- Identity Check: What RTN Means Here
- The Exam at a Glance
- Blueprint by the Numbers
- Procedures: Where 118 Questions Live
- Scoring, Attempts and the 2025 Cut-Score Change
- Eligibility and Clinical Competency Facts
- Fees, Renewal and Continuing Qualifications
- Test-Day Mechanics
- Sequencing Your Review by Domain
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Procedures carries 118 of 200 scored questions, so it deserves most of your review time.
- You need a scaled score of 75 on ARRT's 1-99 range, which is not 75% correct.
- The exam has 230 questions: 200 scored plus 30 unscored pilot items, with 230 minutes to answer.
- Initial application costs $225; annual renewal is $65 with 24 CE credits per two-year biennium.
Identity Check: What RTN Means Here
Before you memorize a single fact, confirm you are studying the right credential. On this site, "RTN" is shorthand for the ARRT discipline of Nuclear Medicine Technology (N), earned through the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists primary pathway. It is a site abbreviation, not ARRT's official discipline designation, and it is distinct from the NMTCB's CNMT credential. If you are comparing the two, the issuer, eligibility rules, fees and content specifications all differ, so keep their details separate. For background on the name itself, see What Does RTN Stand For? and What Is RTN Certification?.
This page is the condensed version of everything else on the site. Treat it as a pre-exam checklist, then use the RTN Study Guide for the full preparation plan and the RTN practice tests to find out where you actually stand.
The Exam at a Glance
| Item | Must-know fact |
|---|---|
| Issuer | American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) |
| Discipline | Nuclear Medicine Technology (N), primary pathway |
| Delivery | Pearson VUE test centers, computer-based |
| Total questions | 230 (200 scored + 30 unscored pilot) |
| Answering time | 230 minutes |
| Appointment length | 250 minutes, including tutorial, nondisclosure agreement and survey |
| Format | Mostly single-best-answer multiple choice; possible alternative formats and image-based items |
| Passing score | 75 on a 1-99 scaled range |
| Attempts | Three within three years of the opening of the initial examination window |
| First-time pass rate (2025) | 64.7% of first-time candidates, n=439 (ARRT Annual Exam Report 2025) |
For a deeper look at how the numbers translate to difficulty, read How Hard Is the RTN Exam? and RTN Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows.
Blueprint by the Numbers
The four official major content categories are Patient Care, Safety, Image Production and Procedures. ARRT publishes scored-question allocations as counts, so keep them as counts rather than converting them into percentages you may see quoted elsewhere.
| Domain | Scored questions (of 200) |
|---|---|
| Domain 1: Patient Care | 24 |
| Domain 2: Safety | 25 |
| Domain 3: Image Production | 33 |
| Domain 4: Procedures | 118 |
Domain 1: Patient Care (24)
Smaller in volume, but these questions reward clear thinking about the clinical setting.
- Patient identification, communication and assessment before administering radiopharmaceuticals
- Preparation, instructions and monitoring for specific nuclear medicine studies
- Infection control, patient safety and responding to adverse reactions
- Ethics and professional conduct, which also tie into ARRT's ongoing ethics requirements
Domain 2: Safety (25)
Radiation protection is central to this discipline, and the exam uses both SI and conventional units.
- Be fluent converting between becquerel and curie and between sievert and rem
- Time, distance and shielding principles applied to unsealed sources
- Handling, storage, surveys, spills and waste for radioactive materials
- Occupational and public dose considerations
Domain 3: Image Production (33)
Equipment, acquisition and quality control for nuclear imaging.
- Gamma camera and PET system components, acquisition parameters and image quality
- Quality-control routines and what failures look like on images
- Artifact recognition and correction
- CT used with hybrid systems is limited to attenuation correction and anatomic localization, not diagnostic CT interpretation
The domain-by-domain breakdown lives in RTN Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas.
Procedures: Where 118 Questions Live
Procedures is not just the biggest domain; it holds more than half of all scored questions. ARRT subdivides it further, and those subcategory counts are the single most useful planning tool in this article.
| Procedures subcategory | Scored questions |
|---|---|
| Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals | 28 |
| Cardiac Procedures | 25 |
| Endocrine and Oncology Procedures | 25 |
| Gastrointestinal and Genitourinary Procedures | 18 |
| Other Imaging Procedures | 22 |
| Total | 118 |
Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals (28)
The largest single block inside the largest domain.
- Production, decay characteristics, half-life calculations and generator principles
- Radiopharmaceutical localization mechanisms, preparation and quality control
- Dose calculation, dose assay and administration routes
- Radiochemical purity concepts and what causes failures
Cardiac Procedures (25)
Expect protocol-driven questions where order and patient preparation matter.
- Myocardial perfusion imaging protocols, stress methods and patient preparation
- Gated acquisitions and the clinical information they provide
- Contraindications, interventions and when a study must be modified
Endocrine and Oncology Procedures (25)
- Thyroid and parathyroid imaging, uptake studies and therapy preparation
- PET and other oncologic imaging, including patient preparation and tracer behavior
- Therapeutic radiopharmaceutical considerations and patient instructions
Gastrointestinal and Genitourinary Procedures (18)
- Hepatobiliary, gastric emptying and GI bleeding studies, with the interventions that go with them
- Renal imaging and function studies, including diuretic and captopril-type protocols
Other Imaging Procedures (22)
- Bone, pulmonary, brain, infection and inflammation imaging
- Lymphatic mapping and other specialized studies
- Choosing the correct radiopharmaceutical and view for the clinical question
Key Takeaway
If you can only master one area, make it Procedures, and within it start with Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals. Knowing why a tracer localizes where it does makes protocol, preparation and interference questions far easier across every other subcategory.
