NCLEX study guide: the official 2026 test plans

How the NCLEX-RN is split up

Clinical judgment is tested on top of these, through three six-question case studies and about 10% stand-alone items.

How the NCLEX-PN is split up

The PN plan uses “Coordinated Care” where the RN plan has “Management of Care”, and puts more weight on psychosocial care.

Free official materials

NCSBN gives you all of these for free. The tutorial is worth doing at least once before exam day, so the screens don’t surprise you.

The test plan’s own test-taking advice is short: keep a reasonable pace, and read each question carefully before you answer. You can’t skip a question or come back to it, so that second read is your only check.

Review books

NCSBN doesn’t publish a review book. The best-known one is Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN, with a separate NCLEX-PN edition. Elsevier lists the 9th RN edition at $75.99, and a 10th edition is due in November 2026.

UWorld also sells an NCLEX review book. Any good review book works alongside the test plan. Make sure the one you buy covers the Next Generation NCLEX, which started in April 2023.

In Canada

The NCLEX-RN plan is the same for Canada, and there’s an official French version. The NCLEX doesn’t test provincial law, so some provinces have their own jurisprudence exam. Ontario is one example.