Frequently Asked Questions Get Answers to Common NCLEX Questions

Each nursing regulatory body (NRB) has its own eligibility requirements to take the NCLEX. NCSBN does not maintain a list of requirements for each NRB. Contact the NRB where you are seeking licensure/registration for their requirements (applicable only to NRBs of the U.S., Canada and Australia).

To take the NCLEX, you will first need to complete two separate processes (applicable only to nursing regulatory bodies of the U.S. & Canada):

1. Contact your Nursing Regulatory Body (NRB) and request a licensure/registration application.
   • Registration process for Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) candidates
   • You will pay a licensing/registration fee to the NRB along with the submission of your application materials.
   • Licensure/registration applications must be obtained from the NRB in the state/province/territory where you are seeking licensure/registration, as requirements vary.
2. Register with Pearson VUE (the testing vendor) using one of the following methods:
   • Online - Visit Pearson VUE and pay with a credit, debit or prepaid card
   • Phone - Call Pearson VUE Candidate Services at 866.496.2539 and pay the exam fee by credit, debit or prepaid card

Find out more about the NCLEX registration process.

If your Nursing Regulatory Body (NRB) has declared you eligible:

1. You must contact your NRB to make the necessary corrections.
2. Once the correction is confirmed with the NRB, please contact Pearson VUE for a revised Authorization to Test (ATT) if needed.

If you have not been made eligible by your NRB, then you will need to contact Pearson VUE to report the corrections.

Once you have been made eligible by your nursing regulatory body (NRB), you will receive an Authorization to Test (ATT) via the email address you provided when registering. If you have not received an ATT email, you may want to contact your NRB to ensure all necessary materials have been submitted and received, or to find out why they have not granted eligibility to your registration. You must have your ATT email to schedule an appointment to take the NCLEX.

You must test within the validity dates of your ATT (the average length of an ATT is 90 days). These validity dates cannot be extended for any reason. If you do not test within these dates you will have to reregister and pay another exam fee. The ATT contains your authorization number, candidate identification number and an expiration date. You need the ATT to schedule an appointment to take the NCLEX.

Call Pearson VUE Candidate Services at 866.496.2539 or at one of the international telephone numbers in the NCLEX Candidate Bulletin to report a lost ATT or if your NRB has made you eligible and you have not received your ATT.

Links to all NRBs websites and contact information are available on the Membership page.

For further details, visit Authorization to Test.

You are able to take the NCLEX at any Pearson Professional Testing location, regardless of where you are applying for licensure/registration.

The NCLEX is given year round and is administered by Pearson VUE. For candidates seeking licensure in the U.S., domestic test centers are those within the U.S. and American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For candidates seeking licensure/registration in Canada, domestic test centers are those within Canadian provinces/territories and the mainland U.S. (not including territories). International locations where the NCLEX is offered include Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, Puerto Rico, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan and in Turkey.

Candidates can find test center locations by going to the Pearson VUE website.

For more information on where the NCLEX is offered, visit the Test Center Locations page.

All forms of identification must be valid and meet the following requirements. If the ID does not meet these requirements, you will be turned away and required to reregister and pay another examination fee:

• Physical (non-digital)
• Non-expired
• Government-issued
• Include name (in Roman characters)
• Include recent photograph
• Include signature

Examples of acceptable forms of identification for domestic test centers are:

• Passport books and cards
• Driver's license
• Provincial/Territorial or state identification card
• Permanent residence card
• Military identification card

The only identifications acceptable for international test centers, including Puerto Rico, are:

• Passport books and cards

Candidates with identification from a country on the U.S. government's sanctioned countries will have to follow the requirements listed in order to sit for the exam.

For more information on identification, visit the Acceptable Identification page.

Definitions of Domestic and International Test Centers

Only the first and last names need to match between the candidate’s ID and ATT.

For more information on identification, visit the Acceptable Identification page.

No, the address does not need to match between the candidate’s ID and ATT.

For more information on identification, visit the Acceptable Identification page.

Official exam results are available only from the nursing regulatory bodies (NRBs) and will be sent to candidates approximately six weeks after taking the exam. Pearson VUE and NCSBN do not provide exam results.

