EFM Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

Why No Official Pass Rate Exists

If you searched for the Equine Facility Manager Level 1 - Stable Worker pass rate hoping for a tidy percentage, here is the honest answer: the Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA) has not published one that we could verify. Our review of CHA's certification pages, program booklets and request forms (sources reviewed October 7, 2026) turned up no aggregate pass rate, no cohort statistics and no year-over-year results for EFM Level 1.

That matters because pass-rate articles for credentials are often padded with invented numbers. For this certification, any figure such as "85% of candidates pass" has no verifiable source. We will not make one up. Instead, this article shows you what the data actually does tell you: how the outcome is decided, which thresholds are real, where the money is at stake and which competency areas deserve the most preparation time.

If you want a broader sense of difficulty rather than a percentage, our guide on how hard the EFM exam really is walks through what candidates tend to find demanding. For the complete eligibility picture, see EFM requirements and prerequisites.

How Pass/Fail Is Actually Decided

Most credentials reduce to a single score. EFM Level 1 does not. The program mixes a written component with live demonstrations, and the final outcome rests on human judgment from trained evaluators.

Two Certifiers, one facility, no mounted work

Evaluation is carried out by two CHA Certifiers at an approved CHA Program Member host facility. EFM involves no mounted work. You will not be asked to ride. Everything is ground-based, which fits the Level 1 role: a stable worker operating under a manager's supervision.

Written test plus required skills demonstrations

Each level has a written test with an 80% minimum as a prerequisite to advancing, along with required skills demonstrations. CHA's wording is clear that certification and level ultimately depend on the Certifiers' assessment of demonstrated ability. In practical terms, a strong written score does not rescue weak handling, and strong handling does not excuse missing the written threshold.

The Level 1 capability list gives you a concrete picture of what gets observed:

• Safely catching, haltering, leading and securing horses
• Feeding and completing stable chores
• Basic knowledge of equine anatomy, health indicators and herd behavior

The Numbers That Do Exist

While the pass rate is unpublished, several hard numbers are documented. Here they are in one place, with the sources they come from.

For a deeper treatment of the threshold itself, see our page on the EFM passing score.

The 80% vs. 70% Conflict

If you research this certification long enough, you will find a discrepancy. CHA's current requirement is an 80% minimum on the written test. However, Central Wyoming College's 2024-2025 course EQST 2705 lists a 70% written threshold.

Which is right for you? CHA's. The college course is a separate academic offering with its own grading rules and must not override the issuer's requirement. If you are earning the credential through CHA, plan around 80%. Treating 70% as "good enough" is a mistake that could cost you the written prerequisite and, with it, your path to certification at that event.

Where Candidates Win or Lose: The Five Competency Areas

CHA's EFM program assesses five competency headings. Important caveat: these headings are the issuer's unweighted, program-level competencies, applied here at Level 1 depth. They are not a separately published Level 1 written-exam blueprint, and no percentage weights are published. Think of them as a map of what stable workers need to do well, not a guarantee of how many questions each area contributes.

Event Fees and What They Mean for Your Risk

Pass rate matters partly because a failed attempt is not free. EFM Level 1 is offered as an event, and there is no fixed standalone examination fee. The numbers you will see depend on the host.

• USD 450: the minimum participant charge for three-day certifications, including EFM, set on CHA's Certification Request form dated January 8, 2026. This is a mandatory floor for hosts, not a guaranteed price.
• USD 650: a separately suggested minimum on CHA's current "How to Host" page. Note this is a recommendation and differs from the dated USD 450 form.
• USD 700: MCC Highlander Ranch, January 30-February 1, 2026, a verified past event package.
• USD 750: Girl Scouts of San Jacinto at Misty Meadows, August 18-20, 2026, including meals and lodging; that host required age 18.

These are host-specific historical examples, not a national fee schedule or a promise of upcoming availability. The practical lesson: with event costs in this range, a retake means paying again and rearranging three days. Preparing well the first time is the cheapest strategy available. Our EFM certification cost breakdown compares these figures in more detail, and EFM exam dates and scheduling explains how to find host events.

After You Pass: Membership and Renewal

Passing is not the last cost or the last task. Certification lasts three years while your annual individual CHA membership remains current. Membership is listed at USD 80 per calendar year, and the remainder of the first membership year is included after first-time certification.

Recertification every three years, per current CHA Equine Professional Recertification guidance, calls for application forms, 25 continuing-education hours and a USD 95 fee, alongside continued industry involvement. Older CHA documents differ in places: a 2021 recertification application lists a USD 65 annual membership figure (superseded by the current USD 80 listing) and a requirement of at least two of five qualifying activities, and a 2019 continuing-education form excludes watching videos while the current page lists CHA streaming videos. That eligibility question is unresolved in the published materials, so confirm with CHA before counting any streaming content toward your 25 hours.

Whether the overall package pays off depends on the work you want. See our analysis in is the EFM certification worth it, and explore EFM jobs for the kinds of barns, camps and programs where a Level 1 credential is relevant.

A Domain-Ordered Preparation Plan

Because the evaluation blends written knowledge with live demonstrations, schedule your preparation around the order in which skills build on each other, not around generic study habits. Here is one way to sequence four weeks, assuming you have access to a stable or horse-handling mentor.

Handling goes first because physical skill takes repetition that cannot be crammed. Written topics like anatomy and health indicators respond to shorter, later sessions. For a fuller framework, see the EFM study guide, and keep the EFM cheat sheet handy for last-minute review. CHA's materials identify Horse and Stable Management as program reading, though the book's contents and a current Level 1-specific edition were not retrieved, so confirm recommended reading with your host facility.

When you are ready to test your recall, try our EFM practice tests to measure yourself against that 80% benchmark before you commit to an event fee. You can also revisit the main practice site between sessions to track which domains are improving.

Frequently Asked Questions