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United Kingdom · Registration test

The NMC CBT: the computer test for nurses and midwives trained abroad

The computer-based test (CBT) is part one of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Test of Competence (ToC). You take it if you trained outside the UK and the NMC asks you to, or, as one option, if you’re rejoining the register without enough practice hours. It has 115 questions over three hours: Part A is numeracy and Part B is clinical. You sit this CBT exam for nurses, midwives or nursing associates at a Pearson VUE test centre, in the UK or abroad, and the practical OSCE (objective structured clinical examination) comes separately.

  • 115Questions: 15 numeracy and 100 clinical
  • 3 hoursFor both parts, breaks included
  • Part A and Part BPassed or failed separately
Where to studyHow the test works

Updated November 2026 · Written from the NMC Test of Competence: CBT information booklet (version 3, April 2025) and the 2021 nursing test specification

Key facts

At a glance

Set by
The NMC, the UK regulator for nurses, midwives and nursing associates
Run by
Pearson VUE, which the NMC calls Pearson Professional Assessments, with test centres in most countries
Versions
Adult, children’s, mental health and learning disabilities nursing, midwifery, nursing associate
Part two
The OSCE, a practical exam in the UK, passed within two years of the CBT

How it works

How the CBT exam for nurses works, from booking to result

  1. Once the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) confirms you need the Test of Competence, Pearson emails you (from an @pearson.com address) a temporary password for your account.
  2. You book and pay online, choosing the exam for your part of the register and both modules, Part A and Part B, for a first attempt.
  3. On the day, staff check your passport, take your photo and signature, and give you an erasable note board. A short tutorial comes first.
  4. Part A is 15 numeracy questions in 30 minutes, with an on-screen calculator. You type each answer.
  5. Part B is 100 clinical questions in two and a half hours, each with four options. You can go back and change answers, and a wrong or blank answer costs nothing.
  6. You get an exam report before you leave. Within 48 hours your Pearson VUE account shows a pass or fail for each part, and MyNMC, your NMC online account, shows one overall result.

Topics

What Part A and Part B cover

These are the topics in the NMC’s 2021 nursing test specification: the six numeracy areas, then the seven platforms and two annexes of its standards of proficiency, with the number of Part B questions each one gets. The midwifery CBT follows the six domains of the midwifery standards instead.

01

Part A: Numeracy

Fifteen applied maths questions set in a nursing or midwifery context, with 30 minutes to answer them.

Key points (3)
  • Part A has 15 questions: 2 on measuring the dose, 2 on metric units, 4 on oral medications, 3 on injections, 3 on intravenous infusions and 1 on fluid balance (test specification, table 3).
  • You type a number, and sometimes a unit, rather than picking an option (test specification, section 4).
  • The test specification gives the Part A pass mark as 13 of 15 questions (section 6.1.1).
02

Being an accountable professional

Platform 1 of the NMC’s standards of proficiency, and the biggest share of Part B with 17 of the 100 clinical questions.

Key points (3)
  • Platform 1 has 17 of the 100 Part B questions (test specification, table 4).
  • Its first proficiency is to understand and act in line with the Code, and it’s marked as a patient safety proficiency (adult nursing blueprint, 1.1).
  • The NMC suggests reading the Code to prepare for the CBT (CBT page).
03

Promoting health and preventing ill health

Platform 2: health promotion, protection and the wider causes of illness, with 10 questions.

Key points (2)
  • Platform 2 has 10 of the 100 Part B questions (test specification, table 4).
  • It covers epidemiology, demography, genomics and the wider determinants of health and wellbeing (adult nursing blueprint, 2.2).
04

Assessing needs and planning care

Platform 3: person-centred assessment and care planning, with 14 questions.

Key points (2)
  • Platform 3 has 14 of the 100 Part B questions (test specification, table 4).
  • It expects knowledge of body systems, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology and the social and behavioural sciences (adult nursing blueprint, 3.2).
05

Providing and evaluating care

Platform 4: delivering and reviewing care, including medicines, with 15 questions.

Key points (2)
  • Platform 4 has 15 of the 100 Part B questions (test specification, table 4).
  • It includes calculating doses accurately and the safe administration and optimisation of medicines (adult nursing blueprint, 4.14).
06

Leading and managing care and working in teams

Platform 5: leadership, delegation and the roles in a care team, with 10 questions.

Key points (2)
  • Platform 5 has 10 of the 100 Part B questions (test specification, table 4).
  • It covers prioritisation, delegation and assigning care to others (adult nursing blueprint, 5.5).
07

Improving safety and quality of care

Platform 6: health and safety, risk and improvement, with 10 questions.

Key points (2)
  • Platform 6 has 10 of the 100 Part B questions (test specification, table 4).
  • Applying health and safety law and keeping care environments safe is a patient safety proficiency (adult nursing blueprint, 6.1).
08

Coordinating care

Platform 7: partnership working, health law and complex care needs, with 10 questions.

Key points (2)
  • Platform 7 has 10 of the 100 Part B questions (test specification, table 4).
  • It includes caring for people with co-morbidities and complex care needs (adult nursing blueprint, 7.5).
09

Communication skills and nursing procedures

Annexes A and B of the standards, tested with 7 questions each.

