NCLEX registration: how to register with Pearson

How does NCLEX registration work, step by step?

1. Apply for licensure or registration with the nursing regulatory body where you want to work. Ask for any testing accommodations at the same time.
2. Meet that board’s eligibility rules.
3. Register with Pearson online or by calling NCLEX Candidate Services. Use your first and last name exactly as they appear on your ID, and enter your program code.
4. Pay the registration fee. Pearson emails an acknowledgment within two days. If it doesn’t arrive, contact Pearson before you try registering again. A second registration fee isn’t refunded.
5. Wait for the board to make you eligible in Pearson’s system. Pearson then emails your ATT.
6. Book your exam date before the ATT expires.

Where to find your NCLEX program code

The program code tells Pearson which nursing program you finished, and you have to give it when you register. NCSBN publishes the list of codes as a document on NCLEX.com’s registration page. If you registered for the wrong exam, RN or PN, you can change it later for a fee.

Your Authorization to Test (ATT)

You can’t book a date without it. The ATT email has your authorization number, your candidate ID and the dates you must test between. Your board sets those dates, the average ATT lasts 90 days, and the dates can’t be extended for any reason. If you don’t test in time, you register and pay again.

If two weeks pass after Pearson’s acknowledgment and no ATT has come, NCSBN’s bulletin says to contact your board, to check it has everything it needs or find out why you haven’t been made eligible.

Pearson VUE and the NCLEX

Pearson handles registration, ATT emails, scheduling, ID questions and test center comments. Your board handles eligibility and results. As of October 27, 2026, Pearson VUE’s NCLEX web address forwards to NCLEX.com, which links to registration.

The NCLEX candidate bulletin

NCSBN’s 2026 candidate bulletin covers the whole process in one PDF: contacts, registration, scheduling, the candidate rules and how results are processed. There’s a French version too. Read the rules section before exam day, because breaking them can cost you your result.