Jounin Exam

[sangai]

well considering that most jounins are adults and are more respected i doubt the village would put them through an exam (id be insulted) because they would be treating them with not enough respect so i got to say is a number of missions completed

[joker-kun]

My guess is its a title awarded to you by the hokage or something.

[Inquisitor77]

There probably is some test of some sort. Not the same as the Chuunin exam, but a test nonetheless. I'm betting you have to perform a certain level of mission, too. Or, at least, do something extremely hard and get recognized for it. Making it based purely on the number of missions means that you can have someone do a lot of low-level missions and eventually become Jounin. Even performing a certain number of high-level missions can be a little iffy, because sometimes a high-level mission is easier than people think it will be (and vice versa - remember the first "real" mission Naruto/Sasuke/Sakura went on? Hehe). I'd bet that there is a combination of things you have to do, like a certain number of missions, a really hard mission, and passing a test, before you're allowed to become Jounin. Letting the Hokage choose who gets to become Jounin sounds a little too much like favoritism...

Then again, the previous Hokage gets to choose his successor, right?

[Raven]

There's probably no official test, but maybe it's based on the observations of the village leaders (in a similar format to the chuunin exam). i.e. the higher ranks will observe the nins and decide when they are worthy.

The promotion may be based on fighting ability, number of jutsus learnt, leadership, natural talent, and/or how many missions have been completed.