Key points (3)
  • Annexe A and Annexe B have 7 questions each in Part B (test specification, table 4).
  • Ten percent of the clinical questions in each test are specific to your field of nursing (test specification, section 3.1).
  • Each Part B question has four options and one correct answer (test specification, section 4).

Test day

What to take to the Pearson VUE test centre

  • Your valid passport, the same one you gave in your MyNMC account
  • If you’re a forcibly displaced applicant without a passport: the alternative ID and the case ID number the NMC arranged
  • Nothing else for the room: bags, phones, watches, food and notes go in a locker

Before you go

  1. Read the CBT information booklet for nurses or for midwives. It has the test centre rules.
  2. Try the official practice tests the NMC wrote, on Pearson VUE’s site.
  3. If you get a new passport, tell the NMC. It takes up to seven working days to update, and if your CBT is sooner the NMC asks you to phone 020 7333 6600.
  4. Arrive 30 minutes early. If you’re more than 15 minutes late you may not be able to sit the test and will pay again, though a missed test doesn’t count as an attempt.
Pearson VUE: Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)Pearson VUE sets up your account after the NMC confirms you need the test. You book and pay there, online or by phone.

Study options

Where to study

The NMC publishes the information booklets, test specification, blueprints and reading lists, and it wrote the practice tests that Pearson VUE hosts at no cost. It says it doesn’t endorse any course or training provider. The study options page sets out what each resource gives you.

OptionPriceFree to useLinks
Official
NMC CBT and OSCE preparation materialsOfficial booklets, test specifications, blueprints and reading listsThe NMC’s own material for the Test of Competence: CBT information booklets for nurses and midwives (version 3, April 2025), the 2021 test specifications, a blueprint and reading list for each field, and the OSCE marking criteria and mock OSCEs.
FreeEvery document on the page
NMC: CBT and OSCE preparation materials ↗
NMC practice tests on Pearson VUEOfficial practice tests, numeracy and clinicalWritten by the NMC for the CBT. Numeracy tests have 15 questions in 30 minutes, like the real Part A; clinical tests have 50 questions in 1 hour 15 minutes, half the real Part B. You can retake them as often as you like and see which answers you got right.
No fee listedAll 14 tests are open to all, with no booking
Pearson VUE: NMC practice tests ↗
The CodeThe NMC’s professional standardsThe standards everyone on the register must uphold. The NMC suggests reading it to prepare for the CBT, and the adult nursing reading list puts it in core reading.
FreeThe whole Code online
NMC: The Code ↗
On the NMC reading list
Resuscitation Council UK 2025 guidelinesUK resuscitation guidelinesListed as essential reading on the NMC’s adult nursing reading list. Covers basic and advanced life support for adults, children and newborns, based on international evidence.
Free to read onlineThe guideline sections on the website
Resuscitation Council UK: 2025 Resuscitation Guidelines ↗
NICENational Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidanceThe NMC’s adult nursing reading list names the NICE website as essential reading, and links individual NICE guidelines for some OSCE skills.
Free to read onlineIts published guidance
NICE: Home page ↗
Royal College of Nursing: international nursesPages for internationally educated nursing staffThe NMC’s adult nursing reading list includes the Royal College of Nursing’s international nurses pages among its essential websites. The RCN is a trade union and professional body, and the page covers membership and support for nursing staff educated abroad.
Membership fees are on the RCN’s membership pagesThe page and its advice guide for overseas nursing staff
Royal College of Nursing: International nurses ↗

Prices and ratings checked November 2026.

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FAQ

Common questions

What is the NMC CBT?

It’s a multiple-choice computer-based test that checks the knowledge you need to practise safely as a nurse, midwife or nursing associate in the UK. The NMC introduced the test in 2014 and moved to the 2021 version, built on its 2018 standards of proficiency, in August 2021. Pearson VUE runs it for the NMC.

Is the CBT exam for nurses hard to pass?

The NMC publishes pass rates every quarter. From January to March 2026, 2,967 CBTs were sat, resits included, and 63% of candidates passed both parts. First attempts passed at 76% for Part A and 77% for Part B. The test specification gives the Part A pass mark as 13 of 15, and says Part B pass marks vary by field, generally between 60% and 70%.

Can you take the NMC CBT online?

No. You sit it in person at a Pearson VUE test centre, under exam conditions. Booking, paying and checking your result all happen online, through your Pearson VUE account and MyNMC.

What happens if you fail the CBT?

You resit only the part you failed. You get three attempts in one application, at least 10 days apart and all within one year. After three failed attempts your application closes, and you wait six months before you can apply again and resit both parts. The NMC won’t give feedback on a failed CBT.

What documents do you need for the NMC CBT?

Your valid passport, and it has to be the one in your MyNMC account. Forcibly displaced applicants without a passport email the Test of Competence team at least five working days before the test. They bring one of the alternative IDs the NMC lists, such as a UK driving licence or a travel document, and a case ID reference number.

Is the CBT changing in 2026 or 2027?

The NMC’s pages, as published in November 2026, announce no change to the CBT’s format, fees or rules for 2027. In 2026 its changes were elsewhere: new OSCE stations for exams from 23 February, 13 April and 26 October 2026, two OSCE centres closing, and higher registration fees from 1 October 2026.

Sources: NMC · Pearson VUE and 9 more. Checked November 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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