NCLEX-RN Requirements & Prerequisites
Everything you need to know before registering for the NCLEX-RN, eligibility, cost, format, and what to expect on exam day.
Cost
$200
Provider
NCSBN
Validity
One-time (license renewal varies)
Available
USA
Education
Check official exam requirements
Experience
1-3 years of hands-on experience recommended
Specific Requirements
- Eligibility is set by your nursing regulatory body, not by NCSBN. NCSBN states plainly that it does not maintain a list of requirements for each NRB, so you must contact the body where you seek licensure.
- You must submit an application for licensure or registration to that nursing regulatory body and be declared eligible before Pearson can issue an Authorization to Test.
- You must register and pay separately with Pearson. Registration and licensure application are two distinct processes that both have to complete.
- An Authorization to Test email is required to schedule an appointment. Each ATT is valid for a period the NRB specifies, averaging 90 days, and NCSBN states these dates cannot be extended for any reason.
- Testing accommodations must be requested from the nursing regulatory body at the point of licensure application, not from Pearson or at the test center.
- Acceptable identification is required at the test center: physical rather than digital, non-expired, government-issued, name in Roman characters, recent photograph and a signature or a signed secondary ID.
- Candidates living in a country under US sanctions cannot take the NCLEX, a federal restriction imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Candidates using a passport from a sanctioned country must also present government-issued proof of residency in a non-sanctioned country.
- There is no degree type restriction in NCSBN policy. In 2025, first-time US-educated candidates entered from baccalaureate programmes (100,258 exams), associate degree programmes (89,549) and RN diploma programmes (2,671).
Number of Questions
Minimum 85 items, maximum 150 items. In the minimum-length exam, 52 items come from the eight test plan content areas in their stated percentages, 18 items form three six-item clinical judgment case studies, and 15 are unscored pretest items. Every exam contains exactly 15 pretest items regardless of total length. The 2025 average length for first-time US-educated candidates was 103 items.
Duration
Five hours maximum, including all breaks. NCSBN reports that first-time US-educated candidates in 2025 averaged 2 hours 14 minutes of testing time and that only 0.5 percent used the full five hours.
Question Format
Stand-alone items in multiple formats, any of which may include multimedia such as charts, tables and graphics, Six-item clinical judgment case studies, one item for each step of the NCSBN Clinical Judgment Measurement Model: recognise cues, analyse cues, prioritise hypotheses, generate solutions, take action, evaluate outcomes, Items with more than one credited response, scored for partial credit by one of three published methods: plus/minus, zero/one, or rationale scoring, Calculation items requiring a typed numeric answer, rounded at the end of the calculation, with the decimal point entered when the item asks for one or two decimal places, Items with exhibit tabs that the candidate must open and review individually; the software does not prompt you to open them all, NCSBN states there is no established percentage of item formats, because item selection follows candidate ability rather than a fixed format quota
Passing Requirement
0.00 logits. NCSBN's Board of Directors set the NCLEX-RN passing standard at 0.00 logits in April 2013, raising it from minus 0.16, and retained it in April 2016, April 2019, April 2023 and April 2026, each time for a further three years. The NCLEX-PN standard sits at minus 0.18 logits over the same period.
How It Is Delivered
Computerised adaptive testing at Pearson Professional Centers. Candidates may test at any Pearson Professional Center regardless of the jurisdiction where they seek licensure. Domestic centers for US licensure include the United States, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the US Virgin Islands. International locations include Australia, Brazil, France, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Turkiye and the United Kingdom.
Languages Offered
English, French, for French-speaking Canadian NCLEX-RN candidates. NCSBN translates two operational item pools into Canadian French each year, has them reviewed by a three-nurse Canadian Translation Panel, then runs differential item functioning analysis on live response data. Changing exam language after registration costs $50 CAD.
