OB-E Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

What the Public Data Actually Shows

Candidates searching for an OB-E pass rate usually want one number: the percentage of people who pass on the first try. Here is the honest answer for POCUS - Obstetrics Essentials (OB-E), the content-specific certification offered by the Point-of-Care Ultrasound Certification Academy, part of Inteleos. In the issuer sources reviewed for this article (checked October 14, 2026), no credential-specific pass rate was published. There is also no published numerical passing mark, no assessment-wide question total, and no fixed examination timer.

That absence matters. Many websites fill the gap with confident-sounding percentages that trace back to nothing. If you see a precise OB-E pass rate quoted without a citation to the issuer, treat it as unverified. It may even be borrowed from a different credential that shares the same acronym. This article deliberately avoids inventing numbers and instead explains what the verifiable program structure tells you about your odds and how to improve them.

Why a Single Pass Rate Is Hard to Define for This Credential

Even if a figure were published, a single headline percentage would be a blunt instrument for OB-E. Several features of the program make a one-number summary less meaningful than it would be for a traditional proctored multiple-choice exam.

The candidate pool is pre-screened

OB-E is not open to anyone who wants to try. Candidates must be actively practicing healthcare professionals in good standing. They need POCUS Fundamentals (or a waiver, such as a passed SPI within five years or a current ARDMS/APCA credential). They must also attest to performing and participating in 25 obstetric POCUS cases across the three trimesters within the preceding two years. A group that has already logged supervised scanning volume will naturally look different from an open-enrollment population. You can review the full gate in our OB-E requirements breakdown.

The assessment has two parts

Passing requires clearing every required component. A rate that blended clinical-case results with peer-evaluation outcomes would hide which part trips people up. Because initially passed components carry into the first retake, a candidate who fails one component does not necessarily repeat everything. That makes "pass rate" a fuzzier concept than a single sitting with a single score.

The format is flexible

The assessment is an issuer-operated online experience delivered through myPOCUS. Online work can be stopped and resumed, and candidates complete the clinical assessment and peer evaluation within 90 days of registration. Without a fixed timer or a single sitting, the pressure profile differs from a test-center exam, and so does the relationship between preparation and outcome.

How the OB-E Assessment Is Built

Understanding the structure is the most useful substitute for a pass rate, because it tells you what you are really being measured on. The clinical component uses image and video cases rather than recall-only questions. The issuer describes a seven-question media template that does not require a diagnosis for every item. That template should not be read as an assessment-wide question total, which has not been published.

The issuer's FAQ offers planning guidance of roughly 20 to 30 minutes per case. That is a pacing suggestion, not an exam time limit, so use it to budget your own sessions rather than to expect a countdown clock.

For fee mechanics, including eligible-country reductions and group pricing, see the OB-E certification cost breakdown. Confidentiality and NDA rules also apply, which is why you will not find leaked item banks on reputable sites.

The Five Weighted Objectives and Where Candidates Lose Ground

The official content outline lists five weighted clinical-case assessment objectives totaling 100%. These are assessment objectives, not course curriculum, and they are the closest thing to a map of where your score comes from. Without outcome data we cannot say which domain candidates fail most, but we can say where the points are concentrated.

For a deeper treatment of each area, read our complete guide to all five OB-E content areas.

The Peer Evaluation: The Component Candidates Overlook

Most pass-rate speculation focuses on the image and video cases. But the separate peer evaluation is a required component, and it behaves very differently from a knowledge test. You must supply at least two peer evaluators with a clinical ultrasound background who know your content-specific imaging abilities. The first two anonymous questionnaires received determine your peer-assessment result.

That detail carries a practical consequence: you do not get to cherry-pick favorable responses after the fact. If you list a colleague who barely supervised your scanning, or someone slow to respond, the outcome is out of your hands once the first two come in.

What the peer criteria cover

The peer criteria are equally weighted and separate from the five clinical-case domains. They include:

• Diagnostic Quality
• Gain
• Views
• Measurement
• Decision Making
• Depth
• M-Mode and Color Doppler, when applicable

These are not additional clinical-case domains, and they should not be confused with the 35/20/15/15/15 weighting above. They describe how a colleague judges your hands-on technique, which is exactly what a well-supervised 25-case logbook should have prepared you for.

Retake Rules and What They Imply About Failure

The retake policy is the most concrete, citable guidance about what happens if you do not pass the first time. For content-specific certifications like OB-E:

• You have two total attempts.
• A 30-day waiting period applies between attempts.
• You must submit the retake application within 90 days of the failure.
• If attempts are exhausted, a one-year wait applies.
• Components you initially passed carry into the first retake.

This design suggests the program expects some candidates to need a second attempt and is built to be forgiving about it: you are not forced to redo a component you already cleared. Still, the one-year lockout after two failures is a real cost, so the first attempt deserves serious preparation. For a sense of how demanding the assessment is in practice, see how hard the OB-E exam really is.

Readiness Signals That Matter More Than a Pass Rate

Since there is no verified benchmark to compare yourself against, build your own readiness checklist using the program's real criteria.

Technique signals

• You can obtain standard biometric planes quickly and reproducibly, and you know why a plane is considered acceptable or not.
• You can confirm cardiac activity and know when M-mode or color Doppler is appropriate versus unnecessary.
• You can explain your gain and depth choices without prompting.

Interpretation signals

• Given a still or clip, you can state presentation, placental location, and an amniotic fluid impression, and defend each.
• You can describe what a focused point-of-care exam cannot tell you and when to escalate.
• You can reconcile conflicting biometry and dating information rather than defaulting to a single measurement.

Logistics signals

• Your 25 obstetric cases span all three trimesters and fall within the preceding two years.
• Your Fundamentals credential or waiver is current, and you are inside the three-year window for a first content-specific certificate unless an exception applies.
• Your peer evaluators are lined up and briefed.

If most of these are solid, you are in a stronger position than any statistic could tell you. If several are shaky, delay registering rather than burning one of only two attempts. You can check timing details in our scheduling and deadlines guide.

Sequencing Your Preparation Around the Weights

Here is a short plan tied directly to the domain weights. It assumes you already meet eligibility and have scanning experience, and it front-loads the heaviest content.

Use the OB-E cheat sheet for last-minute review, and test yourself on case-style questions in our OB-E practice test environment to build speed at interpreting images under realistic conditions. If you want to weigh the effort against career payoff, our analysis of whether the OB-E certification is worth it lays out the trade-offs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Because outcome data has not been published, the smartest use of your time is to prepare against the structure the issuer has made public: the weighted objectives, the peer criteria, and the retake rules. For official details, consult the Academy's program page, outline, and policies directly, and cross-check anything you read here against those sources before you register. If you are still orienting yourself, start with what OB-E certification is and then move on to the study guide linked above.