AHIMA's CHPS page publishes 150 total items - 125 scored and 25 pretest - in a three-and-a-half-hour sitting, with flag-for-review navigation between questions.
AHIMA sets the CHPS passing score at 300 on its scaled system and publishes first-time pass rates: 68% in 2025, 65% in 2024, and 72% in 2023.
$259 for AHIMA members and $329 for non-members. A retake costs the same as the exam, on top of a 90-day wait and a new application.
Pearson VUE's AHIMA program page confirms the CHPS is available online with OnVUE from the comfort of your home for candidates located in the United States, or in person at a Pearson test center.
What the CHPS Actually Tests
The Certified in Healthcare Privacy and Security credential is AHIMA's HIPAA-era privacy and security credential - the one employers read as proof you can run a healthcare privacy program, not just talk about one. AHIMA's official exam page publishes the format plainly: 150 questions in total, of which 125 are scored and 25 are pretest items, in a three-and-a-half-hour sitting. The passing score is 300.
The blueprint spans four domains: Ethical, Legal, and Regulatory Issues and Environmental Assessment; Privacy and Security Program Management and Administration; Information Technology and Physical and Technical Safeguards; and Investigation, Compliance, and Enforcement. AHIMA does not publish a percentage weight per domain on the exam page, so nobody can honestly tell you to skip one - program management and the legal/regulatory base are the safe centers of gravity.
The 25 pretest items are unscored questions randomly mixed into the exam for data collection, and they look identical to scored ones. You can move back and forth between items once an answer is selected, flag items for review, and return to them before submitting as time allows.
Eligibility is a ladder, and most working privacy professionals land on it somewhere: a high school diploma or GED plus six years of healthcare privacy or security experience; an associate degree in a relevant field plus four years; a CCA, CCS, CCS-P, or RHIT credential plus four years; a baccalaureate degree in a relevant field plus two years; an RHIA plus two years; or a master's degree or higher plus one year - all of it in healthcare privacy or security.
OnVUE at Home or a Pearson Test Center - for US Candidates
Pearson VUE's AHIMA program page draws the delivery line word for word: the RHIA, RHIT, CCA, CCS, and CCS-P certification exams are available in person at a Pearson test center, while the CHDA, CHPS, and CDIP certification exams are available in person at a Pearson test center or online with OnVUE in the comfort of your home for candidates located in the United States. AHIMA's CHPS page carries the same banner: online proctored exam now available, with the choice between a Pearson VUE authorized test center and OnVUE at home for US-located candidates.
The US restriction is real and enforced. Pearson VUE states that, due to in-country regulations, the online proctoring option is not offered to test takers located in Japan, China, South Korea, Slovenia, and OFAC countries (Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria). Outside the United States, the published route is a Pearson test center.
The at-home route carries Pearson's published OnVUE minimums for AHIMA: Windows 10 or macOS 14 or higher, a working webcam, microphone, and speaker with no headphones or headsets, one display screen only, a stable connection of at least 6 Mbps down and 2 Mbps up, and the ability to close every application except OnVUE. Check-in opens 30 minutes before the appointment with technology checks, ID and selfie photos, and a 360-degree room scan. Failing the minimums on exam day can cancel the sitting and forfeit the fee - run the system test on the same device and network first. A digital whiteboard is provided in the exam; physical notes and writing materials are prohibited.
What a CHPS Attempt Costs
AHIMA publishes one fee for the CHPS: $259 for AHIMA members and $329 for non-members, and AHIMA's page notes test retake fees are the same as the cost of the exam. There is no separate published OnVUE surcharge - one credential, one fee, two delivery routes.
The retake path is expensive in both money and calendar: after a failed attempt you submit a new application with the full fee again, and CHPS candidates must wait 90 days before the application is approved and a retake can be scheduled. AHIMA states it cannot waive retest periods. A single failed attempt costs a quarter of a year plus $259-$329.
The scheduling rules around the fee matter as much as the fee. You apply through a MyAHIMA account with transcripts, and AHIMA issues an Authorization to Test; Pearson VUE's program page warns that candidates who do not schedule and sit the exam before the four-month eligibility end date forfeit the exam fee. AHIMA's pages give 120 days to schedule with Pearson VUE from eligibility, allow free cancellation or rescheduling up to 15 business days before the appointment, charge a fee inside that window, and do not allow rescheduling inside 24 hours. Refund requests carry a $75 processing fee.
The service fee for a handled sitting is separate from AHIMA's exam fees, and it is due only after the agreed result posts.
Where CHPS Candidates Actually Fail
- •[object Object]
- •[object Object]
- •[object Object]
- •[object Object]
- •[object Object]
How the Service Works
You send the brief
You get a straight feasibility answer
The sitting is handled end to end
You pay after the result
What You Get
Current-format confirmation
At-home or center delivery
The full fee picture first
One point of contact
Handling It Safely
Every engagement starts from what AHIMA and Pearson VUE publish today: the exam page facts, the OnVUE minimums and prohibited list, the check-in sequence, and the fee, retake, and reschedule policies. The plan is built inside those boundaries, not around them.
What we control is the quality, discretion, and privacy of the engagement: an honest feasibility answer before anything starts, a structured sitting plan, and a fee that follows the result. Your details stay private, we never ask for more than the sitting requires, and your account access is handled under the engagement's stated terms only.
And the honesty runs both directions: if the sitting does not look feasible for your situation - a deadline that collides with the 90-day retake wait, an eligibility question, or a machine that cannot meet the OnVUE minimums - you hear that before anything starts, not after.
Pay After the Result Posts
The offer on this page is the site's real offer: Exam Assist handles the CHPS sitting end to end, and the service fee is due only after the agreed result posts. No pass, no service fee.
That structure is deliberate. You are not paying for effort or hours - you pay after you pass, and because the result posts against your own AHIMA record, there is no ambiguity about when the fee conversation happens.
What Clients Say
Four years of HIPAA work and an associate degree - I was on the eligibility ladder but had no time to prep. They confirmed the 150-question format against AHIMA's live page, handled the sitting on OnVUE, and I paid after the pass posted.
The 90-day retake wait was the risk I could not take with a compliance hire pending. The sitting was handled end to end and the fee only came due after the result.
OnVUE from my home office, one monitor, ID ready, room scan done clean - they had the whole checklist covered before exam day. Pay-after-pass made it an easy decision.
CHPS Exam Questions
Can the CHPS exam be taken online from home?
Is this exactly the service where you handle my CHPS sitting and I pay after the result?
How many questions are on the CHPS exam?
What does the CHPS exam cost?
What happens if I fail the CHPS exam?
Who is eligible for the CHPS?
What is the CHPS pass mark and how hard is the exam?
How long is the CHPS credential valid?
Get Your CHPS Sitting Handled
Send your background, your AHIMA status, your window, and your deadline. You get a straight feasibility answer against AHIMA's current published format, a plan built around OnVUE at home or a Pearson test center, and the pay-after-pass structure: the service fee is due only after the agreed result posts. If the sitting does not look feasible, you hear that first - and a failed attempt never triggers a fee.
Book CHPS Exam Help