How much is the NCLEX exam? Fees and the Feb. 2027 change

The NCLEX registration fee is $200 USD for U.S. licensure now and $350 USD for registrations completed on or after Feb. 1, 2027. Here is how the date rule, retakes and other costs work.

What the registration fee is and how you pay it

The registration fee is what you pay Pearson when you register to take the exam. Registering is a multistep process, and the fee is only one part of it. Knowing the order of the steps helps you avoid paying too early or paying twice.

Two steps: your board of nursing, then Pearson

First, you apply for licensure or registration with the nursing regulatory body (NRB) in the state, province or territory where you want to be licensed. Your NRB then decides whether you are eligible to take the NCLEX; applying does not by itself make you eligible. If you are testing with accommodations, you request them through your NRB, and the registration page says to do this before you register.

Second, you register with Pearson, which handles payment and scheduling. You provide a program code, an email address and an acceptable form of payment. The first and last name you enter must match exactly with the identification you present at the exam appointment.

After your NRB declares you eligible and your Pearson registration is complete, you receive an Authorization to Test (ATT) email. You need that email to schedule your appointment. The NCLEX is administered by Pearson at testing centers around the world, and you can test at any Pearson Professional Testing location regardless of where you are applying for licensure.

Accepted payment methods

The fees page says you need a valid Visa, MasterCard or American Express card to complete registration. You have three registration options:

1. Online: Register on the Pearson website with a credit, debit or prepaid Visa, MasterCard or American Express card.
2. By phone: Call Pearson Candidate Services at 866.496.2539 and pay with a credit, debit or prepaid card from the same list.
3. Online with third-party payment: Register on the Pearson website using a third-party payment from a nursing school, agency or employer. Pearson publishes separate instructions for this option, so ask your school or employer whether they offer it before you pay out of pocket.

The February 1, 2027 fee change

The NCLEX registration fee is going up on Feb. 1, 2027. The rest of this section lists what the official pages say about the change.

The new amounts

Effective Feb. 1, 2027, the registration fee will be:

1. United States: $350 USD, up from $200 USD. That is a difference of $150 USD between the two listed fees.
2. Australia: $350 USD, up from $200 USD.
3. Canada: $570 CAD, up from $360 CAD (the current Canadian fee excludes local taxes).

Why NCSBN says it is changing

The NCLEX FAQ says the fee has not changed since 2000. It describes the adjustment as reflecting 25 years of inflation and the rising cost of exams, data protection and cybersecurity. The FAQ does not give a more detailed breakdown, so we will not guess at one.

Are other fees changing?

No. The FAQ says other fees, including international scheduling and change fees, will remain the same. Only the registration fee itself is changing, so the add-on amounts later in this article apply before and after the date.

Registration date sets your fee, not your test date

The rule that matters most is simple: the date your registration is completed determines the fee, not your exam date. The FAQ says registrations completed before Feb. 1, 2027 are charged the current fee, even if you take the exam after that date.

What this means if you register before February 1, 2027

It is natural to wonder whether you should register early to pay the lower fee. That depends on whether you can realistically be made eligible and test in time, and this is not advice to register before you are ready. The registration page says registrations stay open for 365 days waiting for your NRB to declare you eligible. If you are not made eligible, or are denied eligibility, within that period, you forfeit the registration and the exam fee, and you would need to register again and pay another fee.

Eligibility is only one window. Once you are eligible, you must test within the validity dates on your ATT. Each ATT is valid for a period set by your NRB, and the average length is 90 days. The FAQ says those dates cannot be extended for any reason, and if you do not test within them you reregister and pay another exam fee.

So before you register early to lock in a fee, ask your board how long eligibility usually takes after graduation and how long its ATT is valid. If those timelines do not line up with your plans, the lower fee is not worth the risk of paying twice. Your board knows its own process better than any general article.

Retakes follow the same rule

The FAQ confirms that the same fee applies to all NCLEX registrations, including retakes, based on the date the registration is completed. A retake registered on or after Feb. 1, 2027 is charged the new fee. You also cannot hold two open registrations of the same exam type at once, which matters when you are planning around a possible retake.

Which fee applies to you

The fee is based on where you are seeking licensure, not where you live. The FAQ gives this example: if you live in Canada but are seeking licensure in the United States, the U.S. fee applies, not the Canadian fee. The same logic holds for the PN track, which the registration page notes is used for U.S. licensure only.

Other NCLEX fees: changes, scheduling and refunds

The registration fee is the main cost, but the fees page lists several smaller ones. Most are avoidable if you plan your steps in order.

Add-on and change fees

These amounts are listed on the fees and payment page, and the FAQ says they are not changing on Feb. 1, 2027:

1. International scheduling fee: $150 USD for candidates seeking U.S. or Australian licensure, and $150 CAD for Canadian licensure, plus value added tax where applicable.
2. Change your NRB after registration: $50 USD for U.S. licensure and $50 CAD for Canadian licensure. It is not applicable for Australian licensure.
3. Change exam type (RN or PN) after registration: $50 USD for candidates seeking U.S. licensure. This matters if you are weighing the PN and RN tracks, so settle that choice before you register.
4. Change exam language (English or French): $50 CAD for Canadian licensure. It is not applicable for U.S. or Australian licensure.
5. Quick Results Service: If your NRB participates (U.S. licensure only), you can pay to see unofficial results two business days after your exam. See the Quick Results page on nclex.com for the current fee. Official results still come only from your board.

