report 2025, sometimes rounded to 70.1% in school tables. It covers 1,628 graduates in the October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025 graduating cohort who attempted all three parts.

For a fuller treatment of what the data does and does not show, see PEPS Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows and How Hard Is the PEPS Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.

Station Mechanics That Affect Your Performance

You cannot pass on content knowledge alone if the logistics of the day throw you off. Know the rhythm of the exam before you walk in.

• Session length: 4 hours 30 minutes of testing.
• Per station: a 3-minute observation period followed by a 15-minute station period.
• Breaks: 4-minute breaks between stations, plus a 24-minute extended break after cycle 8.
• On-site time: plan for approximately 7 hours including check-in, orientation, and check-out.

Use the observation period deliberately

The 3-minute observation window is not downtime. Use it to read the presenting information, form a short list of likely directions, and decide what you most need to ask or examine. Then use the 15-minute station period to execute: history, interpretation, plan, patient education, and documentation all have to fit.

Logistics that can cost you before you begin

Arrive prepared for the testing environment at the National Center of Clinical Testing in Optometry (NCCTO) in Charlotte, North Carolina. You will need professional attire, a white lab coat, and two current signed IDs, including a government photo ID. Your registered name must match your identification. Outside notes and electronics are excluded from testing areas. Confirm the details in the Candidate Guide well before test day.

Documentation: The Quiet Score Driver

Documentation is easy to overlook because it happens after the conversation feels finished. Yet it sits inside the Management and Documentation domain, the second-largest weighted area at 25%.

Here is the specific nuance to keep straight. The blueprint describes an electronic SOAP note, while the Candidate Guide specifies Assessment and Plan entries. Do not assume a generic paper SOAP template. Prepare using the current electronic documentation workflow described in the Candidate Guide so that you are fluent in the actual entry format before the clock is running.

• Keep your Assessment consistent with your history and findings.
• Make your Plan specific and aligned with what you counseled the patient to do.
• Type efficiently; slow typing competes with your 15-minute station period.

For a compact reminder of high-yield facts, the PEPS Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts is a useful companion. To rehearse realistic encounters and documentation, try the PEPS practice test site.

Attempts, Fees, and the Stakes of a First Try

Because passing is judged against a cut-off and not a score you can negotiate, the number of attempts and the cost of each one shape your strategy.

• Fee: USD 1,490 for administrations beginning August 2026.
• Attempts: six attempts, combining former CSE and PEPS attempts. Attempts beyond six require NBEO Board committee approval.
• Eligibility: graduation-year students require institutional confirmation from an ACOE-accredited, accredited-with-conditions, or preliminary-approval program. Eligible accredited-program graduates may also apply, and sponsorship pathways exist for other candidates.

Note that PEPS is an entry-to-practice licensure examination, not a standalone renewable certification. No periodic PEPS certificate renewal applies, and state licensure maintenance is separate from this exam. If you are weighing the investment, PEPS Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown and Is the PEPS Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 go deeper on the financial side. To check timing, see PEPS Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.

A Domain-Weighted Prep Sequence

Since you are aiming to clear an overall cut-off and not to ace a single section, sequence your preparation to protect your largest weighted domains first while making sure no area is weak. This is the one place generic scheduling applies, so it is tied directly to the PEPS weights.

Adjust the pacing to your own timeline; the point is the ordering logic. For a full plan, see the PEPS Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and for structured instruction options browse PEPS Training. Build realistic repetition with the practice tools at our main practice test hub.

Frequently Asked Questions