2026 Edition

Phlebotomy Practice Test

Take this free Phlebotomy practice test to study for your phlebotomy certification exam.

While certification is not required to work as a phlebotomist in most states, certification can be required by an employer and be essential for promotion. Those working as certified nursing aides, medical assistants, registered nurses and emergency medical technicians can find the phlebotomy certification essential to their career.

A number of organizations offer certification as a phlebotomist or phlebotomy technician: The American Society of Clinical Pathology, the National Health career Association, the American Medical Technologists, The National Phlebotomy Association and The National Center for Competency Testing.

The phlebotomy certification exams cover subjects such as the Circulatory System, Infection Control and Safety, Orders and Equipment Selection, Patient ID and Site Preparation, Specimen Collections, Processing and Transport, Problems and Corrections and Professional Issues.

To prepare for your Phlebotomy Certification exam, use our 400 questions Phlebotomy Practice Test. It is written by phlebotomy instructors. Our interactive test platform allows you to simulate the exam. Take as many practice tests as you need. There's no time limit or recurrent charges.

For more information and test prep on Phlebotomy certification, see the Phlebotomy Study Guide.

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Circulatory System

1 What is the main function of the circulatory system?

a. To pump blood

b. Receives blood supply from the body

c. Carries oxygen and food to the cells of the body

d. Returns deoxygenated blood from tissues

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

The circulatory system carries all the necessary nutrients to the parts of the body. The heart receives and pumps the blood out. Veins return deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart.

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2 Which of the following are the two main functions of the circulatory system?

a. Lymphatic vessels and Lymph nodes

b. Heart and Blood vessels

c. Pulmonary circulation and systemic circulation

d. Cardiovascular system and lymphatic system

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

The circulatory system is responsible for circulating nutrients throughout the body to help the other organs do their job. The cardiovascular system (the heart) pumps the blood throughout the body and the lymphatic system is responsible for cleaning the blood.

3 How much blood (on average) does the human body hold?

a. 10 Liters

b. 5 Liters

c. 8 Liters

d. 2 Liters

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

The average person has about 5 Liters (5.3 quarts) of blood in their body.

Specimen Collection

4 There are multiple ways to get blood from a patient. What is the most common type of blood collection process?

a. Arterial

b. Venous

c. Foot

d. Hand

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

Venous blood is the most common way to collect blood from a patient. Capillary blood is commonly used for finger sticks (glucose) or heel sticks of an infant (bilirubin). Arterial blood is used for certain tests such as Arterial Blood Gas.

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5 Specimen integrity is very important. Which of the following can affect the specimen integrity?

a. Time of collection

b. Method of transport

c. Hemolyzed specimens

d. Initials of specimen collector

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

The method of transport is a main factor that can impact the integrity of a blood specimen.

6 Each type of blood draw has its own description. What best describes a Venus blood draw?

a. Flow is slow and even, easily controlled.

b. Blood is dark red, flow is steady and easily controlled.

c. Blood is bright red, pulsating flow, and harder to control.

d. Blood is bright red, flow is pulsating, and easily controlled.

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

With a Venous blood draw, the flow of the blood is steady, and easily controlled when done. The blood is also dark red.

7 Blood samples can easily be hemolyzed. What describes a hemolyzed sample?

a. Improper phlebotomy techniques

b. When RBCs are lysed

c. Increased fats and lipids

d. Increased WBC's

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

Hemolyzed samples are when the Red Blood Cells (RBCs) are lysed and release hemoglobin into the serum. The serum will become pink or red in color.

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8 Due to a patient's health, specimens can also be lipemic. What describes a lipemic sample?

a. A thickened buffy coat

b. Pink or red in color

c. Hazy, opaque, or milky white

d. Deep yellow, brown, or green

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

A lipemic specimen means that there is an increase of fats or lipids in the blood. After centrifuging the specimen (sometimes before) the serum will be a milky white, and hazy. The level of haziness is determined by the amount of fats in the blood.

