Frequently Asked Questions About

NCLEX Administration
1. How does a board of nursing participate in the “Quick Results Service” for
their candidates?
If a board of nursing would like to participate in the Quick Results Service, they need
to contact NCSBN’s NCLEX Examinations Department. Presently, 46 of 59 boards of
nursing participated in the Quick Results Service.

Results available through the “Quick Results Service” are termed “unofficial” because
they have not been released by the respective board of nursing. A result is only
“official” after the board has mailed the result to their candidate.

2. Why is there an additional charge for finding out unofficial results?

The Quick Results Service is an optional service that Pearson VUE provides, and
which many boards of nursing have decided to offer to their candidates. The charge
for the service contains the costs associated with the telephone and Web connecting
fees that Pearson VUE has to pay.

3. Are candidates ever told that they “passed” unofficially only to find out that
the official result is a “fail”? If so, why?
All candidate results are verified twice before being released to their licensure board
so it is highly unlikely that the ‘unofficial’ result will differ from the result the
candidate will receive from their licensure board.

4. How does a candidate with special needs request testing accommodations?

A candidate must contact their board of nursing for instructions on how to apply for
accommodations and what documentation is required. A candidate may receive
testing accommodations if they provide documentation from an appropriate medical
professional to support their request. This documentation must include a diagnosis
included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Among
the accommodations available are additional testing time, separate room and/or
assistive personnel (i.e., reader).

5. I have been told by a student with accommodations that it takes

significantly longer to schedule their NCLEX, can you comment on this?
All first time candidates are scheduled within 30 days of their call to Pearson VUE or
with 45 days if a repeat tester.

6. Why do you need palm vein reading if you have fingerprints?

Due to the importance of the NCLEX examination, NCSBN is always seeking to
provide a secure testing environment. Pearson VUE began utilizing the new palm
vein technology in October 2009 and will continue to use the fingerprint biometric as
well.

Copyright © 2010 National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN) All rights reserved. The NCSBN logo,
NCLEX®, NCLEX-RN® and NCLEX-PN® are registered trademarks of NCSBN.
 7. Can candidates complete the examination and then have the result revoked
If a candidate violates the NCLEX Candidate Rules or the Confidentiality Agreement,
they may have their result cancelled.

8. What are the candidate identification requirements?

The only acceptable forms of identification in test centers in the U.S. are:
 U.S. driver’s license (Department of Motor Vehicle-issued)
 U.S. state identification (Department of Motor Vehicle-issued)
 Passport
 U. S. military identification

The only identification acceptable in test centers outside of the U.S. is:
 passport

All identification must be valid (not expired) with signature and photograph. All
identification must be in English and signed in English.

Driver’s or learner’s permits are not acceptable as identification for admittance to the
NCLEX examination. Only the identifications listed above will be accepted.

Due to U.S. trade restrictions, candidates who indicate that they live in a sanctioned
country are unable to be admitted to sit for the NCLEX examination. This is a federal
requirement by The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department
of Treasury. As of June 2010, the countries on the U.S. economic and trade
sanctions list are Iran and Cuba.

Testing at a Domestic PPC

In order to be admitted to the NCLEX examination, candidates who are testing at a
Pearson Professional Center (PPC) within the U.S.* and hold a passport from a
sanctioned country, must present one of the following:
• Passport from the sanctioned country with the Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS) stamp (temporary I-1551), (endorsement by INS in a passport
to show admission for permanent residence)
• Passport from the sanctioned country along with a U.S. Permanent residence
Card (Green Card)
• U.S. driver's license/U.S. state identification (Department of Motor Vehicle-
issued)

Testing at an International PPC

In order to be admitted to the NCLEX examination, candidates who are testing at an
international PPC and hold a passport from a sanctioned country must also present
proof of residency (government issued identification) from a non-sanctioned
country. This only applies to candidates presenting a passport from a sanctioned
country. Candidates testing internationally who reside in a non-sanctioned country
can only present a passport as a form of identification.

9. How often do you change the online tutorial? When will you update your
online tutorial to match Pearson VUE? Is the NCSBN tutorial the same as the
Pearson VUE tutorial?
The tutorials are updated when changes are made to the NCLEX exams. The tutorials
on the NCSBN and Pearson VUE Web sites are the same.
2
Copyright © 2010 National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN) All rights reserved. The NCSBN logo,
NCLEX®, NCLEX-RN® and NCLEX-PN® are registered trademarks of NCSBN.
 10.Can you move the calculator?
Yes. Once the calculator is displayed on the computer screen, candidates can use the
mouse to “drag” the calculator to another position on the screen.

11.Students reported that the screen just stops without specific indications
that the test is completed, is this true?
No. There is a message that appears on the candidate’s computer screen which
states “Examination is ended”.

