• 50 questions

NCCT ECG Practice Test

An unofficial NCCT ECG practice test in the four content categories of the NCET test plan.

Which chest electrode sits at the left sternal border in the fourth intercostal space?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

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Exam mode: 50 questions, 72 minutes.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the National Center for Competency Testing. Bank checked October 11, 2026.

The real exam, as NCCT describes it

Questions
125
Time limit
180 minutes
Scored
100 of the 125 questions count. The other 25 are unscored pretest questions.
Question kinds
92% four-option multiple choice. 8% alternative items, such as drag and drop, multi-select and hotspot.
Results
A pass or fail result is given right after the exam.
Renewal
Every year, with a fee and continuing education hours.

Checked October 11, 2026 against NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024) and NCCT Candidate Handbook (revised January 2026), National Center for Competency Testing. Rules change, so confirm with the agency itself before your test.

NCCT's own ECG Technician page

Next step EKG practice testCCMA practice test

All 50 questions

Patient intake and compliance 12

  • A new package of electrodes is opened for a 12-lead ECG. What does the Open RN checklist have the technician check on it? Open RN Nursing Advanced Skills (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), Checklist: Obtain a 12-Lead ECG. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 1, task 9.
  • A patient asks what the ECG is for. Which of these does MedlinePlus list among the things an ECG is used to measure? MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia (National Library of Medicine), Electrocardiogram. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 1, task 4.
  • A patient listens to the explanation of the ECG, says nothing, and lifts the gown so the chest electrodes can go on. Which kind of consent does that action give? Wex legal dictionary, Legal Information Institute (Cornell Law School), implied consent. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 1, task 2.
  • A pulse oximeter is used with the vital signs. By MedlinePlus, which oxygen saturation reading is in the normal range? MedlinePlus Medical Tests (National Library of Medicine), Pulse Oximetry. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 1, task 5.
Show all 50 questions (46 more)

Patient intake and compliance, continued

  • A resting heart rate is wanted before the test. How long does MedlinePlus say the person must have been resting? MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia (National Library of Medicine), Pulse. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 1, task 5.
  • An ECG is finished at the bedside of a patient who is resting. Which step is one of the universal fall precautions? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 5.6 Preventing Falls. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 1, task 7.
  • Before the electrodes go on for a 12-lead ECG, how does the Open RN checklist have the technician confirm who the patient is? Open RN Nursing Advanced Skills (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), Checklist: Obtain a 12-Lead ECG. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 1, task 1.
  • By MedlinePlus, in which situation is informed consent not needed before care is given? MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia (National Library of Medicine), Informed consent - adults. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 1, task 2.
  • The ECG machine prints its own interpretation at the top of the tracing. By the Open RN checklist, who evaluates the findings? Open RN Nursing Advanced Skills (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), Checklist: Obtain a 12-Lead ECG. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 1, task 6.
  • The technician cleans both hands with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer before touching the patient. About how long does the CDC say the rubbing takes, until the hands feel dry? CDC, Clinical Safety: Hand Hygiene for Healthcare Workers. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 1, task 8.
  • The technician gives the finished tracing to the provider who is treating the patient. Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, on what basis may the practice use the tracing this way? HHS Office for Civil Rights, Summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 1, task 6.
  • Why does the patient's list of current medicines matter before an ECG is recorded? MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia (National Library of Medicine), Electrocardiogram. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 1, task 3.

ECG placement techniques 13

  • A patient arrives in a wheelchair. By the NHANES III manual, when is the ECG still done? NHANES III Electrocardiogram manual, National Center for Health Statistics (CDC). Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 2, task 3.
  • A provider asks for extra leads to look at the right ventricle. Which non-standard leads does the BMJ series name for it? Morris and Brady, ABC of clinical electrocardiography: Acute myocardial infarction, Part I, BMJ 2002 (PubMed Central). Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 2, task 2.
  • A pulse oximeter clipped to a finger gives a reading that does not fit the patient. Which of these can block the light from the device? MedlinePlus Medical Tests (National Library of Medicine), Pulse Oximetry. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 2, task 9.
  • An order notes that the patient has dextrocardia. What does that mean for where the heart lies? MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia (National Library of Medicine), Dextrocardia. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 2, task 2.
  • Besides lying still, what may the technician ask the patient to do for a few seconds while the tracing is made? MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia (National Library of Medicine), Electrocardiogram. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 2, task 4.
  • How does the NHANES III manual have a female patient gowned for a resting ECG? NHANES III Electrocardiogram manual, National Center for Health Statistics (CDC). Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 2, task 1.
  • How does the NHANES III manual prepare the skin at each electrode site? NHANES III Electrocardiogram manual, National Center for Health Statistics (CDC). Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 2, task 1.
  • In the five-electrode telemetry set-up of the Open RN checklist, where is the white (RA) electrode placed? Open RN Nursing Advanced Skills (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), Checklist: Initiate Telemetry. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 2, task 8.
  • V4 sits at the midclavicular line in the fifth intercostal space. Where does the Open RN checklist place V6? Open RN Nursing Advanced Skills (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), Checklist: Obtain a 12-Lead ECG. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 2, task 5.
  • What may a patient feel while the electrode sites on the chest are prepared for an exercise stress test? MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia (National Library of Medicine), Exercise stress test. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 2, task 6.
  • Where is the V1 electrode placed for a standard 12-lead ECG? Open RN Nursing Advanced Skills (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), Checklist: Obtain a 12-Lead ECG. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 2, task 5.
  • Which chest electrode sits at the left sternal border in the fourth intercostal space? Open RN Nursing Advanced Skills (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), Checklist: Obtain a 12-Lead ECG. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 2, task 5.
  • Which of these is a patient told to avoid while wearing a Holter monitor? MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia (National Library of Medicine), Holter monitor (24h). Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 2, task 7.

