CRCST Exam Guide

The Certified Registered Central Service Technician (CRCST) credential from the Healthcare Sterile Processing Association (HSPA, formerly IAHCSMM) is the main certification for sterile processing technicians. This guide covers the hours requirement, the exam, costs and how to prepare.

The 400 hours

Certification requires passing the exam and completing 400 hours of hands-on experience in a sterile processing department, paid or volunteer:

Area	Hours
Decontamination	120
Preparing and packaging	120
Sterilization and disinfection	120
Storage and distribution	24
Quality assurance	16

You can finish the hours first (within the past five years, documented by a supervisor), or test first: if you pass without the hours, you get provisional certification and have six months to complete and submit all 400 hours, or it’s forfeited.

The exam

The CRCST exam has 150 multiple-choice questions: 125 scored and 25 unscored, mixed in at random, with a 3-hour limit, taken on a computer at a Prometric test center.

Content area	Share
Departmental Considerations	15%
Cleaning, Decontamination and Disinfection	21%
Preparation and Packaging	21%
Sterilization Process	21%
Sterile Storage, Transport and Inventory Management	9%
Professional Development and Human Relation Skills	8%
Patient Care Equipment and Distribution	5%

Passing score

HSPA reports only pass or fail. A panel of experts sets the passing point, and HSPA doesn’t publish it as a number or percentage.

Cost, retakes and renewal

• Fee: \(140, which includes a \)25 nonrefundable application fee. Once approved, you have 120 days to schedule and take the exam.
• Retakes: after 6 weeks, with a retake application and another $140.
• Renewal: every year, with 12 continuing education credits on technical sterile processing topics and the annual fee.

Check the HSPA Certification Handbook for current fees and rules.

How hard is the CRCST exam?

It’s detailed and technical. Three areas (decontamination, packaging and sterilization) are nearly two-thirds of the exam, and they test specifics: sterilizer cycle parameters, biological and chemical indicators, packaging rules, and the AAMI standards behind them. Hands-on experience helps a lot, because many questions describe real department situations.

How to study

Use the HSPA textbook as your main reference, then practise with questions.

If you have four weeks: spend a week each on decontamination, preparation and packaging, and sterilization, then use the last week for the smaller areas and full timed practice exams.

If you have two weeks: focus on the three big areas, and take a timed full-length practice exam at the end of each week.

Start with free practice on the home page.