Dietetics and diabetes care exams, read from the source

Both pass marks are scaled scores, not percentages of questions answered correctly, and the two pass rates in the table are counted differently: the dietitian figure counts everyone who passed in the twelve months after a first try, retakes included, while the diabetes figure counts first attempts only. First attempts alone give the closer comparison: for the dietitian exam, 67.6% of first attempts passed in January–June 2026 (932 of 1,379), and for the diabetes exam, 61% of first-time candidates passed from July 2025 to June 2026 (1,452 tested). The two periods are not the same. Fees are list prices on the checked date. The RD exam is adaptive, so two candidates can see different numbers of questions, while everyone taking the diabetes exam gets the same count.

• On the RD exam, the 2027–2031 specifications replace the 2022–2026 specifications on January 1, 2027. Community and public health nutrition gets a separate domain and the rest is regrouped; the RD study guide lays out both outlines.
• Under the RD attempt rule there is no limit if your exam eligibility was established before January 1, 2027; a lifetime limit of eight attempts if you establish eligibility on or after that date.
• The yearly RD registration fee is $80, rising to $90 on June 1, 2027.
• CDCES renewal runs every 5 years today, moving to every 3 years: from the first cycle for anyone who passes from January 1, 2027, and at a later renewal for current holders. On the shorter cycle the hour thresholds become 600 hours of practice and 45 CE hours per 3 years, and renewal still takes any two of practice hours, CE hours and an exam pass.

Until each date arrives, the current rule still applies, and the exam pages say which one covers you if you test before it.

Facts are taken only from documents the certifying body publishes: handbooks, test specifications, content outlines, statistics and fee pages. Each row of a fact table links to its document and shows when that document was read, and a rule that has been adopted but not yet started is printed with its effective date. Fees and pass rates change more often than rules, so those rows are dated as well as sourced. Where a handbook says nothing, the page says so instead of taking a number from a prep company. The full method, including how practice questions are reviewed, is on the About page.

Every document behind the launch pages was read on November 13, 2026. These were the first readings, so nothing is recorded yet as changed.

• Dietitian exam: the RD Exam Handbook for Candidates (April 2026), the 2022–2026 and 2027–2031 test specifications and the comparison of the two, the exam overview, eligibility and graduate-degree pages, the pass-rate reports for 2025, the first-attempt summary for January–June 2026, the study resources page, the registry statistics, the registration maintenance fees and the Professional Development Portfolio guide.
• CDCES: the 2026 examination handbook (v1.2), the content outline effective July 1, 2024, the eligibility, application, renewal and renewal-cycle-change pages, the summary exam statistics for the two most recent testing years, the Unique Qualifications Pathway instructions, the guide to live remote proctoring, the exam preparation, recognized preparation pathway and results pages, the 2025 renewal-by-CE statistics, and PSI's practice-exam page.
• Field page: the American Nutrition Association's CNS pages and its 2024–2028 CNS content outline, the dietetics commission's DTR eligibility page, DTR test specifications and its board-certified specialist and RDN credential pages, and CBDCE's home page, new-name page and BC-ADM transfer notice.