Pass the NCLEX-RN and you're an RN. Fail and you wait 45 days, pay another $200, and try again, often while a job offer sits in limbo. The test runs 75 to 145 questions, computer-adaptive, so the questions get harder the better you do. NCSBN sets the pass bar; your school doesn't. Since April 2023 the exam uses the Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) format, which adds case-study items that score your clinical judgment, not your memory of flashcards. The candidates who pass on the first try aren't smarter, they're the ones who drilled 3,000+ application-style questions instead of re-reading textbooks.
NCLEX-RN
NCLEX-RN
National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses
Master the knowledge and critical thinking skills required to pass the NCLEX-RN on your first attempt.
Free forever. No credit card. Aligned to the NCSBN (National Council of State Boards of Nursing) blueprint.
At a glance
NCLEX-RN exam facts
- Questions
- 75 to 145 (CAT)
- Duration
- Up to 5 hours (including breaks)
- Passing score
- Pass/fail, measured against the NCSBN passing standard
- Cost
- $200 USD (plus state board fees)
- Format
- Computerized adaptive testing with NGN case studies
- When offered
- Year-round at Pearson VUE testing centers
Most candidates who pass on the first try practice 3,000+ NCLEX-style questions over 6 to 8 weeks. Here's exactly what's on the test and how to study it.
Live practice bank
2,737
NCLEX-RN questions in our database right now, with full rationales on every choice.
Official Full Mock
NCLEX-RN: 2026 Official Full Mock
Mimics the 2026 NCSBN NCLEX-RN Test Plan: 75 questions across 8 Client Needs subcategories, 5-hour time limit.
- Questions
- 75
- Time limit
- 5 hours
- Slots
- 8
| Client Needs / Subcategory | % range | ~ questions |
|---|---|---|
Management of Care Safe and Effective Care Environment | 15–21% | 14 |
Safety and Infection Prevention and Control Safe and Effective Care Environment | 10–16% | 10 |
Health Promotion and Maintenance | 6–12% | 7 |
Psychosocial Integrity | 6–12% | 7 |
Basic Care and Comfort Physiological Integrity | 6–12% | 7 |
Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies Physiological Integrity | 13–19% | 12 |
Reduction of Risk Potential Physiological Integrity | 9–15% | 9 |
Physiological Adaptation Physiological Integrity | 11–17% | 11 |
Source: Official NCSBN (National Council of State Boards of Nursing) test plan
Exam blueprint
What the NCLEX-RN tests
The categories below come from the current NCSBN (National Council of State Boards of Nursing) test plan. Weights are the published ranges; the actual percentage varies slightly between exam forms.
Safe and Effective Care Environment - Management of Care
15-21%The biggest single bucket, roughly 1 in 5 questions. Tests whether you can delegate, prioritize, and protect patient rights without losing your license. If you can't tell a UAP task from an RN task on sight, you'll bleed points here.
- Delegation and supervision
- Prioritizing patient care
- Advocacy and informed consent
- Confidentiality and HIPAA
Safe and Effective Care Environment - Safety and Infection Control
10-16%Standard precautions and transmission-based precautions get tested every exam. Memorize which pathogen needs which precaution and you bank easy points.
- Standard, contact, droplet, and airborne precautions
- Safe handling of hazardous materials
- Use of restraints and safety devices
- Error prevention and reporting
Health Promotion and Maintenance
6-12%Lifespan wellness, prenatal care, developmental milestones, immunization schedules, screening guidelines. Smaller category, but predictable. Don't skip it.
Psychosocial Integrity
6-12%Therapeutic communication is the dominant subtopic. Practice picking the response that explores a feeling instead of giving advice, it's the single most reliable pattern on this section.
Physiological Integrity - Basic Care and Comfort
6-12%ADLs and comfort measures, feeding, mobility, elimination, sleep. Looks simple until you see a question buried in trach care or alternative pain control.
Physiological Integrity - Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies
13-19%Pharm is roughly 1 in 7 scored questions. Get good at this section and you've cleared a huge chunk of the exam. Skip it and you're playing catch-up everywhere else.
Physiological Integrity - Reduction of Risk Potential
9-15%Lab values, vital sign trends, diagnostic test interpretation. Memorize the normal ranges cold, almost every form has 3-4 questions that reduce to 'is this value normal or not?'
Physiological Integrity - Physiological Adaptation
11-17%Acute, chronic, and life-threatening conditions. Hemodynamics, fluids and electrolytes, medical emergencies. The most clinically interesting category and the one most candidates feel best on after med-surg rotations.
Ready to practice?