ECG recording and recognition 18

  • A 6-second strip of an irregular rhythm shows 9 R waves. What ventricular rate does the 6-second method give? Open RN Nursing Advanced Skills (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 7.3 A Systematic Approach to Interpreting an ECG. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 3, task 11.
  • A narrow QRS of 0.1 second or less at a rate over 160 beats per minute, with P waves that often cannot be picked out. Which rhythm does Open RN describe this way? Open RN Nursing Advanced Skills (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 7.4 ECG Patterns and Dysrhythmias. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 3, task 4.
  • A patient's pacemaker paces the atria only. Where does the pacer spike appear on the strip? Open RN Nursing Advanced Skills (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 7.4 ECG Patterns and Dysrhythmias. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 3, task 8.
  • A tracing has low amplitude complexes in every lead. Which of these does the BMJ series give as a cause of reduced waveform amplitude? Meek and Morris, ABC of clinical electrocardiography: Introduction I, Leads, rate, rhythm, and cardiac axis, BMJ 2002 (PubMed Central). Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 3, task 10.
  • A tracing of a regular rhythm is run at 50 mm/s. Thirty small squares lie between two R waves. What is the heart rate? Meek and Morris, ABC of clinical electrocardiography: Introduction I, Leads, rate, rhythm, and cardiac axis, BMJ 2002 (PubMed Central). Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 3, task 13.
  • An electrical impulse travels directly toward a detecting electrode. Which deflection does that lead show? Meek and Morris, ABC of clinical electrocardiography: Introduction I, Leads, rate, rhythm, and cardiac axis, BMJ 2002 (PubMed Central). Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 3, task 10.
  • An escape rhythm has QRS complexes of normal shape. Which rate fits a junctional escape rhythm? Da Costa, Brady and Edhouse, ABC of clinical electrocardiography: Bradycardias and atrioventricular conduction block, BMJ 2002 (PubMed Central). Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 3, task 6.
  • Atrioventricular block comes in three degrees: first, second and third. In which is conduction from atria to ventricles completely blocked? Da Costa, Brady and Edhouse, ABC of clinical electrocardiography: Bradycardias and atrioventricular conduction block, BMJ 2002 (PubMed Central). Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 3, task 7.
  • Early beats with wide, bizarre QRS complexes break into an otherwise normal sinus rhythm. What are they? Open RN Nursing Advanced Skills (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 7.4 ECG Patterns and Dysrhythmias. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 3, task 5.
  • Electrical activity shows on the ECG, but it is not strong enough to produce a ventricular contraction or a pulse. What is this called? Open RN Nursing Advanced Skills (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 7.4 ECG Patterns and Dysrhythmias. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 3, task 8.
  • From where to where is the QT interval measured? Meek and Morris, ABC of clinical electrocardiography: Introduction II, Basic terminology, BMJ 2002 (PubMed Central). Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 3, task 9.
  • The heart rate of a young patient rises with each breath in and falls with each breath out. Every beat has a normal P wave and QRS. What is this called? Meek and Morris, ABC of clinical electrocardiography: Introduction I, Leads, rate, rhythm, and cardiac axis, BMJ 2002 (PubMed Central). Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 3, task 3.
  • How is a standard 12-lead ECG report most commonly laid out? Open RN Nursing Advanced Skills (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 7.2 Basic Concepts. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 3, task 1.
  • In atrial flutter the atrial beats show as sawtooth waves. Which interval does Open RN say cannot be measured? Open RN Nursing Advanced Skills (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 7.4 ECG Patterns and Dysrhythmias. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 3, task 4.
  • The monitor shows a flat line with no electrical impulses. Which rhythm is this? Open RN Nursing Advanced Skills (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 7.4 ECG Patterns and Dysrhythmias. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 3, task 8.
  • On a strip, no two R to R distances are equal and no pattern repeats. Which term describes the rhythm? Open RN Nursing Advanced Skills (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 7.3 A Systematic Approach to Interpreting an ECG. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 3, task 2.
  • The printout shows an abnormal cardiac pattern. What does the Open RN checklist have the technician assess in the patient? Open RN Nursing Advanced Skills (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), Checklist: Obtain a 12-Lead ECG. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 3, task 12.
  • Which rhythm looks like ventricular tachycardia but with peaks or points that twist, and occurs with a long QT interval? Open RN Nursing Advanced Skills (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 7.4 ECG Patterns and Dysrhythmias. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 3, task 5.

