NMCMATE

NMC CBT fees, booking and results

Written and checked against the NMC’s published sources by The NMCMATE editorial team.Last checked .

The practical half of the exam, which is what most people need before they need anything about the content. What it costs, what a resit costs, how a date is set, and what a result actually tells you. Every figure here comes from the NMC and is dated, because these are the numbers that move.

What the NMC publishes

  • Sitting both parts costs £83, paid when you book.
  • A resit is priced by what you are resitting: £50 for Part A on its own, £70 for Part B on its own, £83 for both.
  • You book through Pearson VUE, which runs test centres in most countries. Booking opens once the NMC has confirmed you are eligible, so your date is set by where you are in the application rather than by an exam calendar.
  • You have 3 attempts within one application, at least 10 days apart, and all of them must fall inside 12 months.
  • The result appears in your Pearson VUE account within 48 hours. It is pass or fail for each part and nothing else.
  • Both parts are sat in one appointment and passed or failed separately, so a resit is only ever the part you failed.

Where candidates come unstuck

  • Waiting for a date before getting the documents in. Eligibility is what releases the booking, and the test centre calendar is rarely the thing holding anyone up.
  • Treating the 10 day wait as the plan. It is the earliest you may sit again, not the point at which anything has changed about how ready you are.
  • Forgetting the 12 month window. Attempts spread far enough apart can run out of application before they run out of attempts.
  • Expecting the result to tell you what went wrong. It says pass or fail for each part, so it cannot point you at a topic. Your own record of what you got wrong is the only thing that can.
  • Taking a fee quoted on a preparation site as current, this one included. The NMC publishes these figures and changes them without telling anybody who has copied them into an article.

Common questions

How much does the NMC CBT cost?
£83 to sit both parts. Resitting is priced separately: £50 for Part A on its own, £70 for Part B on its own, and £83 for both together.
When can I book my CBT date?
Once the NMC has confirmed your eligibility, you book through Pearson VUE. What is available then depends on the test centres near you rather than on any fixed sitting date, because the CBT does not have exam dates in the way a school exam does.
How long do NMC CBT results take?
They appear in your Pearson VUE account within 48 hours of sitting. The result is pass or fail for each part, with no score and no breakdown by topic.
How many times can I take the CBT?
3 times within one application, at least 10 days apart and all inside 12 months. After a third unsuccessful attempt the application closes and you wait 6 months before starting a new one.
Can I sit the NMC CBT at home?
The NMC's own page names Pearson VUE and its test centres and says nothing about sitting from home, so we will not tell you either way. Your booking screen shows what is offered where you are, and that is the only answer worth acting on.

Where these figures come from

Practise for it

Questions weighted the way the NMC weights the real paper, with a worked explanation on every one. Ten free a day, no card needed.

Start free See the question bank

This page is one part of the exam. Work through the whole thing with the NMC CBT study guide.