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United Kingdom · English test

The OET exam

The Occupational English Test (OET) is an English test built for healthcare professionals who want to register, work or study where English is used. The OET exam has four sub-tests, Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking, and the last two use tasks from your own profession, one of 12. You can sit it on paper or on computer at a venue. OET@Home, taken online at home, is for candidates with no venue available or with OET’s approval. There’s no single pass mark: the regulator, employer or visa body you’re applying to decides the grades it needs.

  • About 40 minutesListening: 42 questions
  • 60 minutesReading: 42 questions
  • 45 minutesWriting: one letter
  • 20 minutesSpeaking: two role plays
Where to studyHow the test works

Updated October 2026 · Written from the OET Test Handbook 2026

Key facts

At a glance

Run by
Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment (CBLA)
Sub-tests
Listening and Reading for all, Writing and Speaking for your profession
Professions
12, from Dentistry to Veterinary Science
Ways to sit it
On paper, on computer at a venue, or OET@Home
Scores
0 to 500 for each sub-test, with a grade from A to E. No overall score
Fee (October 2026)
AU$587, or US$455 for computer or OET@Home in the US

How it works

How the OET exam works: four sub-tests, two of them for your profession

  1. You sit four sub-tests: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. OET calls the whole thing the OET Test.
  2. Listening and Reading are the same for every candidate. Writing and Speaking use material from your own profession, so a nurse writes a nursing letter and plays nursing role plays.
  3. On paper you take all four sub-tests on the same day at the same venue, and the venue sends you a timetable.
  4. On computer you take Listening, Reading and Writing together at a venue. Speaking is on another day, online at home or, in some countries, at the venue.
  5. Writing is a letter based on case notes, for example a referral, written in 40 minutes after 5 minutes of reading time.
  6. Speaking is two role plays with an interlocutor who plays the patient, a relative or a carer. It’s recorded and marked later by two assessors.
  7. Your results come only once all four sub-tests are done.

Topics

What’s on the test

01

Listening sub-test

About 40 minutes of healthcare recordings in three parts, the same for every profession, with each recording played once.

Key points (4)
  • There are 42 questions: 24 in Part A, 6 in Part B and 12 in Part C, one mark each (OET Test Handbook 2026).
  • You hear each recording once only (OET Test Handbook 2026).
  • In Part A you complete the notes with the same word or short phrase you hear, without paraphrasing (OET Listening preparation page).
  • Grade B (350) typically takes at least 30 of 42 marks, but the number varies from test to test (OET Results and scoring page).
02

Reading sub-test

60 minutes of healthcare texts in three parts, the same for every profession, with Part A timed on its own.

Key points (4)
  • There are 42 questions: 20 in Part A, 6 in Part B and 16 in Part C (OET Test Handbook 2026).
  • Part A takes 15 minutes and is collected before Parts B and C, which take 45 minutes (OET Test Handbook 2026; OET Reading preparation page).
  • Answers that aren’t spelled correctly get no marks, though British and American spellings are both accepted (OET Reading preparation page).
  • Part B questions have three options and Part C questions have four (OET Test Handbook 2026).
03

Writing sub-test

One profession-specific letter, such as a referral, written from case notes in 45 minutes.

Key points (4)
  • The sub-test is 45 minutes: 5 minutes of reading time, then 40 minutes of writing (OET Test Handbook 2026).
  • The six criteria are Purpose, Content, Conciseness and Clarity, Genre and Style, Organisation and Layout, and Language (OET Test Handbook 2026).
  • The task asks for 180 to 200 words, and there’s no automatic penalty for going over or under (OET Writing preparation page).
  • Grade B writers score 2 out of 3 for Purpose and 5 out of 7 for the other criteria (OET Writing preparation page).
04

Speaking sub-test

Two profession-specific role plays with an interlocutor who plays the patient or a relative or carer, in about 20 minutes.

Key points (4)
  • The sub-test has a warm-up of about 2 to 3 minutes, then two role plays of 5 minutes, each with 3 minutes to prepare (OET Test Handbook 2026).
  • Four linguistic criteria are marked out of 6 and five clinical communication criteria out of 3 (OET Test Handbook 2026).
  • The recording is assessed by two OET assessors (OET Speaking preparation page).
  • You can make notes on the role card and look at it during the role play (OET Speaking preparation page).
05

Professions and ways to take the test

The test comes in versions for 12 professions and three delivery modes, all with the same format and marking.

