United Kingdom
The NMC CBT is Part 1 of the Test of Competence for internationally educated nurses and midwives. It is one 3-hour sitting at a Pearson VUE test centre: Part A is 15 numeracy questions in 30 minutes, Part B is 100 four-option clinical questions in 2 hours 30 minutes. The two parts are passed or failed separately and both must be passed. The fee paid to Pearson VUE was £83 when we checked on 25 October 2026. You get three attempts per application, at least 10 days apart. This hub follows the adult nursing field (exam code RNA).
What the NMC CBT is and who sits it
The Test of Competence is the Nursing and Midwifery Council's route for nurses and midwives who trained outside the UK and whose application shows they must demonstrate UK-level competence before joining the register. It has two parts. Part 1 is the computer-based test (CBT). Part 2 is a practical Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), which takes place in the UK. This hub covers Part 1.
The CBT is delivered by Pearson VUE, which runs test centres in most countries. Most candidates sit it in their home country, then travel to the UK for the OSCE. The NMC allows the two parts to be taken in either order, but both must be passed. Our page on the CBT compared with the OSCE explains how they differ and why many candidates sit the CBT first.
There is a separate CBT for each field of practice. The exam codes shown at booking are RNA for adult nursing, RNMH for mental health nursing, RNLD for learning disabilities nursing, RNC for children's nursing and RM for midwifery. Choosing the wrong code means the result is not accepted, so confirm it against your NMC application before you pay. About 90% of Part B questions are generic across fields and about 10% are specific to your field. Our question bank and the content on this hub are built for the adult nursing field.
The people who sit this exam are mostly registered nurses who have worked for several years in another health system. They already know clinical care. What they are learning is the UK framework around it: the NMC Code, UK law on capacity and consent, UK drug names and units, and the escalation tools used on NHS wards. The exam rewards that framework. A strong clinician who answers from home-country habit can still fail it.
The exam is also not the whole route. Before you can book, the NMC has to assess your application and issue an Authorisation to Test. After you pass both parts, registration has to be completed within two years of eligibility being confirmed. Treat the CBT as one stage in a timed process, not a stand-alone event.
Eligibility and booking
You do not book the CBT directly. The NMC controls access. You apply to the NMC online, the NMC assesses your qualification and tells you whether a Test of Competence is needed, and if it is you receive an Authorisation to Test (ATT). Only then can you book and pay with Pearson VUE. The sequence below is taken from the NMC pages we checked on 25 October 2026.
- Apply to the NMC. Complete the online eligibility and qualification application. The NMC decides whether you must take the Test of Competence.
- Receive your Authorisation to Test. The ATT is the NMC's permission to book. Without it Pearson VUE cannot take your booking.
- Choose the correct exam code. For adult nursing this is RNA. Mental health, learning disabilities, children's and midwifery each have their own code.
- Book and pay with Pearson VUE. Choose a test centre and a date. The fee goes to Pearson VUE before the test. Check the price on the booking page, because the NMC announced a fee increase from 1 October 2026 without listing new amounts on the page we read.
- Prepare your identification. You need a valid passport that matches the one held on your NMC account. If you have a new passport, update your NMC account at least 48 hours before the appointment.
- Arrive 30 minutes early. Arriving more than 15 minutes late may mean you cannot sit, and you would have to book and pay again.
Fees and rules on this page were checked against NMC pages on 25 October 2026. NMC fees increase on 1 October each year, so confirm the current CBT price on the booking page. Our booking and fees guide sets out every cost we could verify.
Once the NMC confirms your eligibility, you have two years to complete registration, which includes the CBT and the OSCE. The NMC pages we read did not state a separate validity period for a CBT pass, so ask the NMC how your own timeline works before you plan a long gap between the two parts.
