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United Kingdom · Registration test

The official NMC CBT practice tests on Pearson VUE

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) wrote its own practice tests for the computer-based test (CBT), and Pearson VUE hosts them. The NMC says they’re open to all and don’t need booking. Each field has an NMC CBT practice test for Part A, numeracy, and one for Part B, clinical, and you can take them as many times as you like. The numeracy tests match the real Part A; the clinical tests are half the length of the real Part B.

  • 14Official practice tests Pearson VUE lists
  • 50Questions in a clinical practice test
  • UnlimitedTimes you can take each one
Open the official practice tests

Updated November 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

Where do you find the official NMC CBT practice test?

On Pearson VUE’s NMC practice tests page. Pearson VUE says the NMC produced them to help you check your understanding and readiness, and to learn the question format, style and level of difficulty. The questions were written for the practice tests, mapped to the seven platforms of the nursing standards and the six domains of the midwifery standards.

  • Adult nurse (RNA): one clinical test and three numeracy papers
  • Children’s nurse (RNC): one clinical and one numeracy test
  • Mental health nurse (RNMH): one clinical and one numeracy test
  • Learning disabilities nurse (RNLD): one clinical and one numeracy test
  • Midwife (RM): one clinical and one numeracy test
  • Nursing associate (NAR): one clinical and one numeracy test

Pick the tests for the field you’re applying to, because the clinical test includes questions written for that field.

Pearson VUE: NMC practice tests ↗

How the practice tests compare with the real CBT

PartPractice testReal CBT
Numeracy questions1515
Numeracy time30 minutes30 minutes
Clinical questions50100
Clinical time1 hour 15 minutes2 hours 30 minutes

Each nursing field’s clinical practice test has 45 general questions and 5 for adult, children’s, mental health or learning disabilities nursing. In the real Part B, the NMC’s test specification puts the field-specific share at 10% of the questions.

When you finish, you see which questions you got right. In the clinical practice tests, an information button on each question shows the part of the blueprint it’s linked to.

How the real CBT exam for nurses works →

Is there an official CBT mock test with 120 questions?

No. Neither the NMC nor Pearson VUE publishes a 120-question mock. The real CBT has 115 questions, 15 in Part A and 100 in Part B, and the official practice tests have 15 numeracy and 50 clinical questions. A 120-question mock comes from a private provider, so check it against the NMC’s blueprint and test specification.

You may see “Royal Marsden CBT questions” on sale. The Royal Marsden Manual of Clinical Nursing Procedures is core reading on the NMC’s adult nursing reading list, but it’s a procedures manual, and the reading list doesn’t name a question bank or mock test alongside it.

NMC: Nursing test specification (PDF) ↗NMC courses and other study options →

Getting the most from the practice tests

  1. Read the CBT information booklet first, so you know the screens and rules before you start.
  2. Take the numeracy test under the 30-minute limit, and check every answer’s format.
  3. Take the clinical test for your field and note each question’s blueprint link where you slipped.
  4. Read up on those blueprint areas, then take the test again.
  5. Remember the real Part B is twice as long, so practise keeping your pace for two and a half hours.
Part A, the numeracy test, and its answer rules →
Sources: Pearson VUE · NMC and 4 more. Checked November 2026.

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

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