Candidates whose NRB participates in the Quick Results Service (only applies to candidates seeking licensure in the U.S.) can access their ‘unofficial’ results 48 hours after their exam date and time (a fee is required).

Links to all NRB websites and contact information are available on the Membership page.

For more information about getting NCLEX results, visit the Results Reporting section.

Yes, the registration fee is forfeited if a candidate cannot cancel outside of 24 business hours from their appointment and/or does not keep their appointment. The candidate will need to reregister and pay another exam fee. Because a test was not administered, the candidate would be able to test after they are made eligible again by their nursing regulatory body and receive a new Authorization to Test. The same policy applies to a candidate who does not test within their authorization period.

No. There are no refunds of NCLEX fees for any reason.

For more information, visit the Refund Policy section.

NCSBN does not recommend or endorse any review courses or study materials. If you are interested in participating in a review course or purchasing review materials, please consult a nursing education professional for suggestions. Links to all nursing regulatory bodies' (NRB) websites and contact information are available on the Membership page.

You may ask the TA for a Confidential Comment Sheet to provide any information about your exam appointment to NCSBN, the test centers or Pearson VUE Candidate Services. If you have questions about your testing session, please contact NCSBN within two weeks of your exam appointment.

The same NCLEX-RN exam is used for Canadian and U.S. entry to nursing practice. For questions about whether you can practice in another state/province/territory, please contact the nursing regulatory body for that jurisdiction. Links to all nursing regulatory bodies’ websites and contact information are available on the NCSBN website.

The following NCLEX resources are available in French:

NCLEX-RN Test Plans – Basic and Detailed; Candidate and Educator versions
NCLEX Tutorial
NCLEX Candidate Bulletin
NCLEX Webinar Series
NCLEX Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

No. Candidates have to answer a question in order to move onto the next question.

For more information, visit the Computerized Adaptive Testing section.

Candidates cannot reliably identify which items are easy and which are difficult with regard to the NCLEX scale. At the end of an examination, a candidate is usually receiving items that they have approximately a 50% chance of answering correctly. The candidate's sense of what is easy and what is difficult is relative to their ability. Because the examination is adaptive, both high and low ability candidates will think the items at the end of the exam are challenging.

For more information, visit the Computerized Adaptive Testing section.

This means that it took only the minimum number of items for the scoring algorithm to determine with 95% certainty that the candidate’s nursing ability was below the passing standard.

For more information, visit the Computerized Adaptive Testing section.

No. The NCLEX uses computerized adaptive testing (CAT) to administer the items. Initially, everyone is administered an item with a relatively low difficulty level, and his/her progression on the exam from that point onward depends on their performance. A complete overview on how CAT works can be found on the Computerized Adaptive Testing information page.

For more information, visit the Computerized Adaptive Testing section.

'Near the Passing Standard' means a particular candidate’s ability estimate is not clearly above or clearly below the passing standard in a content area.

For more information, visit the Candidate Performance Report section.

The NCLEX is designed as a screening tool used to identify candidates that can demonstrate that their nursing ability is sufficient to be competent in practice. Providing more detailed feedback for candidates who fail is done in an attempt to help the candidate direct their remediation strategies. Providing feedback to people who do not need remediation serves no purpose and could be misused by candidates or employers in making employment decisions.

For more information, visit the Candidate Performance Report section.

The NCLEX is computer adaptive and items are selected based on each candidate’s ability. Each exam adheres to the test plan content area percentages. The items fall across all difficulty levels and cover all areas of the test plan. Entire exams are not focused on specific nurse specialties.

Since the beginning of its development, the NCLEX has served as a fair, reliable tool to measure the minimum competency required to deliver safe, effective entry-level nursing. The exam is developed to ensure that no candidate is afforded an unfair advantage when testing. The language and terminology selected for exam items must be universal and support the assessment of one construct—entry-level nursing knowledge while eliminating the inadvertent assessment of other factors.

The exam uses consistent language for every examinee. In order to achieve accurate, stable measurement, terminology used in exam items can have only one meaning. All NCLEX items undergo a rigorous review process to ensure items represent the client population and remain free from unintentional bias. Only items that meet statistical and differential item functioning (DIF) criteria become operational.