Format and scoring
The CBT is one sitting of 115 questions in 3 hours. Part A (numeracy) is first in the NMC description: 15 questions in 30 minutes. Part B (clinical) is 100 questions in 2 hours 30 minutes. The NMC booklet suggests a pace of up to 2 minutes per numeracy question and 1.5 minutes per multiple-choice question.
| Feature | Part A: numeracy | Part B: clinical |
|---|---|---|
| Questions | 15 | 100 |
| Time allowed | 30 minutes | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| Answer type | Type one numeric answer (not multiple choice) | Four options, one most correct answer |
| Passed or failed | Separately | Separately |
| Pace guidance | Up to 2 minutes each | About 1.5 minutes each |
The test is not adaptive. You can review and change answers within the time allowed. An on-screen calculator is provided for numeracy, and you work on an erasable note board. Breaks are optional and unscheduled, and the clock keeps running during them. Real Part A answers are typed numbers, so our question bank converts them to four-option items to fit the platform. Learn to enter the number only, with the correct number of digits and the standard unit abbreviation, because the Pearson VUE practice test sets out those rules.
The NMC does not publish a raw pass mark on its candidate pages. The 2021 test specification says the standard is set by the Angoff method and maintained statistically. It gives a Part A pass mark of 87% (13 of 15) and a Part B pass mark generally between 60% and 70%, depending on field. That specification dates from 2021 and we have not found a 2026 document that re-confirms the figures, so treat them as planning targets. Our guide to pass mark and scoring explains the method.
Results arrive quickly. You receive an exam report at the test centre. The Pearson VUE account shows the Part A and Part B breakdown within 48 hours, and your NMC Online account updates within 48 hours with the overall result only. It shows Pass only once both parts are passed.
Blueprint by domain
Part B is built on the NMC Standards of proficiency for registered nurses: seven platforms plus two annexes. Part A is a separate numeracy block. The table shows the official item counts from the 2021 specification and each domain's share of the 115 marks. Each row links to a page on what is tested and how to revise it.
The NMC also states the cognitive level of Part B: about 38% of questions test remembering and understanding, 32% test applying and analysing, and 30% test evaluating and creating. Nearly two thirds of the clinical paper therefore asks you to use knowledge on a case, not to repeat a definition. Expect a patient scenario and a decision about what to do first, what to escalate or what is most appropriate.
Platform 1 is the largest single block of Part B and numeracy is the only block where a typing slip costs a whole mark with no partial credit. Many candidates who are comfortable clinically lose their margin in those two places.
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How to prepare: a phased plan
Most candidates have 8 to 16 weeks and a full-time job. The plan below works for any length, and our study plan scales it to 8, 12 and 16 weeks with weekly targets. The order matters more than the total hours.
- Phase 1: baseline and framework. Sit the free Pearson VUE practice tests (a 50-question Part B test and a 15-question Part A test) to see the format. Then read The Code and the Standards of proficiency headings. Learn the four Code themes and the seven platforms by name, because the exam is organised around them.
- Phase 2: numeracy first. Part A is short, finite and fixable. Practise the six question types in the NMC topic mix until every calculation is automatic: measuring the correct dose, metric units, oral medications, injections, intravenous infusions and fluid balance. Aim for a perfect score on untimed sets before you add time pressure. See how to pass Part A numeracy.
- Phase 3: platform-by-platform Part B. Work through the domains in blueprint order of weight: Platform 1, Platform 4, Platform 3, then the 10-question blocks. For each, learn the UK rule, the UK tool and the first action. Use high-yield topics as a checklist.
- Phase 4: mixed timed blocks. Move to 25-question mixed sets at 1.5 minutes per item. Review every wrong answer and write down why the right answer is the most appropriate in a UK ward.
- Phase 5: full mock sittings. In the last two weeks, do at least two full 115-question mocks in 3 hours, numeracy first, with only a calculator and scrap paper. Practise the break decision, because breaks count against the 3 hours.
- Phase 6: the last 48 hours. Check your passport, your ATT and your booking confirmation. Do light revision of the Code and the formulas. Sleep.
Practise as you will sit. In the exam you have a calculator on screen, a note board and no phone. If you rely on a mental shortcut in practice that you cannot use in the centre, find out now. Our exam day guide walks through arrival, identification and the sitting.
