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Application & Registration

Two-Step Registration Process for the NCLEX


  1. Submit an application for licensure/registration to the nursing regulatory body (NRB) where you wish to be licensed/registered External link Click here . This is in order to be made eligible to take the NCLEX.
  2. Register for the NCLEX with Pearson VUE External Link click here, utilizing one of the methods below . You will need a program code to register Here is the link, and an email address must be provided with your registration. Correspondence from Pearson VUE will only be available via email.

In order to become a licensed nurse in the United States or Canada, it is required that candidates pass the NCLEX exam. This makes it one of the most high-stakes professional exams offered in North America.

What is the NCLEX Exam?

The NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) is a licensure exam that every state regulatory board uses to test knowledge, skills, and abilities essential to the safe and effective practice . The exam is required for initial recognition as a nurse in North America.

There are two types of NCLEX exams:
  1. Nclex-RN: is an taken by students want to become licensed as a registered nurse (RN).
  2. Nclex-PN: is an exam taken by students want to become licensed as a practical (LPN) or vocational nurse (LVN).

Nclex-RN and Nclex-PN Test Length

The NCLEX-RN is a computerized adaptive test .Questions may range from 75 to 265 . among these 15 are sample questions that are not scored.

The NCLEX-PN is also a computerized adaptive test questions range from 85 to 205 . ,25 questions among these are pretest questions that are not scored.

Question Types candidate can expect for their Nclex-RN exam are:

  1. Single best response items (radio button)
  2. Multiple-response items that require a candidate to select all correct responses (one or many options or ALL options may be correct)
  3. Hot spot items that ask a candidate to identify one or more area's on a picture or graphic (image coordinates based)
  4. Ordered response items that require a candidate to rank order or move options to provide the correct answer (Un ordered => Ordered)
  5. Chart/exhibit format in which candidates will be presented with a problem and will need to read the information in the chart/exhibit to answer the problem
  6. Graphic options instead of text for the answer options that require selection of a graphic as an appropriate answer
  7. other item formats may include multimedia,Audio/Video format, charts, tables, or graphic images etc.

Computer Adaptive Test (CAT):

The NCLEX is a computer adaptive test (CAT) questions are given based on the candidate’s ability . The question selection algorithm is designed for maximum efficiency. questions are not random; questions are selected in response to the candidate’s previous answers.

The first question on the test will generally be one of intermediate difficulty. This is because the computer has no knowledge of a candidate’s knowledge prior to the exam. If the candidate answers incorrectly, a question of similar difficulty or lesser difficulty will be presented. Conversely, when a candidate answers a question with an intermediate level of difficulty correctly, the computer will next display a question of increased difficulty .

With each answer given, the computer re-estimates a candidate’s ability based on the answer given and the difficulty of the question asked. In other words, the difficulty of the test is tailored to a candidate’s level of knowledge. This is how the computer assesses true level of competency. With each question answered, whether correct or incorrect, the test evaluates the candidate’s ability and becomes more precise.

CAT Definitions

  1. Candidate Ability : The level of entry-level nursing knowledge, skills and abilities that the candidate has.
  2. Ability Estimate - The level of entry-level nursing knowledge, skills and abilities that the computer has determined that the candidate has.
  3. Passing Standard - A cut point along an ability range that marks the minimum ability level requirement. For the NCLEX, it is the minimum ability required to safely and effectively practice nursing at the entry-level
  4. Logit - A unit of measurement to report relative differences between candidate ability estimates and item difficulties.

Can a candidate skip questions?

  1. No. Candidates have to answer a question in order to move onto the next question.

Are candidates randomly selected to receive maximum length examinations?

  1. No. questions are administered following the principles of CAT. Candidates are NOT randomly selected to receive a designated number of questions. As a candidate takes the examination, items are selected based on the candidate's response to previous questions. The exam ends when it can be determined with 95% confidence that a candidate's performance is either above or below the passing standard, regardless of the number of items answered or the amount of testing time elapsed (six-hour maximum time period for the NCLEX-RN and five hour maximum time period for the NCLEX-PN).

what does “Near the Passing Standard” mean statistically?

  1. Near the Passing Standard” means a particular candidate’s ability estimate is not clearly above or clearly below the passing standard in a content area.

Computer Adaptive Test Grading:

Pass/Fail exam, candidates can face a few different scenarios since the computer determines the level of nursing knowledge.

The 95% Confidence Interval Rule is the most common practice test takers experience. The computer stops administering questions when it has discovered with a 95% certainty that the candidate is below or above the passing standard. This can happen with the administration of the minimum number of required items or at any number thereafter.

Another case, Maximum-Length of the Exam, is what candidates face when competency levels are very close to the passing standard. In this case, the computer will continue to administer questions until the maximum number of questions have been assigned to the candidate and at this point the computer will give a final estimate (pass or fail) as to the candidate’s level of fitness.

Third Case is called the Run-Out-of-Time . In this case, the candidate runs out of time before the computer has determined with a 95% certainty that the candidate has passed or failed and before the maximum number of questions have been assigned. In this case, assuming the minimum number of questions have been answered, the computer will evaluate the last 60 ability estimates to determine if the candidate’s answers were consistently above or below the passing standard.

Next Generation NCLEX is the new and improved licensure exam that measures clinical judgment through the addition of new question types. Candidates will begin testing with the Next Generation NCLEX starting in April 2023.
The Next Generation NCLEX introduces several new question types to better assess candidates’ clinical judgment skills. New question types include Extended Multiple Response (EMR), Extended Drag and Drop, Cloze (Drop-Down), Enhanced HotSpot (Highlighting), Matrix Multiple Choice (Matrix MC), and Matrix Multiple Response (Matrix MR).
The NCSBN has indicated that the earliest candidates would be tested under the new exam is April 2023.
The NCLEX-RN is a variable length computerized adaptive test and can range from 75-145 questions (Next Generation NCLEX has 85 to 150 questions)s. Of these questions, 15 are pretest (or field test) questions that are not scored.
The NCLEX-RN is a variable length computerized adaptive test and can range from 75-145 questions (Next Generation NCLEX has 85 to 150 questions)s. Of these questions, 15 are pretest (or field test) questions that are not scored.
You can take self assesment tests multiple times till questions in the database finished and you can clear history to repeat .This facility avaiable for Test Modes and Topic wise Test mode but clearing option not avaialable for CAT mode.