The FP-C exam: sections, cut score and retakes
Source: IBSC's FP-C Candidate Handbook Verified Nov 6, 2026
The FP-C exam gives you 135 four-option questions split across two timed sections and 150 min of testing; 25 of them are trial items being calibrated, with no effect on your result. In 2024 the board set the cut at 73 of the 110 scored questions, and 57.6% of candidates passed.
On this page · 9 sections
Sections, scoring and retest rules, sourced
| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Question format | Multiple choice with four options in two timed sections; no return to Section 1 after you finish it Section 1 has 68 questions and Section 2 has 67, with 75 minutes each and an optional 5-minute break between them. There is no penalty for guessing. | FP-C Candidate Handbook, updated April 2026 |
| Questions | 135 questions | FP-C Candidate Handbook, updated April 2026 |
| Scored questions | 110 scored questions | FP-C Candidate Handbook, updated April 2026 |
| Unscored questions | 25 unscored pretest questions | FP-C Candidate Handbook, updated April 2026 |
| Exam time | 150 minutes: two 75-minute sections | FP-C Candidate Handbook, updated April 2026 |
| Calculator and aids | An on-screen calculator is provided | FP-C Candidate Handbook, updated April 2026 |
| Passing score | A modified-Angoff cut score; the 2024 FP-C cut was 73 of 110 scored questions IBSC reports pass or fail only. Passing candidates get no score; failing candidates get a report of the subject areas of relative strength and weakness, which IBSC says should be read with caution. | IBSC: 2024 Annual Report +1 |
| Score scale | Pass or fail; failing candidates also get a report of relative strengths and weaknesses by subject area | FP-C Candidate Handbook, updated April 2026 |
| Results | Emailed, usually within 1 hour for test center and remote exams Results of onsite MedBox exams come through Prometric's score report site. The certificate arrives within about 3 weeks. | FP-C Candidate Handbook, updated April 2026 |
| Wait before a retake | 30 calendar days after a failed attempt | IBSC: Retesting Policy, rev. April 10, 2025 |
| Retake limit | Five attempts in a cycle, with longer waits and letters of support from the fourth; a fifth failure brings a one-year wait Attempt 4 needs 90 more days and a letter from a professional educator; attempt 5 needs 180 more days and a letter from your medical director. After a fifth failure you wait one year. The policy's summary list says the cycle then starts again; its main text asks for another medical director's letter for that attempt and allows none after it. ≈ as of Nov 6, 2026 · the policy text and its summary differ | IBSC: Retesting Policy, rev. April 10, 2025 |
| Retake fee | The full exam fee for every attempt | IBSC: Retesting Policy, rev. April 10, 2025 +1 |
| Pass rate | 57.6% in 2024 Across all IBSC exams the pass rate was 64.7% in 2024 and 61.3% in 2025. | IBSC: 2024 Annual Report |
| Content outline in force | Ten-domain content outline in the April 2026 handbook | FP-C Candidate Handbook, updated April 2026 |
| Next change | IBSC funded an FP-C job analysis starting in early 2026, so a new outline is likely; no date announced ≈ as of Nov 6, 2026 · no date announced | IBSC: 2025 Annual Report |
| Largest area | Airway, Anesthesia and Analgesics (17 of 110 scored questions) | FP-C Candidate Handbook, updated April 2026 |
Every row verified Nov 6, 2026. From the April 2026 candidate handbook, the April 2025 retesting policy and the 2024 and 2025 annual reports.
Two sections, and no way back to the first
The exam runs as two separately timed halves of almost equal length, with an optional short break between them; the counts and minutes are in the table. Guessing costs nothing, so leave no item blank.
The one rule that changes how you pace the day: once you close Section 1, its questions are locked. Flag uncertain items as you go and review them before you end the section, not at the end of the exam. Use the break; the second section is as long as the first.
Where the cut score comes from
Experts on the board's standard-setting committee rate every item for the chance that a borderline-competent flight paramedic answers it correctly; summed, those ratings give the cut. This is the modified-Angoff method. The 2024 annual report put the cut at 73 of 110 scored questions. A cut set this way can move when the form or the outline changes, so other numbers quoted online may describe an older form, or none at all.
A pass comes without a number, so the cut is the only figure you will ever see against your result.
When results arrive
- Timing: emailed, usually within 1 hour for test center and remote exams. Onsite sessions report through the test vendor instead, and the certificate follows some weeks later.
If you fail, the report shows relative strengths and weaknesses by domain. Treat a small domain's result as a rough signal: a handful of items cannot measure much.
The FP-C pass rate
The board's 2024 annual report gives 57.6% for this exam, below the rate it reports across all of its exams for the same year (both are in the table). The flight paramedic exam passed fewer candidates in 2024 than the board's exams as a whole; the 2025 report gives only the all-exam rate. Other figures still circulate on older pages, so check the year behind any rate you see.
Failing and testing again
- Wait: 30 calendar days after a failed attempt.
- Fee: the full exam fee for every attempt.
From the fourth attempt, each retake adds a longer wait and a letter of support; the full ladder is in the table. Plan the first three attempts so that a weak domain gets real study time between them, not just the minimum wait.
Rest of the FP-C set
/fp-c/FP-C practice testFree flight paramedic questions in outline proportions, every option explained/fp-c/practice-test/FP-C cost and registrationExam fee and member price, booking with IBSC and Prometric, change fees/fp-c/registration/FP-C study guideEach domain of the April 2026 outline: scope, scored items and traps/fp-c/study-guide/Sources
- [1]IBSC: FP-C Candidate Handbook, updated April 2026 (PDF) ibscertifications.org, re-read Nov 6, 2026
- [2]IBSC: 2024 Annual Report (PDF) ibscertifications.org, re-read Nov 6, 2026
- [3]IBSC: Retesting Policy, rev. April 10, 2025 (PDF) ibscertifications.org, re-read Nov 6, 2026
- [4]IBSC: exam fees ibscertifications.org, re-read Nov 6, 2026
- [5]IBSC: 2025 Annual Report (PDF) ibscertifications.org, re-read Nov 6, 2026
FP-C format and scoring questions
How long is the FP-C, in questions?
135 in total: 110 count toward the result and 25 are unscored trial items.
What score do you need to pass the flight paramedic exam?
There is no fixed percentage. The 2024 cut was 73 correct of 110 scored items, set by a panel study, and the report only says pass or fail.
Can I change answers in Section 1 after the break?
No. Section 1 closes for good when you finish it, so review its flagged items before you move on.