Troubleshooting 7

  • Before a run of examinations begins, the NHANES III manual has the cords, plugs and connectors of the machine inspected. What are the plugs and connectors checked for? NHANES III Electrocardiogram manual, National Center for Health Statistics (CDC). Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 4, task 3.
  • Besides poor electrode contact, what does the NHANES III manual name as a source of A-C interference in a clinic? NHANES III Electrocardiogram manual, National Center for Health Statistics (CDC). Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 4, task 2.
  • Electrodes will not stay on a very hairy chest. Which fix does the NHANES III manual give? NHANES III Electrocardiogram manual, National Center for Health Statistics (CDC). Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 4, task 3.
  • Every complex in lead I is upside down. Which recording error does the NHANES III manual suspect first? NHANES III Electrocardiogram manual, National Center for Health Statistics (CDC). Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 4, task 1.
  • Muscle tremor still shows on the baseline of a tense patient. Which step is on the NHANES III list for quieting it? NHANES III Electrocardiogram manual, National Center for Health Statistics (CDC). Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 4, task 4.
  • The ventricular complex in V6 shows a deep downstroke in place of the usual tall upright wave. What does the NHANES III manual have the technician do? NHANES III Electrocardiogram manual, National Center for Health Statistics (CDC). Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 4, task 1.
  • What does Open RN give as the causes of artifact on a tracing? Open RN Nursing Advanced Skills (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 7.2 Basic Concepts. Outline: NCCT NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), category 4, task 2.

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the NCET Detailed Test Plan of the National Center for Competency Testing (https://www.ncctinc.com/Documents/ECG%20Detailed%20Test%20Plan.pdf, effective January 2024, read 2026-10-11): 100 scored items in four content categories (24, 25, 36 and 15). The bank holds 50 questions in the same shares: 12, 13, 18 and 7. Every fact was read on 2026-10-11 in the public source the question names: the NHANES III Electrocardiogram manual of the National Center for Health Statistics, four articles of the BMJ series ABC of clinical electrocardiography on PubMed Central, MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine), pages of the CDC and of the HHS Office for Civil Rights, the Open RN textbooks Nursing Advanced Skills and Nursing Fundamentals (CC BY 4.0) and the Wex legal dictionary of Cornell Law School. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.

How it works

This ECG NCCT practice test has 50 questions of our own for the National Certified ECG Technician (NCET) exam. It is unofficial and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT).

Read the full guide

What the exam covers

The questions follow the NCET Detailed Test Plan (effective January 2024), read October 11, 2026. Of 100 scored questions, 24 are patient intake and compliance, 25 ECG placement techniques, 36 ECG recording and recognition, and 15 troubleshooting. This bank holds 12, 13, 18 and 7.

Timing

Exam mode asks all 50 questions in 72 minutes, the pace of the real exam.

Where the answers come from

Each answer names the public page it was read in: the NHANES III electrocardiogram manual of the CDC, the BMJ series ABC of clinical electrocardiography, MedlinePlus and the Open RN nursing textbooks among them.

  • Recording and recognition is 36 of the 100 scored questions, so give that topic the most time.
  • Every rhythm here is described in words, so practice reading real strips as well.

Questions and answers

Is this an NCCT practice test ECG technicians can use for the NCET?

Yes, as study. It is not NCCT's own practice exam, which NCCT offers among its exam prep materials. The 50 questions here are our own, written from the public test plan, and none is taken from an NCCT exam or product.

Is the NCCT practice test EKG or ECG?

Both spellings name the same test. NCCT calls its credential National Certified ECG Technician, NCET, and MedlinePlus gives ECG and EKG as names for an electrocardiogram.

What score passes the NCCT ECG exam?

A scaled score of 575 or more, on a scale of 200 to 720, by the NCCT Candidate Handbook revised January 2026. The scaled score is a conversion of the raw score, so a count of questions right here does not forecast it.

How soon can you retake the NCCT ECG exam?

After at least 30 days for a second or a third attempt and at least 90 days for a fourth, by the handbook. Later attempts need a 180-day wait, an appeal to the Director of Testing and evidence of remediation.

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