Yes, the NCLEX bolds key words such as best, most, essential, first, priority, immediately, highest, initial, next, refute, increased, decreased and support.

The NCLEX uses consistent language for every examinee. In order to achieve accurate, stable measurement, terminology used in exam items can have only one meaning. NCSBN understands most clinicians acknowledge both generic and brand/trade names when referring to drug medications. At this time, the NCLEX will reflect, on most occasions, the use of generic medication names only. We take into account that the use of the medication generic name is more consistent while a brand/trade medication name may vary. Some items may refer to general classifications of medications.

NCSBN does not specify a list of medications that are on the exam.

On average, NCLEX items currently include a combination of international systems of units (SI) and imperial measurement options used in the nursing profession. The unit of measurement presented in the item will be familiar to the NCLEX candidate.

The NCLEX incorporates processes considered fundamental to the practice of nursing and therefore are integrated throughout the NCLEX Test Plan client needs categories.

Since the practice of nursing requires application of knowledge, skills and abilities, the majority of items are written at the application or higher levels of cognitive ability, which requires more complex thought processing. These questions require a candidate to utilize problem-solving skills in order to select the correct answer.

The NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN is designed to measure one construct, nursing ability.  To this end the goal of the NCLEX is to use language that is construct focused without making the exam unnecessarily difficult. A readability analysis is performed on all operational pools.  The NCLEX-RN exam does not exceed 1,300 Lexiles and the NCLEX-PN 1,200 Lexiles. 

Visit the Technical Brief page for information on the Readability of the NCLEX.

The NCLEX master pool contains enough items to make up multiple operational pools. To maintain exam security and ensure that repeating candidates will not receive the same items from one attempt to the next, operational item pools are rotated regularly.

An alternate item format is an exam item, or question, that uses a format other than the standard, four-option format of a multiple-choice item to assess a candidate's ability. Alternate item formats may include: 

• Multiple response items that require a candidate, regardless of the number of options, to select a single response, multiple responses, or all responses as correct to answer the item 
• Fill-in-the-blank items that are calculation based and require a candidate to answer using numbers
• Chart/exhibit items where candidates are presented with a problem and need to review the information in the chart/exhibit to select an answer 
• Ordered response items that require a candidate to move and place options in the correct sequence or order 
• Graphic items that present the candidate with images either as part of the stem or as options 

Any item formats, including standard multiple-choice items, may include charts, tables or graphic images.

Examples of each alternate item format can be found in the NCLEX Tutorial, offered in both English and French.

There is no established percentage of items with alternate formats that will be administered to candidates. The NCLEX is computer adaptive and items are based on the candidate’s ability. There are alternate item types in all areas of the test plan, across all difficulty levels.

All answers to alternate items (e.g., fill-in-the-blank items, hot spot items, multiple response items, ordered response items [or drag-and-drop items]) will be scored as right or wrong. The candidate will be asked to calculate and type in the answer for fill-in-the-blank items (should rounding be necessary, it is to be performed at the end of the calculation), click on the correct spot on an illustration for hot spot items, select all correct options for multiple response items, and drag and drop options in correct order for ordered response items.

Examples of each alternate item format can be found in the NCLEX Tutorial, offered in both English and French.

Yes, unless the item requests that the candidate records their answer using a whole number. If asked to record to one (or two) decimal places, the candidate must enter the decimal point for the answer to be correct.

Answers to calculation items should be rounded at the end of the calculation.

No. The candidate must review each exhibit tab entirely and make an answer selection before moving to the next item. A prompt will appear informing the candidate “You have not yet viewed the entire screen. Make sure you play all multi-media content, select every tab, and scroll to every corner.” Once this is complete, the candidate can move to the next item after making the answer selection choice.

Items in the Master Item Pools (i.e., all NCLEX operational items) are reviewed on a continuous basis to ensure that they contain accurate content and reflect current entry-level nursing practice. In cases where there is an immediate change in nursing practice, such as changes in guidelines and policies, all items relevant to the topic in question will be reviewed to ensure that item content remains accurate. If necessary items can be pulled from the operational pool as needed to assure only current content remains on the exam.

