How many questions are on the NCLEX, and what’s the passing score?

What’s in every exam

In a minimum-length exam of 85, 52 questions cover the test plan areas, 18 make up the three case studies and 15 are pretest questions. These figures come from the 2026 test plans, in use from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2029.

Why there’s no percentage score

The NCLEX uses computerized adaptive testing. Each time you answer, the computer re-estimates your ability and picks a question that should be challenging for you. Because everyone gets different questions, a percentage correct wouldn’t mean much.

Instead, your ability is compared with a fixed passing standard set by the NCSBN Board of Directors. It’s measured in logits, a scale used in testing. There’s no fixed share of people who have to pass or fail.

Our practice test uses 70% as a target. That’s our own goal to help you judge your practice, not an official NCLEX rule.

Three ways the exam ends

The length of your exam isn’t a sign of passing or failing. NCSBN says an exam that stops at 85 means the computer was 95% sure of your result, and that can be clearly above or clearly below the standard. In 2025, 59.1% of first-time U.S.-educated RN candidates stopped at the minimum and 20.5% went to the maximum. The average RN exam took 2 hours 14 minutes.

• The 95% rule, the most common: after at least 85 questions, the exam stops once the computer is 95% sure you’re clearly above or below the standard.
• Maximum length: if you’re very close to the standard, it keeps going to 150 questions. Then your final ability estimate decides the result.
• Running out of time: if the 5 hours end first, you fail if you haven’t answered 85 questions. If you have, your final ability estimate decides.

NCLEX pass rates in 2025

These are NCSBN’s figures for U.S. licensure, January to December 2025. For the NCLEX-RN taken for Canadian registration, 86.0% of first-time, Canada-educated candidates passed. NCSBN also has a dashboard where you can look up pass rates by nursing program.

Pass rates for your school

NCSBN’s pass rate dashboard breaks results down by nursing program, by first-time or repeat test takers, and by U.S. or international education. You pick the year at the top.

Some boards publish their own numbers too. The California Board of Registered Nursing lists first-time NCLEX-RN pass rates for every approved California program, for each July-to-June year. As of October 2026 the latest period on its page is 2024/2025, and new rates go up each October or November.

Question types

The Next Generation NCLEX started on April 1, 2023, and added formats that test clinical judgment. You’ll see standard multiple choice and select-all-that-apply, plus formats built around six-question case studies. Some questions with more than one correct answer give partial credit. You can’t skip a question or go back once you’ve moved on. Our Next Generation NCLEX page explains the formats and how partial credit works.