When Is The Registered Dietitian Exam Offered

Guide to Registration Examination for Dietitians (CDR Exam)

To earn a registered dietitian (RD) or registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) credential—two names for the same credential—you must meet the criteria established past the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), the credentialing agency for the University of Nutrition and Dietetics, and pass an exam. The test may be referred to as the CDR exam, the RD examination or the Registration Examination for Dietitians.

What Is the CDR Exam?

To earn the RD credential, you must pass the examination sponsored past the CDR, which is the national credentialing agency for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The goal of the exam is to exam applicants' knowledge of nutrition and dietetics—a quality assurance measure of sorts. Passing the CDR test and earning the national RD credential will qualify you for licensure or certification in about states so you may begin working. Requirements for state-issued license or certification for dieticians vary by land.

Understanding the goal of the CDR exam may help yous amend grasp its importance and help you gear up for the test.

Eligibility to Take CDR Exam

Before yous register for the test, make sure you lot meet the eligibility requirements for the CDR exam.

Test Topics

The CDR exam encompasses four content sections called domains. Each section in the CDR exam comprises a dissimilar pct of the concluding grade, as outlined in the CDR'south exam specifications online resources [PDF, 252 KB]:

Principles of Dietetics (25%)
- Food Scientific discipline and Nutrient Composition of Foods
- Diet and Supporting Sciences
- Didactics, Communication and Technology
- Enquiry Applications

Nutrition Care for Individuals and Groups (twoscore%)
- Screening and Cess
- Diagnosis
- Planning and Intervention
- Monitoring and Evaluation

Management of Food and Nutrition Programs and Services (21%)
- Functions of Management
- Human Resource
- Fiscal Management
- Marketing and Public Relations
- Quality Management and Improvement

Food Service Systems (xiv%)
- Menu Development
- Procurement, Production, Distribution and Service
- Sanitation and Safety
- Equipment and Facility Planning

Examination Format

The CDR exam is a computer-based adaptive test, a type of testing that is widely considered more efficient and accurate than paper-and-pencil tests. Your answers will decide which questions you receive next.

The CDR exam handbook for candidates [PDF, ane.5 MB] tin be found on the Commission on Dietetic Registration'south website. It contains information about the examination format, scheduling and more than. The test is 2 1/2 hours and can be completed at a exam centre of your choice. At that place are 125 to 145 multiple-option questions. Out of 125 questions, a educatee must answer 100 scored questions and 25 unscored pretest questions for the exam to exist scored. Out of 145 questions, 120 scored questions and 25 unscored pretest questions must be answered. If fewer than 125 questions are answered when the testing period has concluded, the student volition fail the test. The exam questions are designed to examination at either the comprehension or application level.

An on-screen reckoner is provided.

Exam Scheduling

When you are sure you meet the eligibility requirements and have been validated past CDR, y'all tin can take the CDR exam. You lot will exist notified of your eligibility to schedule your exam via email by CDR'due south testing vendor, Pearson VUE. The entire process, from the fourth dimension CDR receives your eligibility information to the time you receive the Pearson VUE authorization to examination electronic mail, takes three to four weeks.

Say-so expires after the exam is taken or i yr after receipt of the email, whichever occurs first. If you take the test and fail, you must contact CDR to re-establish eligibility to retake the examination after 45 days. There is no limit on the number of times you may take the examination, provided you wait the required 45 days between test dates.

The RD examination is administered yr-round at more than 250 locations in the United States. Yous may search for a test center virtually yous on the Pearson Vue website. The fee to take the CDR exam is $200.

CDR Test Laissez passer Rate

The rate of students who laissez passer the CDR test on their first try hovers effectually 70%. According to CDR data on grouping operation [PDF, 156 KB], out of the ane,692 kickoff-time test-takers who took the examination from January through June 2020, lxx% passed and xxx% failed. For students who are repeating the exam, the CDR exam pass rates are reversed: In that same time period, out of 1,183 people who retook the test, only 30% passed and 70% failed.

How to Ready for the CDR Exam

There is no one correct way to prepare for the CDR test. You lot know yourself best, and your report methods have gotten y'all this far already. That said, here are some tips you lot may detect useful as you set for the exam:

1. Plan Ahead

The CDR exam may be challenging for some. Depending on the person, it tin can have several weeks or months of studying to fully prepare. Exist sure to give yourself enough fourth dimension, given your schedule and mode of preparation.

2. Make a Study Plan

Fix a realistic report schedule and decide what topics you lot will study at which times. You may write it down in a newspaper planner or apply Google calendar to map out report blocks. Determine whether yous will report alone or with other people and where. Some people concentrate better away from dwelling house.

3. Choose Your Study Materials

In that location are a number of costless materials available online to assist yous prepare for the CDR exam, as well as paid print, online and audio materials. CDR publishes its own study guides and related materials for purchase. Other options include Inman Seminars' print and audio review course for the RD exam and Mometrix Test Preparation study guides. To save costs, some students purchase used materials or share them with other students.

Note: CDR does not endorse any detail examination training program or offering. Purchasing a certification preparation product is not required and does not guarantee that an individual volition pass the exam.

4. Practice and Reinforce What Yous've Learned

Whether you use online testing tools, apps, flash cards or another method, practice may help you master the information.

5. Swallow Correct on Examination Mean solar day

Dietitians particularly know the importance of eating a proficient breakfast the mean solar day of the examination. Also be sure to go a good dark'south remainder beforehand and leave yourself actress time to go to the exam location.

Additional Resource to Prepare for the CDR Exam

In add-on to those mentioned, in that location are a diversity of resources to assist you gear up for the exam. When deciding on which ones to use, consider your budget, timeframe and how you learn best. Yous may need a combination of tools to really grasp the information. Here are a few to consider:

Mutual CDR Exam Books

CDR exam handbook for candidates [PDF, i.v MB]. This free 11-page handbook from CDR contains full general information about the exam, including getting authorization to exam, scheduling the examination, payment, exam content, and interpreting score results.

Study Guide for the Registration Exam for Dietitians, tenth Ed. CDR publishes and sells this written report guide, which includes tips and practice exams.

Registration Examinations for Dietitians 2017-21 Report Outline [PDF, 70 KB]. This 11-folio free resources from CDR lists all the content domains and topics covered on the CDR exam. Students who have passed the exam recommend starting with the topics that are the most challenging to yous.

CDR Test Practice Websites

EatRightPrep. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics offers this online RD exam prep tool. Buy of a three-month subscription gives users access to several full-length practice exams with detailed performance reports after each test and references for each question, likewise as other written report tools and tips. You tin try information technology out with a free demo.

RD Examination Study Suite software. This multiple-pick written report guide created by an RD, resembles the actual RD exam. It includes thousands of practice questions and videos.

Pass the Exam Prep. This exam training guide teaches students the Written report Smarter Method, a fashion of studying based on your learning style. The RD who created the Study Smarter Method claims this method is more efficient and effective than traditional studying methods, such as reading and highlighting information. Options include six-calendar month online access or a spiral-bound book.

At present that yous know what'due south involved in preparing for the CDR examination and earning the RD credential, you may feel amend prepared to take this adjacent stride toward a career as a dietitian. The CDR examination may be challenging, simply don't allow that stop you from pursuing your goal to go an RD.

Last updated February 2021.