CSFA Pass Rate, Format & Study Guide

The certifying body does not publicly publish an official pass rate for this exam. Be wary of third-party sites citing a specific number here — treat any pass-rate claim you see elsewhere for this exam as unverified.

NBSTSA's own published policy states candidates may not test more than three times during any calendar year, and are required to pay the total testing fee (processing and examination) each time — so there's no discounted retake fee, and no mandatory waiting period is specified between attempts (subject only to test-center scheduling availability).

The CSFA exam is scored on a fixed raw cut score, not a percentage or scaled 0–100 range: NBSTSA states directly that a score of 99 out of the 150 scored questions (of 175 total; the other 25 are unscored pretest items) means you've passed. That cut score comes from a periodic standard-setting study using subject-matter-expert judgment rather than a fixed percentage-correct rule, so it can shift slightly between exam versions.

With 175 questions (only 150 scored, 25 unscored pretest items mixed in unidentifiably) over 4 hours and a 99/150 cut score, you're working with roughly 1.4 minutes per question and a ~66% raw target — tighter than it sounds once you factor in reading time on scenario-based OR questions. Because NBSTSA draws heavily on actual intraoperative technique and surgical anatomy rather than pure recall, prioritize case-based practice questions over flashcard-style review, and do at least one full 175-question timed run in the final weeks so the pacing (not the content) isn't what trips you up.