On 25 October 2026 the NMC listed the CBT fee as £83 for both parts, £50 to resit Part A only, £70 to resit Part B only and £83 to resit both. You pay Pearson VUE, after the NMC issues your Authorisation to Test. The NMC says its fees rose on 1 October 2026 but does not list new amounts on the page we read, so check the price at booking. The wider overseas route costs more: the NMC page lists £167 for the qualification evaluation, £794 for the OSCE and £182 for registration.
The order of events
You cannot simply find a date and pay. The NMC controls access to the CBT, and Pearson VUE only takes bookings from candidates who hold an Authorisation to Test (ATT). The sequence is the same for every nursing field.
- Apply to the NMC online. This is the eligibility and qualification application. The NMC assesses your qualification and tells you whether you must take a Test of Competence.
- Receive your ATT. The NMC issues the Authorisation to Test. Keep it, because you need it at booking.
- Book and pay with Pearson VUE. Choose the exam code for your field. Adult nursing is RNA.
- Sit at a Pearson VUE test centre. Centres are available in most countries.
- Pass the CBT, then the OSCE. The OSCE takes place in the UK. Registration has to be completed within two years of eligibility being confirmed.
The CBT and the OSCE can be taken in either order, but both must be passed. See the CBT compared with the OSCE for how to sequence them.
CBT fees paid to Pearson VUE
These are the figures on the NMC CBT page and the NMC overseas costs page when we checked them on 25 October 2026.
| What you book | Fee | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| CBT, both parts | £83 | Pearson VUE |
| Resit of both parts | £83 | Pearson VUE |
| Resit of Part A (numeracy) only | £50 | Pearson VUE |
| Resit of Part B (clinical) only | £70 | Pearson VUE |
The NMC pages say NMC fees increase on 1 October 2026 and do not list new amounts. We could not confirm whether the CBT fee changed after that date. Read the price on the Pearson VUE booking screen before you pay, and treat the table above as the price we verified on 25 October 2026.
The resit prices make a failed part cheaper to fix than a failed sitting, but only if you are clear about which part failed. If you resit both parts, the fee is the same as the first booking. If you fail only numeracy and rebook Part A alone, you pay £50. Choosing the wrong option on the booking screen could cost you £33 more than you need to pay, so check which parts you are booking before you pay.
The wider cost of the overseas route
The CBT is a small part of the money. The NMC costs page for overseas applicants lists the following. These are NMC amounts, and the CBT fee is paid separately to Pearson VUE.
| Cost | Amount | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| Qualification evaluation fee | £167 | NMC |
| CBT, both parts | £83 | Pearson VUE |
| OSCE, first sitting | £794 | NMC (see costs page) |
| OSCE partial resit | £397 | NMC (see costs page) |
| Registration fee | £182 | NMC |
The NMC page we read gave a total of £1,226 for the standard route with no resits. That page did not include travel, accommodation or visa costs for the OSCE, translations, English language tests or any employer fees, and we do not state those. The same NMC page changes each autumn, so re-read it when you plan the budget.
Budget for resits. The three-attempt limit means the maximum CBT cost for one application is the first booking plus two resits. A failed Part B resit is £70; a failed Part A resit is £50. The fee is small against the cost of delayed employment, which is the real expense of failing.
Identification and arrival
The NMC booklet sets the identification rules, and a failure here can cost you the fee.
- Valid passport. It must match the passport recorded on your NMC account. If you have a new passport, update your NMC account at least 48 hours before the appointment.
- Check-in. A digital signature and photograph are taken. A palm-vein scan may also be used.
- Arrive 30 minutes early. If you arrive more than 15 minutes late you may not be allowed to sit, and you would have to book and pay again.
Read the full process in our exam day guide.
Choosing a date and centre
The CBT is available on demand at Pearson VUE centres, so there are no fixed national sittings of the kind a written medical exam has. Availability depends on the centre. Book when your ATT arrives, but fit the date to your study plan: a date too early is a wasted attempt, since you have only three. Choose a centre you can reach with time to spare, because the late-arrival rule is strict.
Before you pay, confirm four things on the booking page: the exam code, the centre address, the date and time, and the cancellation or rescheduling terms. The NMC pages we read do not set out the Pearson VUE cancellation terms, so we do not state them. Check those terms in the booking process.
Timing limits that affect cost
Several NMC rules turn into money if you miss them.
