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NCCT · Certification exam

TS-C practice test

The Tech in Surgery – Certified exam from the National Center for Competency Testing. 175 questions, 150 of them scored, in four hours.

1,295questions to practice
4 htimed exam, 175 questions
70%passes

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TS-C practice test · today’s five, done

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Today’s five
Question 1 of 5 · Sterile Technique

Setting up alone, the scrub brushes a sterile gloveSTAIR-ul gluvA glove that has been sterilized and packed so it can touch a sterile field or an open body area without bringing in germs.Full entry against the unsterile edge of the back table sterilization wrapperstair-uh-lih-ZAY-shun RAP-erA sheet of woven or nonwoven material folded around an instrument set or item so the sterilant gets in and germs stay out afterward.Full entry . What should the scrub do?

Press Practice. That's the whole setup.

No question count to pick, no modes, no settings. The TS-C practice test decides what to ask you next.

  1. 1

    Press Practice

    You get 10 questions picked for you. Keep going for 5 more as long as you like, or stop whenever. Nothing is lost.

  2. 2

    Answer, then see why

    Every answer shows the right one and the reason for it, so a wrong answer still teaches you something. Hard words are underlined in practice: tap one to see what it means.

  3. 3

    Sit the exam when your score is ready

    Your score sits next to the 70% pass mark. When it stays over, sit the full exam: 175 questions in 4 hours.

What's on the TS-C exam

NCCT publishes how much of the exam comes from each area. Our timed exam deals its questions in the same shares, so it feels like the real one.

Instrument photo questions count toward Surgeon Support, where the real exam asks them.

NCCT TS-C content outlineShare of the exam
Preoperative Care and Preparation 32%
Sterile Technique12%
Surgical Procedure Set-Up11%
Patient Safety9%
Perioperative Care and Preparation 27%
Integrity and Sterility of Items8%
Environmental Safety7%
Basic Science6%
Communication and Reporting6%
Intraoperative Care and Preparation 25%
Surgeon Support17%
Preparation of Supplies7%
End of Procedure Tasks and Postoperative Care 16%
Postoperative Tasks8%
End of Procedure Tasks8%

The TS-C isn’t written from a single book.

“This detailed test plan reflects the results of a national job analysis study that determined the critical job competencies to be tested by NCCT in this certification examination.”NCCT, TS-C Detailed Test Plan (2024)
What you needYour bookThis test
Explains the material
Asks you questions at your level–
Finds the areas you're weak in–
Times you like the real exam–
What our 1,212 written questions citeEvery answer prints its source
Frey, Surgical Technology for the Surgical Technologist838
Alexander's Care of the Patient in Surgery659
Kotcher Fuller, Surgical Technology: Principles and Practice530
AORN Guidelines for Perioperative Practice232
AST Standards and Guidelines146
IAHCSMM Central Service Technical Manual105
Nemitz, Surgical Instrumentation97
CDC infection control guidelines72
Howe and Burton, Pharmacology for the Surgical Technologist58

TS-C practice test questions, answered

Anything else, ask at the Help Desk. A surgical tech reads every question.

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Is the TS-C practice test free?

Yes. Five new TS-C questions every day with the answers explained, the same five for everyone. No account needed. A free account keeps your days. Pro opens all 1,295 questions and the timed exam.

How many questions are on the TS-C exam?

The Tech in Surgery – Certified exam from the National Center for Competency Testing. 175 questions, 150 of them scored, in four hours. Our timed exam matches it: 175 questions in 4 hours, and 70% passes.

Does the TS-C practice test have answers and rationales?

Every question. After each answer you see the right one and the reason for it, in practice and on today's five. On the timed exam you see them all when you hand it in, the way you would want to review a real one.

Is there a TS-C practice test PDF?

No. The questions live online so the answer and its reason show the moment you answer, and practice can pick your next question from what you missed. A PDF can do neither. It works on any phone or computer, nothing to download.

Is it up to date for 2026?

Yes. It is built on the current TS-C content outline: its areas are the exam's own, shown above with the share of the exam each one takes.

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All 1,295 TS-C questions in sets as long as you like, the timed exam on the real clock, and your score by area so you know what to fix before you walk in.

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