What is the NCLEX®? A plain-language guide for students

What is the NCLEX? A calm guide to who runs it, RN vs PN, adaptive testing, the Next Generation NCLEX, test centers, ID rules and the path from application to results.

Who runs the NCLEX, and what is it for?

Three different organizations touch your NCLEX journey, and they do different jobs. Mixing them up is a common reason people send questions to the wrong place or miss a deadline.

1. NCSBN: develops the exam. NCSBN describes its goal as creating psychometrically sound and legally defensible licensure examinations that are consistent with current entry-level practice.
2. Your nursing regulatory body (board of nursing): decides whether you are eligible to test, receives your licensure application and fee, and is the only place official results come from.
3. Pearson: the testing vendor. You register with Pearson, receive your scheduling email through the process below and sit the exam at a Pearson Professional Testing location.

NCSBN and your board of nursing

Each nursing regulatory body sets its own eligibility requirements for the NCLEX. NCSBN does not keep a list of those requirements, so the board in the state, province or territory where you want to be licensed is the one to ask. Applications must come from that board, because requirements vary.

This matters if you are planning to move or work across jurisdictions. Check with each board directly rather than relying on a general web page, including this one.

What entry-level means

NCSBN defines an entry-level nurse as a newly licensed nurse with no more than 12 months of nursing experience. The exam is not trying to find your specialty or measure an expert. It is aiming at the knowledge and judgment a newly licensed nurse needs for safe, effective practice.

The passing standard is the cut point for the minimum ability needed for safe and effective entry-level practice. NCSBN's Board of Directors reviews the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN passing standards every three years, or after a revision to the test plan. The exam content itself is built from NCSBN practice analyses, which are conducted on a three-year cycle and inform the test plans.

NCLEX-RN vs NCLEX-PN: who takes which?

There are two exams: the NCLEX-RN and the NCLEX-PN. Each has its own test plan and its own passing standard, and both are reviewed on the same three-year rhythm. Which one you sit depends on the license you are seeking, so confirm with your program and your board of nursing that the exam matches your route.

NCLEX-RN

The NCLEX-RN is the exam for candidates seeking registered nurse licensure. It follows the RN test plan, which describes the client needs categories and the content percentages each exam adheres to. If you are on the RN track, the NCLEX-RN test plan, explained walks through how that plan is organized.

NCSBN also says the same NCLEX-RN is used for Canadian and U.S. entry to practice, and that French-speaking Canadian candidates can take it in French.

NCLEX-PN

The NCLEX-PN is the exam for candidates seeking practical nursing licensure (LPN/VN). It has its own test plan, so PN candidates should study from the PN plan rather than borrowing an RN outline. Our guide to NCLEX-PN test plan categories and study plan is written for that track specifically.

Why the two exams differ

The exams are written for different scopes of practice, and NCSBN builds them separately. Item writers differ: NCSBN invites nursing educators with a master's degree or higher for the NCLEX-RN, and educators holding an RN or LPN/VN license for the NCLEX-PN. Readability limits also differ. The NCLEX-RN does not exceed 1300L Lexiles and the NCLEX-PN does not exceed 1200L.

Neither exam is a harder or easier version of the other. They measure entry-level readiness for two different licenses. This guide does not list question counts or time limits, because the NCSBN pages we relied on do not state them. Check the current NCLEX Candidate Bulletin and test plan on nclex.com for those.

How computerized adaptive testing works

CAT is a method that uses computer technology and measurement to make the exam more efficient and accurate. Everyone starts with a relatively low-difficulty item. After that, each answer you give is used to select the next item, so your path through the exam depends on how you perform.

The algorithm selects items of optimal difficulty for you. That means every item is meant to be relatively difficult for your current ability, and you cannot reliably tell which ones are easy or hard on the NCLEX scale. Each exam still follows the test plan content area percentages and covers all areas of the plan. No exam is built around one nursing specialty.

Why you can't skip or go back

You must answer a question to move on. Because each response is used to choose the next item, you cannot skip items or go back and change earlier answers. If you try to move on without answering, the screen tells you that you cannot continue with the question unanswered.

If an item includes exhibit tabs, you are not forced to open them all. NCSBN notes, though, that it is important to review each tab fully before choosing an answer.

What the number of questions does and doesn't tell you

The number of items you receive does not show whether you passed or failed. The exam may stop once the scoring algorithm has enough information to make a pass/fail decision, or it may continue to the maximum number of items when your ability estimate is close to the passing standard.

The last questions feel hard for nearly everyone. By the end of an exam, a candidate usually receives items they have about a 50% chance of answering completely correctly. Both higher-ability and lower-ability candidates find the end of the exam challenging, so a hard finish is not a sign you are failing.

If a candidate does not pass after receiving the minimum number of items, NCSBN says that means it took only the minimum for the algorithm to determine, with 95% certainty, that ability was below the passing standard. Each attempt is independent: on a retake, CAT starts again and does not pick up where you left off.

The Next Generation NCLEX® at a high level

The Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) project aimed to better measure clinical judgment and decision making through innovative item types. You do not need to master the formats before starting nursing school. It helps to know they exist, and that NCSBN offers free resources such as the NCLEX Tutorial and Exam Preview for students and educators.

