NCLEX pass rates (2026)

In 2025, 86.7% of first-time, US-educated candidates passed the NCLEX-RN. For first-time candidates educated in another country, the rate was 47.3%. Candidates who retook the exam passed at 52.7% if they were educated in the US and 30.5% if they were not. Of all 328,443 NCLEX-RN candidates for US licensure, 69.1% passed.

First-time, US-educated

86.7%192,916 candidates

First-time, internationally educated

47.3%52,827 candidates

Repeat, US-educated

52.7%42,513 candidates

Repeat, internationally educated

30.5%40,187 candidates

NCLEX-PN in 2025: 86.6% of first-time, US-educated candidates passed, and 77.3% of all candidates.

2026 so far

For first-time, US-educated NCLEX-RN candidates, the rate was 86.7% from January to March 2026 and 90.0% from April to June. In the same quarters of 2025 it was 88.4% and 89.1%.

The chart shows NCSBN's four candidate groups for the NCLEX-RN for US licensure. The first-time, US-educated rate fell each year from 2019 to 2022. It rose after the Next Generation NCLEX started in April 2023, reached 91.2% in 2024 and came down to 86.7% in 2025.

The pass rates say no, at least for first-time, US-educated candidates. NCSBN launched the Next Generation NCLEX on 1 April 2023. From January to March 2023, on the old exam, 80.5% of these candidates passed. From April to June 2023, on the new exam, 94.3% passed.

NCSBN's 2023 statistics show the NCLEX-RN passing standard at 0.00 logits before and after the change. The new exam added case studies and new item types. It did not raise the passing standard.

Two cautions. The October to December quarter had the lowest first-time rate in every year from 2022 to 2025, so compare a quarter with the same quarter of another year. And the rate fell back to 86.7% in 2025, so the high point of 2024 did not last.

A first attempt has much better odds than a retake. In 2025, 86.7% of first-time, US-educated candidates passed the NCLEX-RN, against 52.7% of US-educated repeat candidates. On the NCLEX-PN the gap was wider: 86.6% on a first attempt and 41.7% on a retake.

About half of US-educated NCLEX-RN repeaters still pass, so a retake is worth a plan. The retake date checker shows the earliest date you can sit again under your board's rules.

Candidates educated outside the US pass at a much lower rate. In 2025, 47.3% of first-time, internationally educated candidates passed the NCLEX-RN for US licensure, and 30.5% of internationally educated repeaters. NCSBN counts the country where you studied nursing, not your citizenship.

This group has grown fast. It was 21,040 first-time candidates in 2019 and 52,827 in 2025.

In 2025, 86.6% of first-time, US-educated candidates passed the NCLEX-PN. Only 397 first-time candidates educated outside the US took the NCLEX-PN that year, and 53.7% of them passed.

NCSBN lists first-time, internationally educated candidates by the country where they studied nursing. These were the five largest groups for the NCLEX-RN for US licensure in 2025.

Search every country in the NCLEX pass rates by country tool →

NCSBN's public dashboard gives national figures only. It does not split them by state. A board of nursing receives NCSBN reports for the programs it approves, and many boards publish those results themselves. We checked that these boards publish their own figures:

If your state is not here, search its board of nursing website for “NCLEX pass rates”. A board's figures cover the nursing programs in that state. They do not cover every candidate who applies for a licence there.

NCSBN pass-rate dashboard ↗

NCSBN does not publish a rate for each school. It sends quarterly program reports to schools and to boards of nursing. The boards listed above publish results for each program they approve.

For Ontario colleges and universities, CNO publishes first-attempt and year-end rates for each program.

NCSBN · NCLEX program reports ↗ · REx-PN pass rates by Ontario college →

In 2025, 86.0% of first-time, Canada-educated candidates passed the NCLEX-RN for Canadian registration. For first-time, internationally educated candidates registering in Canada, the rate was 39.6%.

Practical nurses in Ontario and British Columbia take the REx-PN. CNO reports results for Ontario-educated applicants only. In 2025, 78.5% passed on their first attempt, and 85.8% had passed by the end of the year. On a second attempt, 56.7% passed.

Compare Ontario colleges in the REx-PN pass rates tool →

A group rate is not your personal chance. It mixes strong and weak candidates and very different programs. Still, the data shows a few things clearly.

• Your first attempt is your best one. The first-time rate is far higher than the repeat rate in every year and every group.
• If you studied outside the US, expect a harder result than the headline number. About half of first-time, internationally educated candidates passed the NCLEX-RN in recent years.
• A failed attempt is not the end. About half of US-educated NCLEX-RN repeaters pass. In Ontario, the REx-PN rate rose from 78.5% on the first attempt to 85.8% by the end of the year.
• Compare like with like. A quarter, a state or a school with few candidates can show a rate far from the national one.