12.Am I correct that the testing fee ($150) for international students is
cheaper than for U.S. candidates (who pay $200)?
The $150 scheduling fee is charged to any NCLEX candidate who chooses to test
outside of the U.S. or its member board jurisdictions. This scheduling fee is in
addition to the NCLEX registration fee of $200. The scheduling fee is charged at the
time an appointment is made for a Pearson Professional Center outside the U.S.

13.Is it true that Pearson VUE tests for other professions?

Yes, Pearson VUE has over 100 clients, most of whom also use the same Pearson
Professional Centers where NCLEX candidates test.

14.What is the length of validity dates on an ATT?

ATTs are valid for a specified period of time (varying from 60 to 365 days; however
the average is 90 days) that is determined by the candidate’s licensure board.

15.What are the licensure requirements for a board of nursing and when do I
apply for the NCLEX exam?
Every member board of nursing has specific regulations regarding licensure
requirements. These requirements must be submitted in order for a candidate to be
made eligible for the examination. Candidates must contact the board of nursing
where they wish to be licensed in order to determine that board’s requirements.

A candidate must also register for the examination separately with the test vendor.
It is advisable to register for the exam at the same time that licensure materials are
submitted to the board of nursing. That way, both processes would be moving along
a similar timeline, and a candidate’s registration will already be in the test vendor’s
system when their board is ready to make them eligible to take the exam.

16.Where is the NCLEX examination administered?

The NCLEX examination is administered by Pearson VUE, at over 200 Pearson
Professional Centers located in the U.S., and in 18 international locations. Pearson
VUE has been NCSBN’s test vendor since October 2002.

17.What are the components of an NCLEX examination?

There are three sections to the NCLEX examination: a tutorial at the beginning in
order to familiarize candidates with how to proceed through the exam; the exam
itself; and a customer service survey that concludes the examination session.

Each of these steps is clearly indicated on the computer screen, informing a

candidate that they are entering a different section of the exam session.

3
Copyright © 2010 National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN) All rights reserved. The NCSBN logo,
NCLEX®, NCLEX-RN® and NCLEX-PN® are registered trademarks of NCSBN.
 No prior computer experience is required in order to take the examination since the
tutorial provides step-by-step instruction. Candidates can review a sample tutorial
online at the Pearson VUE Web site. A “virtual tour” of a test center can also be
conducted from this same Web page.

After the tutorial, the examination is presented to the candidate. The candidate will
continue to answer questions until a result is reached or the total time for the exam
is exceeded (5 hours for the NCLEX-PN exam and 6 hours for the NCLEX-RN exam).

The survey at the end of the examination is optional, but it is encouraged that
candidates complete this for feedback on their examination experience.

18.If there are technical problems during the examination what happens to the
candidate’s exam? Is their exam lost? Are they required to repay in order to
test again?
The examination system is designed so that even in the event of a technical problem
the exam can usually be restarted without any interruption to the exam itself.
However, if the technical problem lasts for 30 minutes or more, a candidate will be
offered an opportunity to be rescheduled for a new exam at no charge.

19.What is the current policy for retaking the NCLEX?

The number of times a candidate can retake the NCLEX examination is decided by
the individual state boards of nursing. Depending on Nurse Practice Acts, each state
has different policies regarding the total number of times a candidate may take the
exam, or how many years after graduation a candidate may be allowed to take the
exam without a re-education procedure. Additional information regarding the retake
policy of boards of nursing can be found by accessing www.ncsbn.org/1224.htm.

20.If a candidate cannot cancel their appointment within the 24 hour period
required or cannot keep their examination appointment due to an
unforeseen event (like a family emergency or personal health crisis), do
they lose their registration fee?
Yes, the registration fee is forfeited if a candidate cannot cancel outside of 24
business hours from their appointment and/or does not keep their appointment. The
candidate will need to reregister and repay the registration fee in order to test at a
later date. In such cases there is no “wait period” involved because no test was
administered, therefore the candidate would be able to test immediately once they
are made eligible again by their board of nursing. The same policy applies to a
candidate who does not test within their authorization period.

Due to the recent military action overseas, an exception is being made for those
candidates who are in the military service. If they have already received an ATT, but
cannot test within their eligibility period due to being called to active military duty,
NCSBN will accommodate their tour of duty. Once the candidate has been dismissed
from active duty, and has provided documentation to that effect to NCSBN, they will
be issued a new ATT.

21.Is the NCLEX exam offered in any other languages?

No, the NCLEX is only offered in English.

22. If the student hits “NEXT” before answering the question, do they get an
error message?
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Copyright © 2010 National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN) All rights reserved. The NCSBN logo,
NCLEX®, NCLEX-RN® and NCLEX-PN® are registered trademarks of NCSBN.
 Yes, the exam will not allow candidates to move and/or skip to the next question
without answering the current question.

23. Can I go online to see what a PPC looks like?

Yes there is an online virtual tour of a Pearson Professional Center at the Pearson
VUE Web site.

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Copyright © 2010 National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN) All rights reserved. The NCSBN logo,
NCLEX®, NCLEX-RN® and NCLEX-PN® are registered trademarks of NCSBN.