Clinical judgment and new item types

NCSBN states there is no predetermined percentage of item formats. Items are given based on your ability and item difficulty, regardless of format. A few format details NCSBN spells out:

1. Multiple response: the question includes the phrase select all that apply in bold. When it appears, one or more of the options are correct.
2. Calculation: the item tells you whether to enter a whole number or one to two decimal places. If decimals are requested, you must enter the decimal point. Round at the end of the calculation, not partway through.
3. Key words: terms such as best, most, first, priority, immediately and next appear in bold.
4. Lab values: items that contain a numeric lab value include the matching normal reference range.

Most items are written at the application level or higher, which means they ask you to use problem-solving skills rather than recall a fact. NCSBN also says it generally uses generic medication names and does not publish a required drug list.

How items are scored

Some items have more than one correct answer, and NCSBN uses partial credit for those. It describes three methods.

1. Plus/minus: used when you can select an unspecified number of options. You earn points for correct choices and lose points for incorrect ones, with a minimum score of zero.
2. Zero/one: used when you are told to choose a specific number of responses. You earn points for correct choices and nothing is deducted for incorrect ones.
3. Rationale scoring: used for paired information, often a cause and effect. Both parts of the pair must be correct to earn points.

The content categories behind all of this sit in the test plans, so use those guides rather than guessing at topics.

Where and how you take the NCLEX

The NCLEX is a computer-based exam taken at a testing location. You choose where to test, and the choice is wider than many students expect.

Test centers

You can test year-round at any Pearson Professional Testing location, regardless of where you are applying for licensure. For U.S. licensure candidates, domestic centers are those in the U.S. and in American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For Canadian licensure candidates, domestic centers are those in Canadian provinces and territories and in the mainland U.S. NCLEX is also offered at international locations, which you can find through Pearson and the NCSBN Test Center Locations page.

ID rules

Identification is a common reason for lost fees, so read the rules early. If your ID does not meet the requirements, you are turned away and must re-register and pay another exam fee. The ID must be:

1. Physical: not digital.
2. Government-issued and non-expired: with your name in Roman characters.
3. Marked with a recent photo and a signature: both must be present.

Only your first and last names need to match between your ID and your Authorization to Test. The address does not need to match. International test centers, including Puerto Rico, accept only passports.

Taking it at home: what we know

NCSBN says it is exploring NCLEX Online, an option to take the exam at home. That is the extent of what we can say: it is being explored, not offered as far as the pages we reviewed show. Check nclex.com for the current status before making any plans around it.

From application to results: the path

The steps below apply to U.S. and Canadian boards. Australian candidates go through a different registration process via Ahpra, and every board can have its own details, so check yours.

Step 1: apply to your board of nursing

Request a licensure application from the board in the state, province or territory where you want to be licensed, and pay its licensing fee when you submit your materials. This is where eligibility is decided. If something is missing, your board is the one that will tell you.

Step 2: register with Pearson

Register with Pearson online, paying by credit, debit or prepaid card, or by phone through Pearson Candidate Services at 866.496.2539. Registration and the board application are two separate processes, and you need both.

Step 3: receive your Authorization to Test and schedule

Once your board declares you eligible, your Authorization to Test (ATT) arrives by email at the address you gave when registering. You need it to schedule. If it does not arrive, contact your board first to confirm they received everything.

The average ATT is valid for about 90 days, and the dates cannot be extended for any reason. If you do not test inside the window, you must re-register and pay again. The same applies if you cannot cancel an appointment more than 24 business hours ahead or you miss it, because the fee is forfeited.

Step 4: test, then wait for official results

Official results come only from your board of nursing. Pearson and NCSBN do not provide them. Some U.S. boards take part in the Quick Results Service, which gives an unofficial result two business days after your exam for a fee. It is not available to everyone: it applies only to candidates seeking U.S. licensure whose board participates.

Candidates who do not pass receive a Candidate Performance Report. NCSBN explains that feedback is given to people who need to direct their remediation. A rating of "Near the Passing Standard" means your score in an area was not clearly above or below the standard. Your board issues the license itself, so check with it about what happens after you test.

Fees, retakes and what to read next

The NCLEX registration fee depends on the date you register, not the date you test, and it is based on where you are seeking licensure. NCSBN says that effective Feb. 1, 2027, the fee will be $350 in the United States and Australia and $570 CAD in Canada. Registrations completed before that date are charged the current fee. We are not stating the current amount here, so check nclex.com for the figure that applies to you. This reflects the page at the time of writing and can change.

The same fee applies to retakes, and NCSBN says there are no refunds of NCLEX fees for any reason. Waiting periods and attempt limits are not covered in the pages we relied on, so ask your board of nursing and read the current Candidate Bulletin. You can find more detail on cost, retakes, results and at-home testing in our other NCLEX guides.

A calm next step is to read the test plan for your track, then build a study plan around the areas you find least familiar. NCSBN does not recommend or endorse any review courses or study materials, and PreceptIQ is not affiliated with NCSBN. Any study aid is just that, an aid, and it cannot guarantee a result.

PreceptIQ, an NCLEX® coach that studies your mistakes, is coming to iPhone and Android at preceptiq.app.

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.