Free CST Practice Test 2026
200 questions weighted to the NBSTSA content outline. Tuned for mobile. No account needed.
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How It Works
Training by Exam Domain
Sets follow the NBSTSA outline: preoperative, intraoperative, postoperative, ancillary duties, and basic science. Questions you miss come back until you have mastered them.
Practice Tests
Four 50-question tests that mirror the real exam's weighting. Intraoperative procedures are almost half of every test, just like the real CST.
Built on the Official NBSTSA Content Outline
The NBSTSA publishes how many of the 150 scored items come from each domain (2023 job analysis). Every practice test here follows that weighting.
We Just Launched!
The CST practice test is brand new. If a question looks wrong or you want a topic covered in more depth, tell us.
Send Us FeedbackHow to Pass the CST Exam
1. Know the exam format
175 multiple-choice questions in 4 hours: 150 scored plus 25 unscored pretest items. You need 102 of the 150 scored items correct, roughly 68 percent.
2. Weight your study like the exam
Intraoperative procedures are 68 of the 150 scored items, so start with the Intraoperative training set. Preoperative preparation and anatomy and physiology are next at 19 and 18.
3. Study from the NBSTSA reference list
The core texts are the AST Surgical Technology for the Surgical Technologist and Frey's Surgical Technology: Principles and Practice. Pair them with the NBSTSA CST Study Guide.
4. Drill your weak areas
TigerTest tracks your accuracy by content area. After each practice test, go back to the training set for the area you missed most.
CST Exam Frequently Asked Questions
How many questions are on the CST exam?
175 multiple-choice questions in 4 hours. 150 are scored and 25 are unscored pretest items. You need 102 of the 150 scored items correct to pass.
What topics does the CST exam cover?
Perioperative Care (105 scored items: preoperative 19, intraoperative 68, postoperative 10), Ancillary Duties (23: administrative and personnel 7, equipment sterilization 16), and Basic Science (30: anatomy and physiology 18, microbiology 6, surgical pharmacology 6).
Does this work for the TS-C exam too?
Largely, yes. The NCCT Tech in Surgery - Certified (TS-C) exam covers the same perioperative, sterilization, and basic science material, though its exact weighting differs.
Is the TigerTest CST practice test free?
Yes. All four practice tests and all five training sets are free, with no account required. Create a free account if you want your progress saved across devices.