Start practicing free, 1,000+ NCLEX-RN-style questions
Full rationales on every question. Adaptive practice that mirrors the real exam. No credit card required.
Free forever. No credit card.
How the NCLEX-RN is structured
The NCLEX-RN is a computerized adaptive test (CAT), every question you see is hand-picked by the algorithm based on how you answered the last one. Get it right, the next one is slightly harder. Get it wrong, the next one is slightly easier. The test ends when the algorithm is 95% sure you're either consistently above or consistently below the passing standard, which is why some candidates finish in 75 questions and others go all the way to 145.
Mixed into your questions are Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) case studies, multi-screen scenarios that score the six steps of clinical judgment: recognize cues, analyze cues, prioritize hypotheses, generate solutions, take action, evaluate outcomes. Expect new formats: bow-tie, drag-and-drop, highlight-in-text, and matrix/grid.
You won't know if you passed when you stand up. Official results land with your state board in 2 to 6 weeks. NCSBN's Quick Results service returns unofficial results in 48 hours in most states for an extra $7.95, worth it for your sanity.
How scoring and the passing standard work
The NCLEX-RN is pass/fail. No score, no percentage, no curve. NCSBN sets a passing standard in logits (a statistical measure of ability), and the algorithm decides whether your demonstrated ability is above that bar.
The standard gets re-evaluated every three years. The current one was set in 2023 and runs through 2026. Two candidates can both pass while seeing entirely different questions and ending at entirely different question counts. A 75-question exam isn't necessarily good news, and a 145-question exam isn't necessarily bad news, the algorithm cares about your ability estimate, not the length of your test.
Fail and you get a Candidate Performance Report (CPR) that grades you in each content area as 'above', 'near', or 'below' the passing standard. Don't throw it away, that report is the cheat sheet for your retake plan.
Registering and scheduling your exam
Registration is a two-step process and either step can stall you for weeks if you're sloppy:
- Apply to your state board of nursing for licensure. Every state has its own application, fingerprinting, and background-check requirements. Start this the day you finish your last clinical.
- Register with Pearson VUE and pay the $200 exam fee. Once your board declares you eligible, NCSBN issues an Authorization to Test (ATT) with a 90-day eligibility window.
You must sit for the exam during your ATT window. Miss it and you forfeit the fee and start over. Bring one valid government-issued photo ID. Arrive 30 minutes early. Everything you brought, phone, watch, snacks, jacket, goes in a locker. Only your ID enters the testing room.
Building a study plan that actually works
Most candidates who pass on the first try study 4 to 8 weeks full-time or 8 to 12 weeks part-time. The plan that works has four phases:
- Phase 1, Content refresh (1-2 weeks). Skim a comprehensive review or use Precision Nursing's content modules to refresh weak areas. You're not relearning nursing school in a week; you're triaging.
- Phase 2, Question practice with rationales (3-4 weeks). This is the work. Aim for 75-150 questions per day on a single topic at a time. Read every rationale, right and wrong, so you learn how the test reasons.
- Phase 3, NGN case studies (1-2 weeks). Drill the new clinical judgment item types. Most candidates know the content and lose points to the format.
- Phase 4, Full-length CAT simulations (final week). Sit two or three timed, 145-question simulations to build endurance.
The single biggest mistake graduates make is over-investing in content review and under-investing in questions. The NCLEX tests application. You learn application by applying.
NCLEX-RN vs. NCLEX-PN: what is different?
Both exams share the same engine, CAT, NGN items, pass/fail, but they test different scopes of practice. The RN exam weights management of care, independent assessment, and clinical judgment. The PN exam weights coordinated care under RN supervision, more pharmacology basics, and recognizing-when-to-notify-the-RN scenarios. If you trained for one, don't assume the other transfers cleanly. The test plans are published separately and the framing of correct answers is genuinely different.
Sample questions
Practice NCLEX-RN questions
Reveal each answer and rationale to see how Precision Nursing teaches the reasoning behind every question.
Question 1
Physiological Integrity - Physiological AdaptationA nurse is caring for a client newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus who reports nausea and abdominal pain. Which assessment finding requires the most immediate intervention?
- A.Blood glucose of 180 mg/dL
- B.Kussmaul respirations with fruity, acetone breath
- C.Reports of polyuria over the past week
- D.Family history of type 2 diabetes
Show answer & rationale
Correct answer: B
Kussmaul respirations (deep, rapid breathing) and fruity breath are classic signs of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a life-threatening complication requiring immediate intervention. A blood glucose of 180 mg/dL is elevated but not emergent. Polyuria is a symptom of hyperglycemia but does not signal an acute emergency on its own. Family history is risk-stratification data, not an acute finding.