In order to meet the needs of French-speaking, Canadian NCLEX-RN candidates, NCSBN offers the NCLEX-RN examination in French. NCSBN translates two operational item pools each year into French. Following this forward translation by a translation professional with expertise in Canadian French, NCSBN works with Canadian regulatory bodies to identify a Canadian Translation Panel. The panel consists of three nurses proficient in English and French who review each translated item for accuracy and contextual equivalency. This method, referred to as a mixed method, process oriented approach, is supported in the literature as a preferred method for ensuring construct equivalence in health care measurement instruments.

Following the Canadian Translation Panel’s approval the French NCLEX Operational pool is administered to French Canadian NCLEX-RN Candidates. Once sufficient candidate response data is obtained, the items are subject to a separate Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analysis, to ascertain whether the items appropriately measure candidates’ nursing ability irrespective of the language in which these test items were administered. Items identified as possessing DIF are reviewed by the NCLEX DIF panel for presence of bias. In addition to the construct equivalence confirmed by the Canadian Translation Panel, the use of DIF analysis is supported in the literature as a preferred method to ensure measurement equivalence.

Reference the About and Prepare pages for additional resources.

The NCSBN Board of Directors voted to revise the definition of the NCLEX entry-level nurse from having six months experience or less to having no more than 12 months experience. The dates of implementation for the revised definition are:

April 1, 2017, for the NCLEX-PN Exam
April 1, 2019, for the NCLEX-RN Exam

NCSBN invites nurses from all jurisdictions using the NCLEX to participate as Subject Matter Expert nurse volunteers on the NCLEX Practice Analysis Panel and NCLEX Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Panel.   Because the health care industry is rapidly changing, practice analysis studies are traditionally conducted on a three-year cycle. Information gathered in the practice analysis studies assists NCSBN in evaluating the validity of the test plan. Periodically, NCSBN conducts comparative practice analyses to determine whether the current test plan is valid for testing populations in specified locations.

Reference the current and past Practice Analyses for more information.

The periodic performance of practice analysis (i.e., job analysis) studies assists NCSBN in evaluating the validity of the NCLEX test plan. The practice analysis is sent to entry-level nurses to provide information regarding the frequency, importance, and practice setting applicability of each activity statement. Using this methodology, the practice analysis gathers information regarding variation in practice across settings. Prior to inclusion on the survey, a panel of nurse experts representative of various practice settings and geographic areas evaluates the current list of activity statements and edits them as needed. If newly licensed nurses are working in specialty units, this information is reflected in the demographic results from the practice analyses.

Reference the current and past Practice Analyses for more information.

Respondents of the practice analysis survey rate the importance of each entry-level nursing activity statement as well as the frequency with which they perform the activity. These importance and frequency ratings are analyzed at the end of the survey process. Overall, tasks or activities that are deemed unimportant or infrequently performed by respondents may be eliminated from the new test plan. NCSBN ensures the remaining activity statements are categorized in the approved NCLEX categories. These categories form the basis of the test plan, and the relative importance and frequency ratings of each activity inform the appropriate NCLEX Test Plan category percentages used during exam administration.

For more information, reference the Practice Analysis and Test Plans.

Over the course of a year, NCSBN invites nurses from all jurisdictions using NCLEX to participate on NCLEX Item Development Panels (Practice Analysis and Knowledge, Skills and Abilities [KSA] expert panels, item writing, item review, Regulatory Body Review and Panel of Judges [POJ] for Standard Setting Process). In addition to these item development opportunities, Canadian nurses also review NCLEX items during the Translation Review.

To participate in the development process, experienced nurse volunteers must work with entry-level nurses and be familiar with entry-level nursing knowledge. Input from entry-level nurses is sought out in many areas of the item development process such as Practice Analysis and KSA expert panels and the POJ. Reference Exam Development Opportunities for additional information about qualifications and volunteer opportunities for the item development program.

NCSBN recruits nursing instructors in clinical areas as item writers and nurses who are employed in clinical settings as item reviewers. To construct meaningful examination items, NCLEX item writers must be familiar with entry-level nursing knowledge, test construction process and item development theories. These necessary qualifications are in-line with those of nursing educators. Educators with a master’s level or higher degree are invited to participate in the NCLEX-RN item writing process. In terms of reviewing NCLEX items, nurse clinicians, who work with entry-level nurses by providing preceptorship, mentorship and supervision, see entry-level practice first-hand. These expert nurses are able to bring their knowledge of the clinical settings to the item review process and ensure that NCLEX items are reflective of current entry-level nursing practice.

