How much does the NCLEX cost?
US$200 with a US board and CA$360 plus tax in Canada. From February 1, 2027 the fee rises to US$350 and CA$570.
Source: NCSBN fees page. Checked November 10, 2026.
NCLEX-RN · NCLEX-PN · FNP · AGNP · and more
Every nursing exam, answered.
Costs, format, retake rules and registration steps for each nursing licensing and certification exam. Every number comes from the board that runs the exam, with the source and the date we checked it.
Numbers from the board onlySource and date on every factFree to read
Which exam do I need?
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Your exam
NCLEX-RN
Run by NCSBN and taken at a Pearson VUE test centre. You apply through your state board of nursing.
Registration fee
US$200 US$350 from February 1, 2027
Length
85 to 150 questions up to 5 hours
Retakes
Up to 8 a year at least 45 days apart
Source: NCSBN. Checked November 10, 2026.
The exam index
One guide per exam: who takes it, who runs it, what it costs and how it is scored. We add exams as we finish checking them.
| Exam | Who takes it | Run by | Guide | Our prep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCLEX-RN | Registered nurses in the United States and Canada, and overseas nurses on Australia's exam pathway | NCSBN | Guide ready | NCLEXPace |
| FNP, AANP board | Family nurse practitioners in the United States | AANPCB | Guide ready | NPractitioner |
| FNP-BC, ANCC | Family nurse practitioners in the United States | ANCC | Guide ready | NPractitioner |
| AGNP and AGPCNP-BC | Adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioners | AANPCB and ANCC | Guide ready | NPractitioner |
| NCLEX-PN | Practical and vocational nurses in the United States | NCSBN | Coming soon | Not yet |
| CNPLE | Nurse practitioners in Canada | Canadian regulators | Coming soon | Not yet |
| TEAS and HESI A2 | Applicants to nursing school | ATI and Elsevier | Coming soon | Not yet |
| CCRN | Critical care nurses | AACN | Coming soon | Not yet |
Straight answers
One question per page. The answer comes first, the detail and the source come after.
How many times can you take the NCLEX in a year?
Up to 8 times, with at least 45 test-free days between attempts. Your own board can set a stricter limit, and every attempt is charged the full fee.
Source: NCSBN Candidate Bulletin, April 2026. Checked November 10, 2026.
AANP or ANCC: which FNP exam costs less?
The AANP board charges US$315, or US$240 for AANP members. ANCC charges US$395, or US$295 for ANA members.
Sources: AANPCB and ANCC. Checked November 10, 2026.
What does the exam pathway cost an overseas nurse in Australia?
The OSCE is AU$4,000 and Ahpra's assessment is AU$410. The NCLEX adds US$200 plus a US$150 international scheduling fee.
Sources: Ahpra, NMBA and NCSBN. Checked November 10, 2026.
What changed
A running log of fee, format and rule changes across nursing exams, newest first.
Feb 1, 2027
April 2026
Prep from our own team
All Nursing Exams is run by the people behind NCLEXPace and NPractitioner. The facts on this site are free. When you want practice questions, these are ours.
NCLEX-RN
NCLEXPace
3,200+ NCLEX-RN practice questions with rationales, CAT Readiness Exams and a personal Study Plan.
- 10 free questions
- Plans from US$59, paid once
- Nothing renews
FNP and AGNP boards
NPractitioner
2,500+ practice questions for the FNP and adult-gerontology primary care board exams, written to American guidelines, with study sheets by topic.
Go to NPractitionerHow a number gets onto this site
- Step 1
We read it on the board's own site
Fees, pass marks and rules come from the organisation that runs the exam. If a board does not publish a number, we say so and leave it out.
- Step 2
We print the source and the date
Each fact carries a link to the page we read and the day we read it, so you can check it yourself in one click.
- Step 3
We recheck and log every change
Guides are rechecked every quarter. When a board changes a fee or a rule, the change goes into the log with its date.