- Two-year window. After eligibility is confirmed, you have two years to complete registration, including the CBT and the OSCE. If the window closes, you may have to restart parts of the process.
- Attempts. Three attempts per application, at least 10 days apart and all within one year.
- Closing the application. After three failures the application closes and you must wait six months before applying again, which means paying the evaluation and test fees again.
The NMC pages we read did not state a separate validity period for a CBT pass. Ask the NMC how the timing of your CBT pass interacts with your OSCE date.
Choose a pass for NMC CBT
Full access for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months. One payment, from £23, no auto-renewal.
A worked budget
Using the amounts we verified on 25 October 2026, the route cost for a candidate who passes everything first time is £167 for the evaluation, £83 for the CBT, £794 for the OSCE and £182 for registration. That adds up to £1,226, which matches the NMC page total. Failures add to it, as the table shows. Travel, accommodation, visa and English language costs are not included.
| Scenario | Calculation | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Everything passed first time | 167 + 83 + 794 + 182 | £1,226 |
| Part A resit needed once | 1,226 + 50 | £1,276 |
| Part B resit needed once | 1,226 + 70 | £1,296 |
| Both parts resat once | 1,226 + 83 | £1,309 |
| CBT passed first time, OSCE partial resit once | 1,226 + 397 | £1,623 |
These totals are our arithmetic from the verified line items, not figures printed by the NMC, and they will change when the autumn fee rise is applied. Use them to plan a margin, not to quote a price.
Why older prices still circulate
Search results for NMC costs have shown a total of £1,170 in the page title, while the live NMC costs page showed £1,226 when we checked. Prep sites, forum threads and videos copy a total once and rarely update it. The NMC changes its fees in the autumn, and the page says so. Treat any fee you did not read on the NMC or Pearson VUE pages in the last few weeks as out of date until proven otherwise.
Questions to put to the NMC before you pay
- How long is my ATT valid, and what happens if I cannot book before it lapses?
- If I pass the CBT now, how long does that pass remain usable for my OSCE?
- What is the start date of my one-year window for three attempts?
- Has the CBT fee changed since 1 October 2026?
Ask in writing through your NMC Online account where you can, and keep the replies. The NMC pages we read do not answer these four points, which is why we list them as questions, not facts.
Keeping your records straight
Keep one folder, on paper or on a phone, with your ATT, your Pearson VUE confirmation, your payment receipt and a copy of your passport page. Name and date every file. If you must contact the NMC or Pearson VUE, quote your NMC reference and the confirmation number in the first line. Most booking problems that reach support are identity or exam code mismatches, and both are easier to settle when the paperwork is in one place.
A booking checklist
- Confirm the ATT is in your NMC Online account.
- Confirm the exam code. RNA is adult nursing. A wrong code means the result is not accepted.
- Check your passport. It must be valid and match the NMC record.
- Read the live price. Compare it with the table above.
- Pick a date at least 4 to 6 weeks away. Use the study plan to decide.
- Save the confirmation. Put the appointment time, address and ID rules in your calendar.
For the format you are paying to sit, see the NMC CBT hub. MedPass Exams is independent of the NMC and Pearson VUE, so always confirm fees on their pages.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the NMC CBT cost?
The NMC page listed £83 for both parts on 25 October 2026, paid to Pearson VUE. A resit of both parts is also £83, a Part A only resit is £50 and a Part B only resit is £70. Confirm the live price at booking.
Did the CBT fee change on 1 October 2026?
The NMC states its fees increase on 1 October 2026 but does not list new amounts on the page we read. We could not confirm whether the CBT fee changed, so check the booking screen before paying.
Do I pay the NMC or Pearson VUE for the CBT?
You pay Pearson VUE before the test. The NMC issues the Authorisation to Test, but the CBT fee is paid at booking with Pearson VUE.
What is the Authorisation to Test?
The ATT is the NMC's permission to book the CBT. You receive it after the NMC assesses your application and confirms that a Test of Competence is required. You need it before you can book with Pearson VUE.
What does the whole overseas route cost?
The NMC costs page lists £167 for the qualification evaluation, £83 for the CBT, £794 for the OSCE and £182 for registration, with a page total of £1,226. It does not include travel, visas or English tests, and it changes each autumn.
What if I arrive late for my CBT appointment?
Arrive 30 minutes early. If you arrive more than 15 minutes late you may not be allowed to sit, and you would have to book and pay again.