Specimen Handling, Processing and Transport

9 When collecting a specimen, there is a correct order to draw in order to not contaminate the next tube. What is the order of draw?

a. Pink, green, gray, blue, red, yellow, orange, white

b. Yellow, red, pink, white, gray, orange, blue, green

c. Green, yellow, red, pink, blue, orange, white, gray

d. Yellow, blue, red, orange, green, pink, white, gray

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

Yellow (blood cultures) will always go first due to their sensitivity. Blue, red (SST), orange, green, pink, white, and gray are the remaining order. Contamination of the tubes can drastically determine the results of the test.

10 Each tube has to be inverted. How many times does a lavender (EDTA) tube need to be inverted?

a. 8-10

b. 3-5

c. 4

d. 5-6

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

The lavender tubes must be inverted 8-10 times to properly mix the blood and the EDTA (ethylenediamine tetra acetic acid) to prevent clotting. Clotting in these tubes can affect the specimen integrity and may result in a redraw.

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11 All SST (Serum Separator Tube) tubes have to be spun. How long must these tubes sit before being spun?

a. 5 minutes

b. 60 minutes

c. 30 minutes

d. 10 minutes

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

The specimen must be placed in a vertical position for a minimum of 30 minutes to allow for clotting. If the specimen is not fully-clotted before spinning, it can affect the integrity of the specimen.

12 Tourniquets are an integral part of the phlebotomy process. What is the longest a tourniquet can remain on the patient's arm?

a. 5 days

b. 1 hour

c. 1 minute

d. 30 seconds

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

1 minute is the maximum amount of time a tourniquet can remain on a patient's arm. Any longer and it can affect the integrity of the specimen.

13 The improper order of draw can lead to _____________.

a. Expired tubes.

b. Contamination.

c. Filled tubes.

d. Waste tubes.

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

Incorrect order of draw can result in contamination of the tubes. Contaminated tubes can lead to inaccurate results. Inaccurate results can lead to incorrect treatment.

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14 Inversion of the tubes is very important. How many times must a Blue tube be inverted?

a. 3-4 times

b. 8-10 times

c. 4 times

d. 5-6 times

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

Citrate tubes are always blue or light-blue and must be inverted 3-4 times for the proper mix. These tubes help determine coagulation in the patient's blood and must not clot.

15 Centrifugation separates the blood into two parts. What are the two parts that are centrifuged out to test?

a. Aliquot and aerosol

b. Serum and lactic acid

c. Cryoglobulin and plasma

d. Serum and plasma

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

After being spun, an SST (Serum Separator Tube) produces serum and Lavender tubes produce plasma. Serum and plasma are the part of the specimen that is actually being tested.

16 When inverting specimen tubes, what are you preventing?

a. Hemolysis

b. Ratios

c. Contamination

d. Aliquots

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

You are preventing hemolysis. A hemolyzed specimen may mean that the sample cannot be tested and a redraw is necessary. Hemolysis means that the red blood cells have burst and released hemoglobin into the serum or plasma, turning it a pink or red color.

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17 Different specimens require different and very specific transportation. When there is no special requirement for a tube, they are called ______________?

a. Refrigerated

b. Room temp

c. Frozen

d. Biohazard

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

Some tests require frozen or refrigerated transportation. Room temp samples are samples that do not require specific methods or conditions for transportation.

18 Specimens must have clear labeling on each tube to help identify who it came from. What are the two main specimen identifiers?

a. Name and date of birth

b. Name and room number

c. Date of birth and room number

d. Year and name

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

A specimen must have two main patient identifiers. Patient name and date of birth are the two main identifiers.

Waived and Point-of-Care Testing (POCT)

19 What is waived testing?

a. Moderately low-risk testing.

b. Test that can be performed bedside.

c. High risk test producing incorrect results.

d. Low risk test that produces incorrect results.