Scoring, Attempts and the 2025 Cut-Score Change
The 75 is a scaled score
ARRT reports results on a 1-99 scaled range, and 75 is the passing score. It does not mean you must answer 75% of questions correctly. Scaling adjusts for differences in difficulty between exam forms, so the raw number of correct answers needed can vary slightly. Full detail is in RTN Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
A revised cut-score standard took effect February 1, 2025
ARRT implemented a revised examination cut-score standard on February 1, 2025. The reported passing score remains 75 scaled, so what you see on your score report looks the same, but older anecdotes about difficulty or pass rates may reflect the earlier standard. Use current data, such as the 2025 annual report figure of 64.7% for first-time candidates (n=439), when calibrating expectations.
Attempt limits
- You have three examination attempts within three years of the opening of your initial examination window.
- The reapplication fee is $200 per attempt.
- The three-year attempt period is separate from the initial application deadline (see the next section).
Eligibility and Clinical Competency Facts
The primary pathway has three pillars: education, ethics and examination. The complete walkthrough is in RTN Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify, but here are the facts most candidates need at a glance.
- Degree: an associate degree or higher from an ARRT-recognized accredited institution. The major can be anything, but the degree must be conferred before you sit for the exam.
- Program: completion of an ARRT-verified nuclear medicine technology educational program, including its didactic and clinical competencies.
- Ethics: compliance with ARRT ethics requirements, which continue after certification.
- Deadline: degree earned and application submitted no more than three years after program completion.
Clinical Competency Requirements
Your program documents these, and they are a prerequisite for the exam rather than something tested on it.
- Eight general patient-care activities, including CPR certification
- Five quality-control activities
- Twenty-five different diagnostic and therapeutic procedures
- No more than five of the diagnostic/therapeutic procedures may be simulated
- Verification by the program director or designee through in-person direct observation; remote or virtual observation is not accepted
If you are still early in your program, RTN Training covers how education fits together with the clinical piece.
Fees, Renewal and Continuing Qualifications
| Item | Amount or requirement |
|---|---|
| Initial application | $225 USD |
| Examination reapplication | $200 USD |
| Annual renewal | $65 regardless of how many ARRT credentials you hold |
| Continuing education | 24 approved CE credits per two-year biennium, not per credential |
| Continuing Qualifications Requirements (CQR) | Every 10 years for credentials earned on or after January 1, 2011 |
CQR consists of a professional profile, a structured self-assessment and any prescribed CE. ARRT also lets you accept the maximum CQR CE prescription instead of taking the self-assessment. Remember that the 24-credit CE requirement is shared across all your ARRT credentials rather than multiplied by them. For the full financial picture, including testing and renewal over time, see RTN Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown. Whether the investment pays off is covered in Is the RTN Certification Worth It?, and employment angles are in RTN Jobs and the RTN Salary Guide.
Test-Day Mechanics
- Closed book: no notes or references.
- Calculators: basic and scientific on-screen calculators are available, and Pearson can supply a basic four-function calculator on request. Personal calculators are prohibited.
- Navigation: you must answer each item before advancing, but you can flag questions and revisit them later.
- Time budget: 230 minutes for 230 questions is roughly one minute per item, with the extra 20 minutes of appointment time spent on the tutorial, nondisclosure agreement and survey.
- Item types: expect mostly single-best-answer multiple choice, plus image-based questions and possibly multiple-response or ordered-response formats described in the ARRT handbook.
Scheduling windows and deadlines are covered in RTN Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Sequencing Your Review by Domain
A sensible plan weights time roughly by question count, but front-loads the material that other domains depend on. This is one example arrangement, not a rule.
Radiopharmaceutical foundations
- Decay, half-life and dose calculations
- Tracer localization mechanisms and preparation quality control
Cardiac, endocrine and oncology
- Perfusion protocols, stress methods and gating
- Thyroid, parathyroid and PET preparation
GI, GU and other imaging
- Hepatobiliary, gastric emptying and renal protocols
- Bone, lung, brain and infection imaging
Safety, image production and patient care
- Unit conversions in SI and conventional systems
- Camera quality control and artifacts
- Timed practice with mixed questions
Radiation safety and instrumentation come last here only because Procedures carries so many more points; if those areas are weak for you, move them earlier. When you are ready to test yourself, take a timed set on the RTN practice test site and review every miss against the domain it belongs to.
Key Takeaway
Verify which specifications govern your sitting. The 2022 content specifications control examinations through January 31, 2027, while the separate 2027 specifications take effect February 1, 2027. Do not blend the two, and check ARRT's current documents before booking.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are 230 questions in total: 200 scored and 30 unscored pilot questions. Candidates get 230 minutes of answering time within a 250-minute appointment that also covers the tutorial, nondisclosure agreement and survey.
No. ARRT reports results on a scaled range of 1-99, and 75 is the passing scaled score. The number of correct answers it represents is not a fixed 75% of questions.
Procedures, with 118 of the 200 scored questions. Patient Care has 24, Safety 25 and Image Production 33. Within Procedures, Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals is the largest subcategory at 28 questions.
You get three attempts within three years of the opening of your initial examination window. Each reapplication costs $200, and this attempt period is separate from the deadline for submitting your initial application after program completion.
Renew annually for $65, stay compliant with ARRT ethics requirements, and complete 24 approved CE credits each two-year biennium. Credentials earned on or after January 1, 2011 also require Continuing Qualifications Requirements every 10 years.
For a broader introduction to the credential, start with What Is RTN? or the overview at RTN Certification, and always confirm current details with ARRT before registering, since fees, handbooks and content specifications are updated periodically.