PUBLISHED September 05, 2026
Summary
ANCC has announced that it is retiring the Nursing Case Management board certification. Applications will be accepted through December 31, 2026, and testing will end December 31, 2027. Here is what this means for you, whether you already hold the credential or were planning to earn it.
What ANCC Announced
In April 2026, the ANCC Commission on Board Certification announced that the Nursing Case Management certification (CMGT-BC) is moving to renewal-only status. The reason given was that candidate volume has made the exam difficult to sustain, and there are other established certification options available in this specialty.
Here are the dates you need to know:
- December 31, 2026 — the last day ANCC will accept applications
- December 31, 2027 — the last day you can sit for the exam
- After December 31, 2027 — the exam is retired, and no new candidates will be certified
If You Already Hold the CMGT-BC
Your certification is still valid, and you will continue to renew it every five years just as you always have.
One important thing to remember: renewing on time is now imperative. If your certification lapses beyond the two-year reactivation window, no exam will be available, which means you will not be able to regain your CMGT-BC certification. Put your renewal date on your calendar now, and give yourself plenty of time to complete your continuing education requirements.
If You Work at a Magnet Hospital
Here is some good news. The Magnet Recognition Program continues to accept retired certifications as long as they were accredited at the time they were earned. The CMGT-BC is accredited by the American Board of Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC), so it will continue to count toward your organization’s certified nurse numbers even after the exam is gone.
If you earn it before the deadline and keep it current, it keeps working for you and for your facility.
If You Are Planning to Earn It
You have until December 31, 2026, to apply. That deadline is closer than it appears once you account for the eligibility requirements.
To sit for the CMGT-BC exam, you need:
- A current, active RN license
- The equivalent of 2 years of full-time employment as an RN
- 2,000 hours of clinical practice in nursing case management within the last 3 years
- 30 hours of continuing education in nursing case management within the last 3 years
That last requirement is the one that many nurses are unaware of and unprepared for. If you do not already have those 30 CE hours, you need to earn them before you apply. Working backward from December 31, 2026, that means you need to start the process now.
Once your application is submitted, ANCC will make an eligibility decision within 4 to 6 weeks. If you are approved, you will receive an authorization to test and have a 120-day window to schedule and take your exam through Prometric.
The exam is $395, or $295 if you are an American Nurses Association member. In 2025, 286 nurses tested for the first time and 188 passed, for a pass rate of 66%. As of December 31, 2025, there were 1,961 CMGT-BC certificants.
Should You Still Pursue It?
For most case managers, the honest answer is that the CCM is the more practical choice. It is open to more disciplines, it is held by nearly 50,000 case managers, it is not going anywhere, and it also counts toward Magnet.
But the CMGT-BC still makes sense in a few situations. If you want a nursing-specific credential, if your employer specifically recognizes or reimburses it, or if you are eligible and have wanted it for a while, this is your last chance to earn it. Certifications that are retired are not devalued, and the credential remains yours to use and renew for as long as you keep it active.
If you are on the fence, look at where you want to be in five years and decide from there.
Resources If You Decide to Go for It
ANCC sells the Nursing Case Management Review and Resource Manual, 4th Edition, priced at $92, or $64.40 for ANA members.
We also offer a Nurse Case Manager Board Certification Exam Prep Course, created by Anne Llewellyn and Elaine Miller, who co-authored the ANCC review manual. In addition to preparing you for the exam, the course provides 10 CE hours that count toward the 30 hours you need to apply. If you are short on continuing education and short on time, that solves two problems at once.
Still Deciding Which Certification Is Right for You?
If this announcement has you rethinking your plans, our full comparison of the CCM, ACM, and CMGT-BC certifications walks through the eligibility requirements, cost, pass rates, and study resources for each one, so you can see how they compare side by side.
About the Author
Deanna Cooper Gillingham, RN, CCM, FCM, is co-founder and CEO of the Case Management Institute
and author of CCM Certification Made Easy, now in its 4th edition. She has been a Registered Nurse
since 1994 and a Case Manager since 2011.
References
American Nurses Credentialing Center. (2026). 2025 ANCC certification data. https://www.nursingworld.org/globalassets/docs/ancc/ancc-cert-data-website.pdf
American Nurses Credentialing Center. (2026). Nursing case management certification (CMGT-BC™). https://www.nursingworld.org/our-certifications/nursing-case-management/