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

Waived testing produces no reasonable harm to the patient when the test is performed incorrectly. An example of this testing is glucometers for diabetic patients that can be performed bedside or at home.

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20 What is POCT?

a. Testing that can be done at the lab.

b. Testing that can be done at home.

c. Testing that can be done at the park.

d. Testing that can be done near the site of treatment.

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

POCT stands for Point of Care Testing, meaning that the test can be done near the site of treatment. POCT is usually done in a hospital setting and is done at bedside.

21 What is an advantage of Point of Care Testing?

a. Convenient, lower wait times, requires small samples.

b. Reduces wait times, reduces stress.

c. Requires a small sample.

d. Reduces stress, produces incorrect results.

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

Point of Care Testing has been proven to reduce hospital stays because results are monitored in real time instead of waiting for results. It is convenient for the patient and requires small samples.

Non-blood Specimens

22 Urine collections are a daily occurrence. Which of the following list two types of urine collection?

a. Physical and chemical.

b. Physical and random.

c. First morning and clean catch.

d. Timed and chemical.

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

The types of urine collection are random, first morning, clean catch, mid-stream, and timed. Each type has its own purpose.

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23 Home collections from patients is a daily occurrence. A patient brings in a sputum sample to turn in for testing. Where is a sputum sample from?

a. Urine

b. Fecal

c. Cerebral

d. Lungs

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

A sputum sample is fluid from the lungs. It is usually collected first thing in the morning by the patient at home.

24 A patient comes in for an Occult Blood order. What does an Occult Blood test look for?

a. Bacteria

b. Fat

c. Blood

d. Stool

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

The patient must come to the lab to get a stool card. Fecal Occult Blood Tests (FOBTs) are done at home and test for blood in the stool. Results from this test can detect lesions or cancer in the GI tract.

25 There are many different tests other than blood samples that come through a lab daily. When testing for Streptococcal infections, where is the sample obtained from?

a. Nose

b. Throat

c. Ear

d. Stool

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

Streptococcal infections are in the throat. The patient is to open the mouth wide and the inflamed area is swabbed.

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26 Thousands of samples are sent to a lab daily. When handling the samples, each specimen should be treated with what?

a. Universal precautions

b. Goggles

c. Gloves

d. Gowns

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

Universal precautions is an approach to infection control. Gloves, gowns, and goggles are all a part of universal precautions. They help to protect people from blood borne pathogens in human body fluids.

Laboratory Operations

27 Which of the following agencies reviews and regulates clinical laboratories?

a. NAACLS

b. AUL

c. OSHA

d. CAP

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

NAACLS is the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science. This agency does peer reviews to grant public recognition to educational agencies, and holds those agencies to defined educational standards.

28 Hazardous chemicals are used in every lab. Where can you find all the information on every chemical kept in the lab?

a. Online

b. Safety data sheets

c. Hazcom

d. Safety binders

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

Safety data sheets (SDS)include everything you need to know about a specific chemical. They list properties of each chemical, environmental health hazards, and safety precautions for handling, storing, and transportation.

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29 The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) is responsible for which of the following?

a. Setting legal limits for safe work practices.

b. Setting comprehensive standards for inspecting clinical labs.

c. Having labs comply with federal, state, and local mandates.

d. Implementing and enforcing environmental laws.

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a federal government agency whose mission is to protect the health and the environment by implementing and enforcing environmental laws. They also sponsor and conduct research on environmental issues.

30 What is the role of a phlebotomist in non-blood specimen collection?

a. Accepting specimen, adding patient identifiers, retrieving specimen.

b. Accepting specimen, collection instructions, labeling, test administration.

c. Labeling, retrieving specimen, transportation.

d. Labeling, transportation, retrieving specimen.

Incorrect. Please choose another answer.

When collecting a non-blood specimen, the Phlebotomist is responsible for accepting the specimen when it is dropped off, describing collection instructions when the patient comes in to collect the containers, labeling and transportation, as well as administration of the test.