Key points (5)
  • The 12 professions are Dentistry, Dietetics, Medicine, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Podiatry, Radiography, Speech Pathology and Veterinary Science (OET Test Handbook 2026).
  • Listening and Reading are the same for everyone; Writing and Speaking are tailored to your profession (OET Test Handbook 2026).
  • All three modes use the same format and are marked to the same standard (OET Test Handbook 2026).
  • OET’s 2026 paper calendar offers seven professions, and some paper dates only Nursing and Medicine (OET Book a test page).
  • OET@Home is only for candidates with no paper or computer venue where they sit, or with OET’s approval for exceptional circumstances (OET Test Regulations 6.2).
06

Booking, fees and test day

You book and pay online, upload your ID, and bring the same ID on the day.

Key points (4)
  • The test fee is AU$587, or US$455 for OET on Computer or OET@Home in the United States (OET third-party payments page).
  • Paper bookings close 24 days before the test; computer and OET@Home bookings close 7 days before (OET Book a test page).
  • You can hold only one booking per test administration (OET Test Regulations).
  • A driver’s licence isn’t accepted as ID (OET Test day information page).
07

Scores and results

Each sub-test is scored from 0 to 500 with a letter grade from A to E, and there’s no overall OET pass mark.

Key points (4)
  • Scores go up in steps of ten; B is 350 to 440 and C+ is 300 to 340 (OET Test Handbook 2026).
  • OET doesn’t report an overall score or grade (OET Test statistics page).
  • Computer and OET@Home results can come in as little as 48 hours after the last sub-test; paper results from 13 days outside India and the Philippines (OET Test Handbook 2026).
  • A re-mark must be asked for within 72 hours of the results (OET Re-marking Policy).
08

Using your results for registration and visas

Each regulator, employer or visa body sets its own minimum grades, accepted delivery modes and validity period.

Key points (4)
  • The NMC asks for grade B in Listening, Reading and Speaking and C+ in Writing (NMC OET page).
  • For tests from 23 April 2026, Australia’s National Boards ask for 350 Listening, 360 Reading, 350 Writing and 360 Speaking (Ahpra accepted English language tests page).
  • Ahpra’s National Boards, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland and the Department of Home Affairs don’t accept OET@Home (their own pages).
  • OET says there’s no global standard for how long results are valid; each organisation sets its own (OET Test Handbook 2026).

Test day

What to bring on OET exam day

  • Your ID, the same one you used to book: a valid passport, or on paper a national ID from the country where you sit the test
  • Paper test: non-mechanical pens, 2B pencils, an eraser and a sharpener in a clear bag or pencil case
  • Computer test or OET@Home: your Prometric confirmation number, from your booking email or OET account
  • OET@Home: proof that you live in, or are staying in, the country you booked
  • A clear plastic bottle of water with the label removed

Before you go

  1. Check the grades, delivery modes and single-sitting rules of the organisation you’re applying to before you book.
  2. Register with a personal email address, not a work or university one. For ECFMG, use the email you gave ECFMG.
  3. Make sure the name and date of birth in your account match your ID exactly.
  4. Try OET’s free sample tests for your profession, in the mode you’ll sit.
  5. If you have a disability or health condition, ask for special testing arrangements while you book, before the request cut-off.
  6. For OET@Home, or computer Speaking at home, use a wired headset; Bluetooth headphones aren’t allowed.
OET: Book a testYou book and pay online and upload your ID as you go. Paper and computer bookings close on different days, so check the closing date of the test you want.

Study options

Where to study

OET publishes free sample tests for every sub-test and profession, in paper and computer versions, plus free guides and an Intro to OET course. It warns against unofficial material found online. Its own resources come first in the list, then courses from OET preparation partners with the prices on their own sites in October 2026.