Visit the official NCSBN certification page
Create an account and select your exam
Choose a test center or online proctoring option
Pay the exam fee and schedule your date
Score Scale
There is no numeric score. Candidate ability is estimated in logits, short for log-odds-units, on the NCLEX-RN ability scale, and the result reported to you is pass or fail only. NCSBN notes that logits have no inherent meaning in terms of nursing content and that the scale's zero point is arbitrary.
Score You Need
0.00 logits. NCSBN's Board of Directors set the NCLEX-RN passing standard at 0.00 logits in April 2013, raising it from minus 0.16, and retained it in April 2016, April 2019, April 2023 and April 2026, each time for a further three years. The NCLEX-PN standard sits at minus 0.18 logits over the same period.
How It Is Calculated
Computerised adaptive testing under a criterion-referenced standard. After each answered item the computer re-estimates your ability from all previous responses and their difficulties, then selects the next item from an appropriate test plan content area at a difficulty giving you roughly a 50 percent chance of answering correctly. Scoring is compensatory across content areas: NCSBN states the NCLEX is not graded in sections and overall performance alone determines pass or fail. Wrong answers do not subtract, but every item must be answered because the software will not advance otherwise. Items with more than one credited response can earn partial credit through plus/minus, zero/one or rationale scoring.
When You Get Results
No result appears at the test center. Every exam is scored twice, first by the computer at the center and again after the record reaches Pearson. Official results come only from your nursing regulatory body, within six weeks of the exam appointment. Candidates seeking US licensure whose NRB participates in the Quick Results Service can purchase unofficial results two business days after the exam for $7.95, charged only if a result is available; those results do not authorise practice.
In raw terms: NCSBN publishes no raw-to-scale conversion and no number of correct answers that guarantees a pass, because item difficulty and content area vary from candidate to candidate under CAT. The published proxies for precision are the estimated decision consistency of 0.90 for first-time US-educated NCLEX-RN candidates in 2025 and the design target of stopping only when the computer is 95 percent certain a candidate is clearly above or clearly below the standard.
- Two forms of valid ID (one government-issued with photo)
- Appointment confirmation email
- For online proctoring: webcam, microphone, clean desk, stable internet
What are the prerequisites for the NCLEX-RN?
Eligibility is set by your nursing regulatory body, not by NCSBN. NCSBN states plainly that it does not maintain a list of requirements for each NRB, so you must contact the body where you seek licensure.. You must submit an application for licensure or registration to that nursing regulatory body and be declared eligible before Pearson can issue an Authorization to Test.. You must register and pay separately with Pearson. Registration and licensure application are two distinct processes that both have to complete.. An Authorization to Test email is required to schedule an appointment. Each ATT is valid for a period the NRB specifies, averaging 90 days, and NCSBN states these dates cannot be extended for any reason.. Testing accommodations must be requested from the nursing regulatory body at the point of licensure application, not from Pearson or at the test center.. Acceptable identification is required at the test center: physical rather than digital, non-expired, government-issued, name in Roman characters, recent photograph and a signature or a signed secondary ID.. Candidates living in a country under US sanctions cannot take the NCLEX, a federal restriction imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Candidates using a passport from a sanctioned country must also present government-issued proof of residency in a non-sanctioned country.. There is no degree type restriction in NCSBN policy. In 2025, first-time US-educated candidates entered from baccalaureate programmes (100,258 exams), associate degree programmes (89,549) and RN diploma programmes (2,671)..
How much does the NCLEX-RN cost?
The NCLEX-RN exam costs $200. This includes the exam fee only, study materials are additional.
How do I register for the NCLEX-RN?
Visit the official NCSBN certification page → Create an account and select your exam → Choose a test center or online proctoring option → Pay the exam fee and schedule your date
What should I bring to the NCLEX-RN?
Two forms of valid ID (one government-issued with photo). Appointment confirmation email. For online proctoring: webcam, microphone, clean desk, stable internet.
Ready to prepare for NCLEX-RN?
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