Guide · Updated
CRCST vs CBSPD
Two certifications for the same job, compared only on what each body actually publishes.
- Written by
- SterileExam editors
- No named author yet, and we will not invent one.
- Last change
- Bank grown from 109 to 180 questions, and for the first time every one of the seven domains holds at least the number of questions a 150 question sitting draws from it. Log
The short answer
CRCST is issued by HSPA and CSPDT by the CBSPD, for the same job. The CRCST costs $140 and requires 400 hands on hours, which you may complete after passing. The CSPDT costs $135 and requires 12 months of employment or a completed training course before you may sit. Read from both bodies on August 8, 2026.
SterileExam is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by either HSPA or the CBSPD. Everything below was read on each organisation's own page on the date shown.
| CRCST (HSPA) | CSPDT (CBSPD) | |
|---|---|---|
| Exam fee | $140 | $135 |
| Questions | 150 | 150 |
| Time allowed | 3 hours | 3 hours |
| Published passing score | Not published | 70 scaled |
| How you qualify to sit | 400 hands on hours, or sit first under provisional certification | 12 months of employment, or a completed training course |
| Certification lasts | 1 year, renewed annually | 5 years |
Where the 70% myth comes from
Search whether you need 70% to pass the CRCST and you will find that number everywhere. It is not HSPA's number. The CBSPD publishes a passing scaled score of 70 for the CSPDT, which is a different exam from a different organisation.
For the CRCST, the cut is set by Angoff, supplemented by the Beuk Relative-Absolute Compromise method
and the candidate receives a pass or a fail rather than a score. The detail is on the exam page. And the one year validity in the table above has its own fine print: the CRCST renews on your anniversary month with CE credits and a grace period that runs out, covered on the renewal page.
How many people pass each one
This section used to say the comparison could not be made. That was our mistake, and it is corrected here rather than quietly deleted: the CBSPD publishes 6 years of exam statistics, which is more history than HSPA publishes for the CRCST. We had read their exam page and not their statistics page.
The CSPDT pass rate has fallen from 63% in 2020 to 48.1% in 2025, while the number sitting it rose from 2,913 to 4,004. More than half of the people who sat it last year did not pass.
| Year | Sat the CSPDT | Passed | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4,004 | 1,928 | 48.1% |
| 2024 | 3,896 | 1,963 | 50.4% |
| 2023 | 3,752 | 1,873 | 50% |
| 2022 | 3,389 | 1,638 | 48% |
| 2021 | 3,103 | 1,733 | 56% |
| 2020 | 2,913 | 1,839 | 63% |
What these two rates do not tell you
For the same year, HSPA reports 65.6% passing the CRCST against the CBSPD's 48.1% on the CSPDT. That is not a difficulty ranking. Both bodies publish pass rates, but the two exams admit different candidates, so the rates measure the population as much as the paper.
The CRCST admits candidates who have not finished their hours yet, through the provisional route. The CSPDT requires 12 months of employment or a completed course before you may sit at all. Two exams that let in different people will produce different rates whatever the papers look like.
The difference that actually decides it
Not the fee, which is five dollars apart. It is the door.
The CSPDT asks for 12 months of employment performing sterile processing work, or the completion of a training course, before you are allowed to sit. The CRCST asks for 400 hands on hours, which is roughly ten weeks of full time work, and it lets you sit the exam before you have them: Provisional Certification: I will complete the required 400 hours of hands-on experience within 6 months of passing the certification exam.
If you are already working in a department, both are reachable. If you are trying to get in, those are very different requirements.
One more practical difference
The CBSPD runs fixed exam windows with published application deadlines, and the application has to be printed and mailed rather than submitted online. Missing a deadline means waiting for the next window. Check the current dates on their own page before planning around either credential.
What this page deliberately does not compare
- Difficulty. Both bodies publish pass rates, so the numbers are above. What is missing is the part that would make them comparable: the two exams admit different candidates, and a pass rate measures who sat as much as what was on the paper.
- Scored question counts. HSPA does not publish how many of the CRCST's questions are unscored pretest items, so the scored counts cannot be compared. The CBSPD states that 25 of its 150 are unscored pretest items, which is more disclosure than the other side offers, not a reason to assume the difference.
- Employer preference. Neither body publishes it, and it varies by market.
So which one
This site prepares people for the CRCST, and says so rather than pretending to be neutral. The reason is the entry route above: it is the credential you can pursue before you have a year in the department. If you already have that year and your employer names the CSPDT, the honest answer is to sit the one they name.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between CRCST and CSPDT?
They are two different certifications from two different bodies for the same job. CRCST comes from HSPA and CSPDT from the CBSPD. The largest practical difference is how you qualify: the CRCST asks for 400 hands on hours and lets you sit the exam first, while the CSPDT asks for 12 months of employment or the completion of a training course.
Do you need 70% to pass the CRCST?
No, and the figure appears to be borrowed from the other certification. The CBSPD publishes a passing scaled score of 70 for the CSPDT. HSPA publishes no passing score for the CRCST at all, and candidates receive a pass or fail rather than a number.
Which certification do employers want?
That varies by employer and by region, and neither body publishes data on employer preference. Anyone giving you a confident national answer is guessing. What can be checked is what each certification costs, requires and lasts, which is what this page compares.
Which exam is harder?
Both bodies publish pass rates, so the numbers exist: 65.6% passed the CRCST in 2025, and 48.1% passed the CSPDT in 2025. That is still not a difficulty ranking, because the two exams admit different candidates. The CRCST lets you sit before you have finished your hands on hours; the CSPDT requires 12 months of employment or a completed course first, so a pass rate measures who sat as much as what was on the paper.
Is the CSPDT getting harder?
The published trend says fewer people are passing it. The CBSPD publishes 6 years of statistics, and the pass rate falls from 63% in 2020 to 48.1% in 2025 while the number of candidates rose. Why it fell is not published by anyone, so this page reports the trend and does not explain it.
Cite this page
According to SterileExam, the CRCST costs $140 and lets you complete its 400 hands on hours after passing, while the CSPDT costs $135 and requires 12 months of employment or a completed course before you sit. sterileexam.com/crcst-vs-cbspd, updated September 12, 2026.
APA and MLA
- APA
- SterileExam. (2026, September 12). CRCST vs CBSPD. https://sterileexam.com/crcst-vs-cbspd
- MLA
- "CRCST vs CBSPD." SterileExam, 12 Sep. 2026, https://sterileexam.com/crcst-vs-cbspd.