Why candidates fail
The NMC does not publish reasons for failure, so what follows is drawn from its published pass rates and from the structure of the exam. We do not state any cause as fact.
The pass rates show where the weak points are. For 2025 the NMC reported first-attempt Part A pass rates of 89%, 88%, 87% and 76% across the four quarters, and first-attempt Part B pass rates of 84%, 81%, 80% and 77%. The share of candidates passing both parts fell from 76% in January to March 2025 to 65% in October to December 2025. In January to March 2026, 2,967 applicants sat and 63% passed both parts. First-attempt candidates did better, with 76% passing overall from 2,150 candidates, while Part A pass rates dropped to 63% on the second attempt and 59% on the third. Part B resit pass rates in late 2025 were 64% on the second attempt and 54% on the third.
| 2025 quarter | Part A first attempt | Part B first attempt | Passed both parts (all attempts) |
|---|---|---|---|
| January to March | 89% | 84% | 76% |
| April to June | 88% | 81% | 74% |
| July to September | 87% | 80% | 71% |
| October to December | 76% | 77% | 65% |
Two readings are fair. First, a resit is not easier: second and third attempts pass at lower rates, so the first sitting is the best chance and should not be a trial run. Second, numeracy is a recurring pressure point. With a standard of 13 of 15 correct, two careless errors are the margin between pass and fail.
Based on the format, these are the preventable causes we would check first.
- Numeracy slips. Wrong unit conversion, mixing hours and minutes in a drip rate, forgetting the drop factor, or typing the answer with the wrong digits or unit. These are process errors, not knowledge gaps.
- Home-country practice. Answering from local policy, such as a different escalation pathway, instead of UK practice and the Code.
- Weak Platform 1. Platform 1 is 17 of the 100 clinical questions. Candidates who skim law and ethics lose the largest block.
- Reading speed. Part B gives 1.5 minutes per item. Long stems with observations punish slow reading.
- Misreading "most appropriate". Several options can be reasonable. The exam asks for the most correct one under UK standards, usually the safest and most person-centred first action.
- Unstructured resits. Resitting with the same method and a small gap after a fail. You need at least 10 days between attempts, but the gap should be spent on the weak part, not on more of what you already know.
If you do not pass, read resits and attempts. You resit only the part you failed, and the rules on spacing and limits are firm.
Sit a timed NMC CBT mock exam
Blueprint-weighted questions under exam timing, then a breakdown of your result by domain.
After the exam
The result comes in two stages. You receive an exam report at the test centre. Within 48 hours the Pearson VUE account shows the Part A and Part B breakdown, and your NMC Online account updates with the overall result. The NMC gives no further feedback, so the breakdown is the only information on which part to rework.
If you pass both parts, the CBT is complete. The next step in the Test of Competence is the OSCE, which takes place in the UK. The NMC cost page we read lists the OSCE at £794 for a first sitting and £397 for a partial resit. Registration has to be completed within two years of eligibility being confirmed, which includes the CBT, the OSCE and the registration fee, so the time you take over the OSCE counts.
If you pass one part and fail the other, you resit only the part you failed. You have three attempts per application, at least 10 days apart, all within one year. After three failures the application closes, and you must wait six months before applying again. These rules make planning important: book the next attempt with a gap long enough to fix the specific weakness, but short enough to stay within the one-year window.
Do not treat a pass on the CBT as registration. The NMC still has to complete your registration after the OSCE. Confirm your own remaining steps in your NMC Online account.
For doctors reading this page: the GMC route is different. See our PLAB 1 exam guide. For the other UK country page, go to MedPass UK.
Choose a pass for NMC CBT
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Where to go next
- Study plan: 8, 12 and 16 weeks
- Pass mark and scoring
- Booking and fees
- Part A numeracy: method and worked examples
- High-yield topics
- UK guidelines you must know
- Exam day at Pearson VUE
- Resits and attempts
- CBT compared with the OSCE
MedPass Exams is an independent exam-preparation service. It is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the Nursing and Midwifery Council or Pearson VUE. Always confirm fees, rules and dates on the NMC and Pearson VUE pages before you act.