Free CDRE Practice Questions (With Rationales)
Seven free CDRE sample questions with full rationales, one per domain, plus a free 20-question assessment and a method for practising so it builds the skill the exam tests.
By Mike Tulk, RD
Free practice questions, used the right way
Good free CDRE practice questions are Canadian, case-based, and explain why every option is right or wrong. The seven below meet that bar: one for each competency domain, each with a full rationale. Be wary of most other free quizzes: many are recall questions recycled from the US registration exam, and grinding through them can mislead you about the Canadian Dietetic Registration Examination (CDRE).
After the questions: what makes a practice question worth your time, and how to turn a handful of questions into genuine score gains.
Want more after these seven? Take the free 20-question CDRE assessment: Canadian, case-based questions with rationales. Start the first five without an account, then create a free account to finish all 20 and see your score. No card required.
Seven free CDRE practice questions, one per domain
Commit to an answer before you check it, and read the rationale even when you are right. Each question comes from one of our free domain guides, which cover what that domain tests and how to study it.
1. Food and Nutrition Expertise
A 34-year-old woman reports fatigue. Bloodwork shows low hemoglobin, low MCV, and low MCHC. Which finding best fits her picture?
Pick an answer to check yourself.
Study the domain: Food and Nutrition Expertise on the CDRE
2. Professionalism and Ethics
A long-term client brings the dietitian an expensive gift and says, "You've changed my life." What is the most appropriate response?
Pick an answer to check yourself.
Study the domain: Professionalism and Ethics on the CDRE
3. Communication and Collaboration
During a first visit, a client with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes says, "My doctor told me to come, but honestly I don't think my eating is that bad." The most appropriate response is:
Pick an answer to check yourself.
Study the domain: Communication and Collaboration on the CDRE
4. Management and Leadership
A clinical nutrition manager notices that malnutrition-screening completion on an inpatient unit has dropped to 55%. Chart review shows the screening tool is being skipped at admission when the unit is busy. What is the most appropriate first action?
Pick an answer to check yourself.
Study the domain: Management and Leadership on the CDRE
5. Nutrition Care
A 68-year-old man on maintenance hemodialysis three times weekly is seen in clinic. His serum potassium and phosphate are elevated, and his dietary recall shows low overall intake with recent unintentional weight loss. Which is the most appropriate nutrition priority?
Pick an answer to check yourself.
Study the domain: Nutrition Care on the CDRE
6. Population Health Promotion
A regional public health dietitian finds that 22% of households in a northern community experience moderate-to-severe food insecurity, well above the provincial average. What is the most appropriate first action?
Pick an answer to check yourself.
Study the domain: Population Health Promotion on the CDRE
7. Food Provision
A batch of chicken salad was prepared at 09:00 and left on a counter in the production kitchen. At 13:00 a cook notices it was never refrigerated; its temperature reads 18°C. What should the foodservice dietitian direct the staff to do?
Pick an answer to check yourself.
Study the domain: Food Provision on the CDRE
What makes a practice question worth your time
A good CDRE practice question is not just a question with a correct answer. It has:
- A Canadian, ICDEP-aligned scenario. Scope of practice, guidelines, and emphasis match Canadian dietetics, not the American CDR exam.
- A case, not just a fact. It gives you a patient or situation and asks what you would do, rather than asking you to define a term.
- A full rationale for every option. You learn why the right answer is right and why each wrong answer is wrong. This is where the actual learning happens.
- A cognitive level you can name. Recall, comprehension, or critical thinking. Knowing which one you are facing is half the skill.
If a free question has none of that, it is testing your patience, not your readiness.
How to actually practice (not just click)
The mistake is treating practice as a score to collect. Treat it as reps for a skill:
- Commit before you peek. Choose an answer and, ideally, say why. No half-answers.
- Read every rationale, especially when you were right. Being right for the wrong reason is a problem that surfaces later, under pressure.
- Name the question type. Is the stem asking you to recall, explain, or decide? Practice spotting the difference. See what a CDRE question is really asking.
- Track what you miss. Patterns matter more than any single question. If renal or ethics keeps tripping you, that is your study list.
A dozen questions worked this way beat a hundred clicked through on autopilot. Try the method on the free 20-question assessment: commit to each answer, then read the rationale.
Where to get free, Canadian CDRE questions
Start with a diagnostic rather than a random quiz, so you find out where you stand before you spend hours. Our free 20-question assessment is built to Canadian, ICDEP standards and includes your overall score and the first five answer reviews free. The full competency report and remaining reviews require a paid plan. No card required to try the assessment. It is designed to be exactly the kind of practice described above, not a recall quiz, and it is the same engine our paid questions run on, so you can judge the quality for yourself before spending a cent.
The seven questions above need no account, and each links to a domain guide with the key topics behind it.
Beyond that, candidate study groups often share questions, and your internship case materials are a free source of realistic scenarios. Just verify anything community-shared against a Canadian source before you trust it.
Where free practice runs out
Free questions are perfect for finding your gaps and learning the method. But there is a ceiling. Twenty questions cannot cover every domain, and a handful of free questions cannot replicate one of the most useful parts of preparation: a full-length, timed mock that builds pacing and stamina before exam day. You also cannot see your trend, the per-domain weak-area picture that tells you whether your study is working.
That is the line where free practice ends and full access begins: a Study Plan built around your exam date, 140 competency lessons with self-checks, varied 185-question CDRE-format mock exams, per-domain analytics, and a distractor-level rationale on every option. It is available as a one-time purchase, not a subscription, with no fixed expiration. Put that next to the cost of not passing, another exam fee plus six more months of temporary licensing before full registration, and it is a small bet on a much larger outcome. And it is low risk: you have already tried the free questions, and it is a one-time purchase with no fixed expiration. See the full details and pricing.
Turn free practice into a plan
Free questions tell you where the gaps are. A plan closes them. Once a diagnostic shows your two weakest domains, work through targeted practice there, then build up to timed mock exams. The complete CDRE study guide lays out that path, and the study mistakes that cost people the exam covers what to avoid along the way.
Free practice questions are a great place to start. Make them Canadian, case-based, and worked with the rationale every time, and then, when you are ready to solve pacing and cover every domain, step up to a full timed mock. That is how free practice turns into a plan.
Your next step: take the free 20-question assessment to find your two weakest domains. It takes about 20 minutes.