Non-refundable fees and how people lose them

The refund policy is blunt: there is no refund of registration fees for any reason, and no refund of the international scheduling fee. The sources describe several ways people end up paying again, and none of them reflect on your ability as a student. They are logistics that are easy to miss when you are juggling shifts and coursework:

1. Duplicate registrations: You cannot have more than one active registration for the same exam. If you reregister before the current one expires, the second is processed and denied, and its fee is non-refundable.
2. Missing the cancellation window: If you do not cancel or reschedule outside 24 business hours of your appointment, or you do not show up, the fee is forfeited. You would reregister, pay again and wait for your NRB to make you eligible and issue a new ATT.
3. ID that does not meet requirements: The FAQ says you will be turned away and required to reregister and pay another fee. Acceptable ID must be a physical, non-expired, government-issued document with your name in Roman characters, a recent photograph and your signature. The first and last names on your ID and ATT must match.
4. An expired ATT: If you do not test within your ATT validity dates, you reregister and pay again.
5. An expired registration: If your NRB does not make you eligible within the 365-day window, the registration and fee are forfeited.

If you have not received a confirmation within two days of registering, contact Pearson Candidate Services before submitting another registration or fee. If you decide to submit another, the fees page says to stop payment on the original first.

Veterans reimbursement

The Department of Veterans Affairs has added the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN to its qualified list of non-federal licensure and certification exams. Eligible veterans and their dependents, as defined by the VA, can be reimbursed for the cost of the test. Reimbursement is not available to candidates seeking licensure in Canada or Australia.

Benefit rules, forms and eligibility are set by the VA and can change, so confirm them on the VA's licensing and certification tests page before you pay. Board and exam retake rules still apply.

Costs outside the NCLEX fee: your licensure application

The NCLEX registration fee does not include your license. That is a separate application and a separate fee, paid to your board of nursing.

Board of nursing licensure fees vary by jurisdiction

The fees page lists the licensure or registration fee as "contact nursing regulatory body" for every jurisdiction. The FAQ says you pay a licensing or registration fee to the NRB along with your application materials, and that requirements vary by state, province and territory. Because these amounts differ and are not published on the NCLEX pages, we will not quote a range here.

If you are searching for how much the NCLEX costs in California, or any other state, the useful answer is in two parts. The Pearson registration fee is the same for U.S. licensure everywhere, as listed above. The licensure fee is set by the board in the state where you apply, so check that board's own website for the current amount. The FAQ notes that links to all NRB websites and contact details are on the NCLEX Membership page.

What to ask your board

When you contact your board, a short list of questions saves you time and money:

1. Application fee: What is the licensure or registration fee, and when is it due with your application?
2. Other requirements: Does the board require anything beyond the application, such as fingerprinting or a background check, and what does each cost? The NCLEX pages do not list these, so the board is the only reliable source.
3. Accommodations: If you need testing accommodations, how do you request them? The registration page says to do this with your NRB before you register.
4. Eligibility timing: How long does it usually take to be declared eligible after you apply, and how long is the ATT valid?

A simple way to plan your NCLEX budget

You do not need a complicated spreadsheet. You need a few confirmed numbers and dates, and a plan for what happens if something shifts.

Questions to settle before you pay

Work through these before you enter a card number:

1. Your program code: You need it at registration, and Pearson provides a downloadable list of program codes.
2. Your board's timeline: Find out how long eligibility takes and how long your ATT will be valid, so your registration date and test date make sense together.
3. Who is paying: Ask your school, agency or employer whether they use the third-party payment option.
4. Your jurisdiction and exam type: These decide the fee and the cost of any later change, so confirm the RN or PN track and the board before you register.
5. A retake cushion: A retake means paying the registration fee again, at the fee in effect on the date that registration is completed.

Where prep fits in

NCSBN does not recommend or endorse any review courses or study materials, per its FAQ. It does offer free resources for students and educators, including the NCLEX Tutorial, the NCLEX Exam Preview, the Candidate Bulletin, the test plans and information on computerized adaptive testing. A good first step is understanding what the exam covers, and the 2026 NCLEX-RN test plan explained is a plain-language place to start.

If you want structured practice on top of that, PreceptIQ is a study aid that reads your missed-question history and per-domain accuracy to point you at weak areas. It is not a guarantee of a pass. For logistics and study planning, you can also browse our other NCLEX guides.

Whatever you choose, treat the official pages as the final word on fees and dates, and check them again just before you register.

PreceptIQ, an NCLEX® coach that studies your mistakes, is coming to iPhone and Android at https://preceptiq.app. Until then, we hope this makes the cost side of registering a little less stressful.

Common questions

NCLEX®, NCLEX-RN® and NCLEX-PN® are registered trademarks of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN®). PreceptIQ is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NCSBN.