Question 2
Safe and Effective Care Environment - Management of CareThe nurse is preparing to delegate tasks on a medical-surgical unit. Which task is most appropriate to delegate to unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP)?
- A.Initial admission assessment of a new post-operative client
- B.Administering scheduled oral medications
- C.Ambulating a stable client to the bathroom
- D.Evaluating a client's response to a new antihypertensive
Show answer & rationale
Correct answer: C
Ambulating a stable client is within the UAP's scope and does not require nursing judgment. Initial assessments, medication administration, and evaluation of medication response all require the assessment, planning, and evaluation steps of the nursing process and cannot be delegated.
Question 3
Physiological Integrity - Pharmacological and Parenteral TherapiesA client is receiving heparin by continuous IV infusion. Which laboratory value indicates a therapeutic effect?
- A.Prothrombin time (PT) 12 seconds
- B.Activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) 70 seconds
- C.International normalized ratio (INR) 1.0
- D.Platelet count of 90,000/mm3
Show answer & rationale
Correct answer: B
Heparin therapy is monitored by aPTT. The therapeutic range is 1.5 to 2.5 times the control value (control ~30 seconds), so 60-75 seconds is appropriate. PT and INR monitor warfarin, not heparin. A platelet count of 90,000 may indicate heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) and is a warning sign, not a therapeutic indicator.
Study tips
What works for NCLEX-RN prep
Do at least 75 NCLEX-style questions a day for the last 6 weeks. Volume is the single biggest predictor of pass.
Read every rationale, especially for the wrong answers. That's where the test plan actually lives.
Drill NGN case studies in their own block. The format trips more people up than the content does.
Memorize lab values, vital sign norms by age, and the top 100 NCLEX medications. These show up cold and you can't reason your way to them.
Sit at least two full 145-question CAT simulations before exam day. Endurance is a skill.
Sleep 7+ hours the two nights before the exam. Cramming the night before reliably lowers scores.
Trust the algorithm. If your test ends at 75, it has already decided, second-guessing yourself in the parking lot doesn't help.
FAQ
Common questions about NCLEX-RN
How many questions are on the NCLEX-RN?
Between 75 and 145, depending on how the adaptive algorithm evaluates your performance. The exam ends when the system is statistically confident in a pass or fail decision.
How long does the NCLEX-RN take?
You get up to 5 hours, including breaks and the tutorial. Most candidates finish well before the time limit.
What is the passing score on the NCLEX-RN?
There isn't a percentage score. The NCLEX-RN is pass/fail; NCSBN sets a passing standard in statistical logits and the algorithm decides whether your ability is above that standard.
How much does the NCLEX-RN cost?
$200 USD to Pearson VUE. Your state board adds a separate licensure application fee (commonly $75-$200).
How soon can I retake the NCLEX-RN if I fail?
NCSBN allows a retake every 45 days. Your state board may impose additional limits on attempts per year.
When do I get my NCLEX results?
Official results come from your state board within 2 to 6 weeks. NCSBN Quick Results returns unofficial results in 48 hours in most states for $7.95.
Is the NCLEX-RN harder than nursing school exams?
It's structured differently. Nursing-school exams test what you know. The NCLEX tests what you'd do. Candidates who practice thousands of application-style questions consistently outperform those who only re-read content.
What is the Next Generation NCLEX (NGN)?
NGN is the current format launched in April 2023. It introduces case-study clinical judgment items that score how nurses recognize cues, analyze, prioritize, act, and evaluate. Roughly 10% of scored items use the new formats.
Honest answers
Before you sign up, three things you're probably wondering
“Is the free tier actually useful, or just a teaser?”
1,000+ full-rationale questions across every NCLEX-RN blueprint category. No time limit. No paywall after the first five.
“Is it like the real exam?”
Same format, same difficulty curve, same item types, built directly against the NCSBN (National Council of State Boards of Nursing) published test plan. We're not the test-makers, but we follow their blueprint.
“Why not use the official free samples?”
Use both. The official samples are small and authoritative. We give you the volume, the rationales, and the weak-area analytics on top.
Your NCLEX-RN prep starts here
Drill NCLEX-RN-style questions until passing is the obvious outcome
Thousands of NCLEX-RN-aligned questions. Full rationales on every answer, right and wrong. Adaptive practice that mirrors the real exam. No credit card required to start.
Free forever. No credit card. Aligned to the NCSBN (National Council of State Boards of Nursing) published test plan.