NCLEX-RN® Examination — exam facts

NCSBN develops the examination; Pearson VUE handles registration, scheduling and delivery at test centers. Results are released only by the candidate's nursing regulatory body — NCSBN and Pearson VUE will not give a candidate their result.

Source: NCSBN — 2026 NCLEX Examination Candidate Bulletin (PDF, April 2026) (2026-09-20)

A range, not a number: the NCLEX-RN is a variable-length computerized adaptive test. Every RN candidate must answer at least 85 items, and no candidate answers more than 150, within the same five-hour limit. The length of your exam is not a sign of passing or failing — NCSBN states a candidate may pass or fail at any length. Of a minimum-length 85-item exam, 15 items are unscored pretest items (the other 70 are 52 content-area items plus three six-item clinical judgment case studies); NCSBN does not publish the scored/unscored split for longer exams, so no fixed number of scored items is stated here.

Source: NCSBN — NCLEX-RN® Test Plan, effective April 2026 (PDF) (2026-09-20)

Five hours, and NCSBN is explicit that the limit does not change with the number of items administered. The five hours include the introductory screen and all breaks, which are optional: a break is offered after about two hours of testing and again after about three and a half hours, and the clock does not stop for them. Running out of time before the minimum number of items has been answered is an automatic fail.

Source: NCSBN — 2026 NCLEX Examination Candidate Bulletin (PDF, April 2026) (2026-09-20)

There is no percentage and no number of correct answers that means “pass”. NCSBN publishes the NCLEX-RN passing standard as 0.00 logits on the NCLEX-RN ability scale; its Board of Directors voted in December 2022 to uphold that standard, and it is effective through March 31, 2029. The exam ends under one of three rules: the computer stops once it is 95% certain the candidate's ability is clearly above or clearly below the standard (after the minimum 85 items); at 150 items it decides on the final ability estimate alone; and if time runs out, the candidate fails unless the minimum number of items was answered, in which case the final ability estimate decides. NCSBN also states that there is no fixed percentage of candidates who pass or fail.

Source: NCSBN — Passing Standard (NCLEX-RN 0.00 logits, effective through March 31, 2029) (2026-09-20)

• $200 — NCLEX registration fee (candidates seeking U.S. or Australian licensure) (Pearson VUE, per attempt) Source
• $150 — Additional international scheduling fee (testing outside the candidate's licensing country) (Pearson VUE, per attempt) Source

The registration fee is charged for every registration, and NCSBN states there is no refund for any reason — a candidate who does not test within the validity of their Authorization to Test must register and pay again. The international scheduling fee is additional and non-refundable, and a value-added tax may be added where applicable. Two figures on NCSBN's fee table are not in US dollars or not universal and so are not listed above: candidates seeking Canadian licensure or registration pay CAD 360 (excluding local taxes), and separate $50 fees apply to changing your nursing regulatory body after registering, to changing exam type between RN and PN (U.S. candidates), and — for Canadian candidates only, at CAD 50 — to changing exam language between English and French. The licensure or registration fee itself is set by each nursing regulatory body, not by NCSBN.

Source: NCSBN — 2026 NCLEX Examination Candidate Bulletin (PDF, April 2026) (2026-09-20)

English, and Canadian French. NCSBN states it offers the NCLEX-RN in French to meet the needs of French-speaking Canadian candidates, translating two operational item pools a year and having them reviewed by a Canadian Translation Panel of nurses proficient in both languages. The French option is Canadian: NCSBN's own fee table marks “change exam language (English/French)” as not applicable to candidates seeking U.S. or Australian licensure. The exam is not offered in paper-and-pencil or oral formats in any language.

Source: NCSBN — NCLEX Frequently Asked Questions (“How is the NCLEX translated?”) (2026-09-20)