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United Kingdom · Registration test

NMC courses and free study materials for the CBT

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) doesn’t run NMC courses for the computer-based test (CBT), and it says it doesn’t endorse any course or training provider. What it does publish, free, is the material the Test of Competence (ToC) is built on: the information booklets, the test specification, a blueprint for each field, reading lists and the Code. Use those first, and judge any paid course against them.

  • NonePrep courses the NMC endorses
  • FreeNMC booklets, blueprints and reading lists
  • February 2026Date of the adult nursing reading list
Where to study

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

The NMC’s materials and its reading list

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.

Are there official NMC courses for the CBT?

No. The CBT information booklet says the NMC doesn’t endorse any course or training provider offering preparation materials for the test. Paid NMC courses and online training come from private providers.

If you’re weighing one up, ask how its content maps to the NMC’s blueprint for your field, and whether its practice questions follow the real format: 15 numeracy questions you type the answer to, then 100 four-option clinical questions.

NMC: CBT and OSCE preparation materials ↗How the official practice tests work →

What the NMC publishes for the CBT

  • CBT information booklets for nurses, midwives and nursing associates, with the rules for test day
  • The test specification for nursing and for midwifery, with the number of questions per area
  • A blueprint for each field, showing which standards may be tested in the CBT, the OSCE or both
  • A reading list for each field; the adult nursing list splits it into core, OSCE and supplementary reading
  • The Code, the professional standards everyone on the register must follow

The adult nursing reading list, updated February 2026, calls the Royal Marsden Manual of Clinical Nursing Procedures, the NMC’s standards of proficiency, the Code, the test specification, the blueprint and the Resuscitation Council UK 2025 guidelines essential reading. It also names websites, among them NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) and the Royal College of Nursing.

NMC: Adult nursing reading list (PDF) ↗NMC: Nursing test specification (PDF) ↗NMC: The Code ↗

A study path built on the NMC’s documents

  1. Read the CBT information booklet for your profession, so you know the format and the rules.
  2. Go through the blueprint for your field and the test specification, which shows how many questions each platform gets.
  3. Work through the core reading on your field’s reading list, starting with the Code.
  4. Take the official numeracy practice test early. Part A needs the right answer in the right format, and the numeracy page explains both.
  5. Take the clinical practice test for your field, then go back to the blueprint areas you got wrong.

The OSCE (objective structured clinical examination) needs different preparation: the NMC’s mock OSCEs, marking criteria and station timings, listed on its preparation materials page.

Part A, the nursing numeracy test →The Test of Competence and the OSCE →
Sources: NMC · Pearson VUE · NICE and 7 more. Checked November 2026.

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

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