OptionPriceFree to useLinks
Official and free
OET sample testsOfficial · download or onlinePaper packs come with the question booklet, answer key and audio; computer packs run Listening, Reading and Writing on screen, with an answer key and a Speaking role card. Choose your profession and the mode you’ll sit.
FreeEvery sample test, for all four sub-tests and all 12 professions
Sample tests ↗
OET Ready courses and guidesOfficial · onlineOET’s own starting point for new candidates. The Intro to OET course covers the format, skills and marking, and there’s an Intro to OET Medicine version for doctors. OET Pulse, a 30-minute level check, is listed on the same page.
FreeIntro to OET course, OET Study Guide, Writing guide, two Ultimate Guides to Speaking, lesson libraries
Get OET Ready ↗Speaking guides ↗
Books
OET guided practice eBooksOfficial · eBookGuided practice for Listening Sample Tests 2, 3 and 4, sold in the OET Store, to work on strategy, vocabulary and your errors.
AU$8 eachNothing; the sample tests they’re built on are free
Listening Sample Test 2 eBook ↗
Online courses
Specialist Language Courses: Reach OET BOnline course · OET preparation partnerOver 150 hours of material, four live lessons a week, three full Nursing practice tests and corrected Writing examples. There’s a Medicine version too. Monthly and 3-month plans renew until cancelled. Prices also shown in euros and US dollars.
Reach OET B Nursing: £29 a month, £75 for 3 months, or £249 Premium with five one-to-one lessonsLive lessons stay open after your subscription ends
Reach OET B Nursing ↗Reach OET B Medicine ↗
E2Language OETOnline course with live classes · OET preparation partnerSeparate OET courses for nurses, doctors and pharmacy. OET’s partner page lists the nurse and doctor courses as fully online with live classes.
Paid plans after the free trial14 days on any course, with no credit card
OET for Nurses ↗OET for Doctors ↗
OET OnlineOnline course · OET preparation partnerCourses for each of the 12 professions, with free taster courses for Nursing, Medicine and the others listed on OET’s partner page.
Paid courses by profession: all skills, all skills plus, or single skillsA taster course with one free live lecture
OET Online ↗

Prices and ratings checked October 2026.

Explore

Everything else, in one place

Where to learnBookingFeesOET onlineSample testsTest datesScores and resultsTest centres

Sub-tests

ListeningReadingWritingSpeaking

Who accepts OET

OET in the UKOET in AustraliaOET for nursesOET Medicine

FAQ

Common questions

What is the OET exam?

An English language test for healthcare. Boards, councils and regulators use it to check that internationally trained health professionals can communicate safely, and employers and universities use it too. OET says it tests English, not medical knowledge. Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment, a venture between Cambridge English and Box Hill Institute, owns it.

What score do you need to pass the OET exam?

OET doesn’t set one. Each regulator, employer or visa body publishes its own minimum for each sub-test, and they differ: Australia’s National Boards, for example, changed theirs for tests taken from 23 April 2026. The grades the UK’s Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and the Australian boards ask for are on the UK and Australia pages. Check the body you’re applying to before you book.

Who can take the OET exam?

It’s written for health professionals in 12 professions: Dentistry, Dietetics, Medicine, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Podiatry, Radiography, Speech Pathology and Veterinary Science. OET says that if you aren’t a health professional working towards registration in an English-speaking setting, it may not be the most suitable test for you.

Is the OET exam easier than IELTS?

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) says the scores it asks for on each accepted test are set at equivalent levels, and that it isn’t easier to reach them on one test than another. The NMC and the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland accept both OET and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic test. The difference is the content: OET uses healthcare material throughout.

Can you take the OET exam at home?

Only in some cases. OET@Home is for candidates who have no paper or computer venue where they’ll sit the test, or whom OET approves because of exceptional circumstances. Check that the body you’re applying to accepts it first: Australia’s National Boards, Australia’s Department of Home Affairs and Ireland’s nursing board don’t. The OET online page has the details.

Can I retake just one OET sub-test?

Only after you’ve sat all four once. OET’s Test Regulations then let you book single sub-tests on paper, and tell you to check first that your organisation accepts single sub-test scores. Ahpra and the NMC ask you to be tested in all four sub-tests in each sitting.

Sources: OET · Ahpra · NMC and 6 more. Checked October 2026.

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

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