NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council): Registration and Exams

• Nurses, in four fields: adult nursing, mental health nursing, learning disabilities nursing and children's nursing. A qualification can only be used to apply to one field of nursing.
• Midwives, registered as midwives (RM).
• Nursing associates, a separate part of the register, with their own Test of Competence.

• You hold a nursing or midwifery qualification gained outside the UK that has allowed you, or will allow you, to register in the country where you trained.
• If you have been registered, you can name your regulator and provide a copy of your registration certificate; the NMC then contacts that regulator to confirm your details.
• You can provide a certificate of good standing from your regulator, or a statement of entry to the register if your regulator does not issue certificates.
• You can show you meet the NMC's English language requirements through an accepted test, a qualification taught and examined in English, recent practice in a majority English-speaking country, or, in limited cases, supporting information from a UK employer (SIFE).
• You can pass the Test of Competence (CBT and OSCE), unless you hold a relevant European qualification that meets the requirements for automatic recognition.
• You can make the health and character declarations the NMC asks for, and provide supporting evidence where needed.
• You will have a professional indemnity arrangement in place before you practise.
• You can attend a face-to-face ID check at an NMC Test of Competence centre.
• Documents not in English come with the original, a stamped and signed copy from a translation service, a full English translation and the translator's contact details.

Check your route with the route finder

1. 1

   Check you are ready

   Use the NMC's checklist tool and read the step-by-step guide before you start. The NMC strongly recommends gathering your evidence first: applications that have not progressed within three months of being opened are closed and the online account removed. Many people lose time by opening an application before their English test or documents are ready.
2. 2

   Create your MyNMC account and begin the eligibility application

   You answer questions about your nationality, your training and the country you trained in, so the NMC can confirm you are on the right route. You then create and verify a MyNMC account, which you use for the whole application and later for your registration. If you trained as a nurse, you choose one field of nursing to apply to.
3. 3

   Provide identity, qualification and registration details

   Upload a copy of your original qualification certificate, showing your name, the qualification and the date it was awarded. Give the name of your regulator and a copy of your registration certificate, or, if you have never registered, the regulator you could register with. The NMC contacts your regulator directly to confirm what you have told it.
4. 4

   Pay the evaluation fee and get your eligibility decision

   When you submit the eligibility and qualification application you pay the qualification evaluation fee, which is non-refundable. The NMC aims to assess your qualification within 14 days once it has your application and a response from your regulator. Delays usually come from the overseas regulator, so ask your regulator early how it handles verification requests.
5. 5

   Take the CBT (Part 1)

   Once the NMC confirms you need the Test of Competence, you book the CBT with Pearson VUE, which has test centres in most countries. The CBT has a numeracy part and a clinical part for nursing or midwifery. You get three attempts within one application, at least 10 days apart and all within one year.
6. 6

   Complete the registration application

   In parallel with the tests, you provide your health, character and English language evidence, confirm your professional indemnity arrangement and pay the registration fee. Name changes need a marriage, civil partnership or divorce certificate, or a deed poll. Check your English test is still within its two-year validity when the NMC assesses your application.
7. 7

   Take the OSCE (Part 2) in the UK

   The OSCE is a 10-station practical exam taken at one of the NMC's approved test centres in the UK. You book it directly with the test provider once the NMC confirms you need the Test of Competence. Results are emailed within 5 working days, and you can sit the OSCE up to three times in one application, at least 10 days apart.
8. 8

   Attend your ID check

   The NMC requires a face-to-face ID check at an NMC Test of Competence centre. Bring the original identity documents the NMC asks for. Check the NMC's ID check page for what to bring and how it is booked.
9. 9

   Verification and registration decision

   The NMC verifies your information, which can include contacting referees and verifiers. It aims to decide on a complete registration application within 30 days of receiving your health, character and language evidence, your CBT and OSCE results where needed, and your registration fee. Once registered, you pay an annual fee to stay on the register.

• Test of Competence: how it works

  The Test of Competence has two parts, the CBT and the OSCE, which can be taken in any order within a two-year window. It covers adult, mental health, learning disabilities and children's nursing, and midwifery. Once you have passed both parts, the Test of Competence is valid for five years.

• Part 1: computer-based test (CBT)

  Delivered by Pearson Professional Assessments (Pearson VUE) at test centres in most countries. Part A is numeracy: 15 questions in 30 minutes. Part B is clinical: 100 questions in 2 hours 30 minutes, written for your field of nursing or for midwifery. You have three attempts per application, with at least 10 days between sittings, all within one year; after three fails you must wait six months before reapplying.

  Read the guide

• Part 2: objective structured clinical examination (OSCE)

  A practical exam with 10 stations: four linked stations around one scenario (assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation, known as APIE), four skills stations (two pairs of two skills), and two stations on values and behaviours and evidence-based practice. It is taken at an NMC-approved test centre in the UK; the NMC lists the University of Northampton, Ulster University and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. You can sit it up to three times per application, at least 10 days apart; after a third fail the application closes and you must wait at least six months to reapply.

  Read the guide

• Field-specific versions

  The CBT clinical part and the OSCE are set for the field you are applying to join: adult nurse (RNA), mental health nurse (RNMH), learning disabilities nurse (RNLD), children's nurse (RNC) or midwife (RM). The NMC publishes separate information booklets for midwives.

• IELTS Academic: 7 in listening, 7 in reading, 6.5 in writing and 7 in speaking.
• OET: B (350 or above) in listening, reading and speaking, and C+ (300 or above) in writing.
• Test scores are valid for two years: the test must have been taken no more than two years before the NMC assesses your application.
• You can combine results from two sittings of the same test (not IELTS with OET) if both were taken within 12 months of each other, all four skills were tested at each sitting, and you achieve the required score in each skill across the two.
• Qualification route: a pre-registration qualification taught and examined in English. In a majority English-speaking country on the NMC's list you only need a transcript; elsewhere the transcript must show at least half your time interacting with patients and others, with at least 75% of those interactions in English.
• Recent practice route: at least one year of registered practice in the last two years in a majority English-speaking country on the NMC's list, where you passed an English assessment as part of registering there. The NMC checks this with your employer.
• Supporting information from employers (SIFE): an employer reference from a UK health or care employer, for people who have worked in a non-registered role for at least 12 months full time with the same employer (and the same line manager for at least six months). It can support a qualification taught in English in a non-majority English-speaking country, or two test attempts that missed one domain by no more than 0.5 in IELTS or half a grade in OET.

Estimate your total cost

• Preparation varies most: gathering documents and getting the required English test scores can take months, and the NMC closes applications that do not progress within three months of being opened.
• The NMC says it aims to assess your qualification within 14 days, once it has your application and a response from your regulator.
• After the NMC confirms your eligibility, you have two years to complete your registration, including the CBT and OSCE.
• CBT attempts must all fall within one year; OSCE and CBT resits need at least 10 days between sittings, and OSCE results arrive within 5 working days.
• The NMC says it aims to decide a complete registration application within 30 days of receiving all evidence, test results and the registration fee.