CPAS Practice Test

The CPAS (Certified PACS Associate) is aimed at people who support or work alongside PACS imaging systems. This page lists the official exam format, scoring and retake rules, then gives you free practice sets by topic, worked answers to sample questions and a study plan. Our questions are written by us and are not real exam questions.

CPAS Exam at a Glance

What changed for CPAS in 2026

• Oct 27, 2026: Registration opens changed to Registration closed (previously Registration closed (no reopening date announced)).^[3]

What the CPAS is and how it works

According to PACS Administrators Registry and Certification Association, “The CPAS-Technical and CPAS-Clinical exams each consist of at least 50 multiple choice questions and have a 30 minute time limit.”^[1]

The CPAS is a certification from the PACS Administrators Registry and Certification Association. It is earned by passing 2 exams, CPAS-Technical and CPAS-Clinical. Each exam has at least 50 multiple choice questions and a 30 minute time limit. The minimum passing score is 70%.

Availability matters before you plan anything. The official site currently states that the association is not accepting new registrations and is not offering exams. Registration is closed, so check the official site for any change before you commit study time or money.

If you fail, you can retake the exam, with a maximum of 3 attempts within 12 months. The official site describes the charges for extra attempts, so read that page for the current wording.

Certification is valid for 5 years. To become recertified, a member needs current membership and must retake the exam for the highest certification level they hold.

Details can change, and this page only repeats what the official pages say. Treat the PACS Administrators Registry and Certification Association website as the final word on registration, fees, scheduling and policy.

CPAS content outline and where to practise each area

The content areas below are copied from the official CPAS content outline published by PACS Administrators Registry and Certification Association, with the share of the exam each area carries. The right-hand column shows which of our practice sets covers it.

Worked examples: how to reason through CPAS questions

These are practice questions written for this site, not questions from the real exam. Each explanation shows why the right answer is right and why the others are wrong.

Example 1

Question: What should be done when strategic implementation encounters unexpected obstacles?

1. Assess the situation, adjust the plan as needed, and communicate changes to stakeholders
2. Abandon the strategy entirely and start over
3. Continue without changes regardless of obstacles
4. Blame the planning team and reassign responsibilities

Answer: A. Assess the situation, adjust the plan as needed, and communicate changes to stakeholders

Explanation:

The correct answer is to assess the situation, adjust the plan as needed and communicate changes to stakeholders. Obstacles are normal in implementation work, so the sensible response is to understand what changed,修正 the plan to fit, and tell the people affected.

Abandoning the strategy and starting over throws away work that is mostly still valid. Continuing without changes ignores the problem and usually makes it worse. Blaming the planning team and reassigning responsibilities does nothing to fix the obstacle and damages trust.

The rule to remember: when a plan meets a problem, review, adjust and communicate. Extreme options such as quitting, ignoring or blaming are almost never the best answer.

Example 2

Question: Which of the following enhances interoperability between imaging and hospital systems?

1. JPEG imaging protocols.
2. Private database structures.
3. DICOM and HL7 standards
4. Email-based image transmission.

Answer: C. DICOM and HL7 standards

Explanation:

The correct answer is DICOM and HL7 standards. DICOM governs how medical images and related data are stored and exchanged. HL7 governs the exchange of clinical and administrative information such as patient demographics and orders. Together they let imaging and hospital systems from different vendors work together.

JPEG is an image compression format and does not provide the messaging and metadata that systems need. Private database structures lock data inside one product and work against interoperability. Email-based image transmission is not a controlled, standardized or well secured way to move studies between systems.

The rule to remember: interoperability comes from shared, open standards. DICOM covers images, HL7 covers messages about patients and orders.

Example 3

Question: What does VLAN stand for and why is it used in PACS network design?

1. Virtual LAN — isolates PACS traffic for security and performance
2. Virtual Link — connects two remote PACS sites via WAN
3. Verified LAN — validates each DICOM packet
4. Volume LAN — stores large DICOM file archives

Answer: A. Virtual LAN — isolates PACS traffic for security and performance

Explanation:

The correct answer is Virtual LAN, which isolates PACS traffic for security and performance. A VLAN logically separates network traffic, so imaging data does not compete with general hospital traffic and is less exposed to other devices.

Virtual Link is not the meaning of the term, and connecting remote sites over a WAN is a different job from segmenting a local network. Verified LAN is also wrong, because a VLAN does not validate DICOM packets. Volume LAN is wrong too, since a VLAN does not store archives; storage is the job of the archive servers.

The rule to remember: a VLAN is a logical segmentation tool. It separates and protects traffic, and it neither stores nor validates data.

How to use these practice tests

Start with the official content areas in the table above and mark the ones you already know from work. Be honest about weak spots, because the exam covers clinical and technical material in the same certification.

Take one practice set for each weak area, read every explanation, and write down the rule behind each miss rather than the answer itself. Begin with the sets that match the largest gaps, such as networking, standards or workflow, then return to the areas you feel sure about to check that confidence holds up.

Next, practise the way the exam runs. Each exam has a 30 minute time limit and at least 50 questions, so use the timed practice test and get used to answering at a steady pace. Aim to score well above the 70% passing mark in practice so you have some margin.

Use the official PACS Administrators Registry and Certification Association pages for the current outline and policies, and use our questions to test recall. Because our questions are written by us, they are practice only and not a preview of real exam items. Finish with a final timed run of the practice test and review any remaining misses.

Sources & last verified

1. PACS Administrators Registry and Certification Association — number of questions, time limit, passing score, retake policy (official source). “The CPAS-Technical and CPAS-Clinical exams each consist of at least 50 multiple choice questions and have a 30 minute time limit.” Verified Oct 27, 2026.
2. PACS Administrators Registry and Certification Association — validity, renewal (official source). “Certification is valid for 5 years.” Verified Oct 27, 2026.
3. PACS Administrators Registry and Certification Association — delivery, registration opens (official source). “PARCA is currently not accepting new registrations and not offering exams.” Verified Oct 27, 2026.
4. PACS Administrators Registry and Certification Association — eligibility (official source). “This certification is achieved by passing the 2 exams listed below.” Verified Oct 27, 2026.
5. PACS Administrators Registry and Certification Association — other (official source). “basic human anatomy 20%” Verified Oct 28, 2026.

How we verify: editorial & fact-checking policy. Report an error: contact us.