Pass rate and pass mark

CRPO exam pass rate and pass mark

Facts checked against CRPO's and Ontario's official sources on October 21, 2026.

CRPO's exam page states that the average pass rate on the Registration Examination over the past eight years has been 85%, and its 2025 to 2026 Annual Report gives 83.5% for Qualifying registrants at the 2024 sittings. No pass mark is published in advance, because there is no single one: COMPASS sets the passing point for each version of the exam, with separate pass marks for Information Gathering and Decision Making.

The figures CRPO publishes

These are the only pass rates we found from CRPO or COMPASS, checked in October 2026.

Figure	What CRPO says it measures	Where it is published
85%	"The average pass rate on the exam over the past 8 years" (no years named)	CRPO's Requirements and Writing the Exam page
83.5%	"Exam pass rate for Qualifying registrants (2024 sittings)"	CRPO Annual Report 2025 to 2026
91%	"Exam pass rate for Qualifying registrants" (the period is not stated)	CRPO Annual Report 2022 to 2023

What is missing matters as much. In the pages and reports we checked, CRPO gives no number of candidates, no result for each sitting, and no split between first attempts and rewrites or between English and French. COMPASS's FAQ gives no pass rate figures at all. If you see a "first-time pass rate" or a pass rate for a particular sitting elsewhere, it did not come from either body.

Read the figures for what they are: most candidates pass, and a meaningful minority do not. At 83.5%, about one candidate in six at the 2024 sittings did not.

How the pass mark is set

The pass mark is not a percentage. The Resource Manual says "the pass/fail score in the competency-based Examination is not a specific percentage across all test items."

It is set for each version of the exam. "The passing point for each form of the Registration Examination is set by COMPASS' test development committee", using a criterion-referenced (Angoff) method. The exact passing point "varies from one version of the Examination to another", depending on the scored simulations it contains.
Versions are kept comparable. The committee "uses linear equating to ensure the versions of the Examination are parallel in difficulty."
It measures you against a standard, not against other candidates. Criterion-referenced means the line is drawn at what competent entry-level practice requires. COMPASS puts it this way: "The pass-score in information-gathering and decision-making is based on good client care."
There are two pass marks. "Candidates must achieve total raw passing scores in both IG and DM to successfully complete the Registration Examination." A high score in one does not offset a low score in the other. IG and DM sections explains the difference.

Any source that quotes you a specific pass mark before the exam is guessing. The How the exam works module sets out the full scoring model.

What your result shows

CRPO says results are typically released six to eight weeks after the exam date. You receive a one-page PDF score report from COMPASS and a results notice from CRPO with your next steps.

The score sheet gives your Information Gathering and Decision Making results, the pass mark required for each, and the highest scores candidates achieved at the same sitting. It does not give item-by-item results, so you will not see which selections cost you points. A candidate must pass within three attempts; if you did not pass covers the rules and the next steps.

What you can control

You cannot know the pass mark on the day. You can control how your raw totals are built.

Work both streams to the same standard. A strong IG total cannot rescue a weak DM total.
Never leave a section empty. You cannot return to a skipped section, and it adds nothing to your total.
Select deliberately. The manual's own example uses a section pass score of 6. A candidate who chose four well-judged options scored 6 and passed it. A candidate who selected every option scored 0, the same as one who selected nothing.
Practise at exam pace. Ten simulations in three hours is about eighteen minutes each, and the last sections of a case need the same care as the first.
Find your weak stream early. The free 10-minute diagnostic shows where your selections lose points, and practice cases explain the weight of every option, which the real score sheet never will.

Common questions

What percentage do I need to pass the CRPO exam?

None is published, because the pass mark is not a percentage. COMPASS sets a passing point for each version of the exam, one for Information Gathering and one for Decision Making.

Is the 85% pass rate for first attempts only?

CRPO does not say. The figures it publishes do not separate first attempts from rewrites, or give results by sitting or language.

Do other candidates' scores change my result?

No. The pass mark is criterion-referenced, so it reflects the standard of good client care, not a share of candidates who must fail.

Will I see my score or only pass or fail?

Both. CRPO notifies you of a pass or fail, and COMPASS's score sheet shows your IG and DM results against the pass mark for each.