The NMC CBT is the computer based test that nurses trained outside the UK sit as Part 1 of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Test of Competence. It has 115 questions in two parts, a 15 question numeracy test and a 100 question clinical test, and takes up to 3 hours at a Pearson VUE centre, usually in your own country.
Researched and editorially reviewed by Celina Köhsl, medical student and member of the travel4med team. The numeracy and clinical content sections were reviewed by MUDr. Amandeep Grewal, a doctor on the travel4med team.
The NMC CBT is a multiple choice exam that checks whether your nursing knowledge meets UK standards before you can join the NMC register. It is Part 1 of the Test of Competence. Part 2 is the OSCE, a practical exam that you can only take in the UK.
The NMC has required nurses trained outside the European Economic Area to pass the Test of Competence since October 2014. The current version came in 2021, and it measures you against the NMC's "Future nurse: Standards of proficiency for registered nurses" from 2018. You don't choose to take it: the NMC tells you that you need it once it has checked your qualification, and only then can you book.
The test is specific to your field: adult nursing, children's nursing, mental health nursing or learning disabilities nursing (midwives have their own version). Our NMC registration guide explains the whole route, from the qualification check to the English test and the final fee. This post zooms in on the NMC CBT alone: what is in it, how it is marked, and how to prepare.
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The NMC CBT is one test of 115 questions with a total time of 3 hours, including any breaks you choose to take. Part A is numeracy and Part B is clinical knowledge. You sit both parts in a single session, but they are marked separately, so a fail in one part doesn't drag the other down.
The table sums up both parts, based on the NMC's CBT page, its candidate information booklet and its test specification for nursing.
| Part A: Numeracy | Part B: Clinical | |
|---|---|---|
| Questions | 15 | 100 |
| Time | 30 minutes | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| Question type | You type in a single number, sometimes with the correct unit | Four options, one correct answer |
| Suggested pace | Up to 2 minutes per question | Up to 1.5 minutes per question |
| Tools | On screen calculator and an erasable note board | Erasable note board |
| Resit fee | 50 pounds | 70 pounds |
There is no negative marking in either part. A wrong answer and a blank answer both score zero, so never leave a question empty. You can review your answers and change them before you finish.
The NMC does not publish a fixed pass mark. Its test specification says it used the Angoff method, a standard setting method, to set the first standard, and that it uses statistics to keep the standard equal across different versions of the test. Part A and Part B each have their own standard.
Part A of the NMC CBT has 15 applied numeracy questions of the kind a nurse meets on every shift, mostly drug calculations. The NMC's test specification lists exactly how the questions are spread across topics, and you get an on screen calculator.
The questions sit at the "apply and analyse" level, so you won't be asked to recite a formula. You'll be asked to use it on a patient scenario. A typical trap is the unit: the specification warns that the correct unit may be part of the answer. Convert milligrams to micrograms or millilitres per hour to drops per minute carefully, and write each step on the note board before you type.
Strong numeracy candidates lose marks through rushing, not through hard maths. Two minutes per question is plenty if you set out every calculation the same way.
Part B of the NMC CBT has 100 multiple choice questions spread across the seven "platforms" of the Future nurse standards plus two annexes, A and B, on communication and on the procedures and skills a nurse must master. Platforms with more proficiency statements get more questions, so being an accountable professional and providing care carry the most weight.
Here is the NMC's own split of the 100 marks:
About 90% of the content is generic and could appear in any field. Only 10% of the clinical questions are specific to your field. So an adult nurse and a mental health nurse share most of their question bank, and both need to know basic safeguarding, consent, infection control and escalation rules.
The questions are written in plain English where possible and all comply with The Code, the NMC's professional standards from 2018. The NMC's booklet tells you to select the answer you believe is the "most" correct, which means two options may look reasonable. The test measures you against UK standards, so think about what a UK ward would expect, not what your home hospital would do. The NMC checks your English through a separate test, not through the CBT; our OET guide explains one English test built for healthcare professionals.
In January to March 2026, 2,967 NMC CBT sittings took place and 63% of candidates passed both parts, according to the NMC's published figures, which include resits. First attempts did well: 76% passed Part A and 77% passed Part B. Clinical resits are much harder to pass.
The pattern is clear. Numeracy resits pass about as often as first attempts, which suggests a Part A fail often comes down to a few slips. Clinical resits pass less often, 63% on the second try and 59% on the third, which suggests a Part B fail tends to point to a real gap in UK practice knowledge. If you fail Part B, don't just book the next date: rework the platforms where you felt least sure.
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You can only book the NMC CBT after the NMC has told you that you need the Test of Competence. Pearson VUE then emails you an account confirmation and a temporary password, and you book and pay online. Here are the steps the NMC describes:
On the day you lock everything in a locker, including your watch, phone and notes. You get a short tutorial, then an erasable note board and marker. Don't write anything on the board until the tutorial ends: the NMC treats early notes as "brain dumping" and puts your result on hold. You get a pass or fail for each part on your exam report straight after the test, and in your Pearson account within 48 hours. The NMC gives no further feedback on your answers.
If you have a disability, you can ask for reasonable adjustments such as a separate room or up to 25% extra time. Email the NMC's Test of Competence team before you book, or at least 10 days before your test date, with supporting evidence.
Start with the NMC's own materials, because the NMC says it doesn't endorse any course or training provider. Here is a plan that fits around a full time job:
Keep your study tied to official sources. A cheap question bank that teaches a different country's drug names or rules can cost you more than it saves.
You get three attempts at the NMC CBT within one application. Sittings must be at least 10 days apart and all inside one year. If you fail only one part, you resit only that part: 30 minutes for Part A, 2.5 hours for Part B, each time with a new version of the test.
A few rules catch people out:
Fees are in pounds sterling, so the amount in your own currency will differ. After the CBT comes the OSCE in the UK, which our nursing OSCE guide explains station by station.
Not formally: the NMC gives no credit for any placement, and the NMC CBT marks only your answers on the day. What a placement does give you is daily practice with drug rounds, fluid charts and handovers, which makes the numeracy and care questions feel familiar instead of abstract.
That matters most while you are still training. If you study nursing outside the UK and plan to register there later, a supervised placement in a busy hospital lets you see how different health systems handle the same safety rules. Our nursing placement abroad runs at partner hospitals in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bali and Zanzibar, and our nursing internship planning guide shows how to organise one. For a feel of the ward, read our nursing placement in Sri Lanka report, and our guide to language barriers on a clinical internship abroad helps with patients who speak another language.
If you study in Germany, nursing placements work differently there: our sister site explains the Pflegepraktikum for medical students (in German).
Not set on the UK? The United States uses the NCLEX instead, covered in our NCLEX guide for international nurses, and Australia has its own route in our AHPRA registration guide. Compare the routes before you pay for any exam.
Training as a nurse and planning ahead? We organise nursing placements, medical electives, final year placements and observerships in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bali and Zanzibar, with accommodation, meals and local support. Compare our destinations or book a free consultation and we'll tell you honestly whether a placement fits your path to the NMC CBT. travel4med is part of the futuredoctor group ecosystem, which supports students from application to graduation.
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