Subject matter experts with entry-level nursing licensure examination item development experience or who have been involved in the development of prep guides or courses in the previous two years cannot volunteer for the NCLEX; the purpose of this is to minimize potential biases that these previous experiences may bring to the NCLEX development process.

Reference Exam Development Opportunities for additional information.

NCSBN will continue to develop innovative items to assess how well candidates can apply various nursing knowledge and principles as long as these item types improve the measurement of the NCLEX.

The NCSBN’s Board of Directors reevaluates the passing standard every three years or when the test plan changes to ensure that the passing standard for NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN examinations accurately reflects the amount of nursing ability currently required to practice competently at the entry level.

For more information, visit the Passing Standard section.

Anytime there is a change in the passing standard there is an expected temporary effect on the candidate passing rate. Historically, pass rates tend to be lower immediately following a passing standard increase. These pass rates traditionally rebound within three years of a new passing standard being set.

Reference the NCLEX Pass Rates for more information.

To better prepare students for the NCLEX, educators can gain familiarity with the current NCLEX Test Plan, its corresponding content distribution and examination delivery methodology. NCLEX resources are available free-of-charge for educators and students. These resources include:

NCLEX Tutorial
NCLEX Candidate Bulletin
Test Plans
Computerized Adaptive Test (CAT) Overview
Twitter
Facebook
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

NCSBN encourages educators and students to utilize these resources and become familiar with the NCLEX, its delivery, anticipated item types, specific terminology and test site administration rules. 

All nursing programs recognized by their nursing regulatory body may subscribe to NCLEX Program Reports. The NCLEX Program Reports are designed to help program administrators and educators understand how their nursing students performed on the NCLEX examination.  

Additional information on NCLEX Program Reports may be found on the Mountain Measurement website.

NCLEX Regional Workshops are hosted by nursing regulatory bodies (NRBs). If you are interested in a regional workshop, please contact your NRB.

Your score on the NCLEX Practice Exam is not a predictor of whether you will pass or fail the NCLEX. The NCLEX Practice Exam provides a look and feel of the actual NCLEX.

The clock for each practice exam starts when you begin the exam and continues uninterrupted for five hours. After the clock runs out, the exam is no longer accessible. This product is designed to provide a look and feel of the NCLEX, and as such, cannot be paused or halted.

If you experience technical issues during the administration of your NCLEX Practice Exam, please contact Pearson VUE at pearsonvue.com/contact.

Each exam is available for a one-time use within 45 days from the date of purchase. When you start your exam the clock begins and the exam will run continually for five hours. After the clock runs out, the exam is no longer accessible. Each exam can only be started once.

The NCLEX Practice Exam provides the look and feel of the NCLEX. The CAT-like experience requires you to answer every question in the order it is presented and will not allow you to go back to previous questions.

The NCLEX Practice Exam is non-refundable. The practice exam provides the look and feel of the actual NCLEX but is not intended as a nursing content study tool.

It is important to note that the practice exam will not be scored in the same way as the actual NCLEX exam. The score reports for the Practice Exam are informational only; they provide you with the percentage of questions you answered correctly from the total number of questions on the form. (If you were unable to answer all 125 questions on the form, your score is the percentage of correct questions based on the total number of questions.) 

The practice exam provides a look and feel of the actual NCLEX. It is not intended as a nursing content study tool. For information about NCLEX content and distribution please consult the NCLEX Test Plan.

It is encouraged to use the NCLEX Practice Exam on a computer, as the goal is to replicate the look and feel of the actual NCLEX experience.

If you have purchased the wrong type of exam, please contact Pearson VUE at pearsonvue.com/contact.

Yes, visit the voucher store website for the NCLEX Practice Exam. Complete and submit the form. Once the order is completed, the voucher store will email you with the voucher numbers.  You can then distribute the voucher numbers to your students to use. Each voucher is good for one purchase.

The NCLEX tutorial is available here for candidates to help familiarize themselves with the different NCLEX item types and the computer software.