Understanding the NMC CBT

The Computer Based Test (CBT) is the first assessment in the NMC registration journey. This guide explains what it covers, how it's scored, and how to prepare efficiently.

What the CBT is

The CBT is a multiple-choice examination that tests your theoretical nursing knowledge against the standards expected of a registered nurse in the United Kingdom. It is taken online at an approved test centre and is the same across all applicants regardless of your country of training.

How it is structured

Part A contains numeracy questions focused on medicines management and calculations you would perform in practice. Part B contains clinical questions mapped to the four themes of the NMC standards: professional values, communication and interpersonal skills, nursing practice and decision-making, and leadership and teamworking.

• Part A — numeracy, with a higher pass threshold reflecting patient-safety importance.
• Part B — theory, drawn from your specific field such as adult, mental health, or children's nursing.
• Both parts are sat together, and results are reported shortly after.

Preparing efficiently

Effective preparation is structured rather than exhaustive. Work through each NMC theme in turn, test yourself with timed questions, and review every answer you get wrong until the underlying reason is clear. Numeracy rewards daily short practice more than occasional long sessions.

Give yourself a realistic window — most well-prepared candidates study across four to eight weeks depending on how recently they qualified and how much clinical exposure they have had.

Common mistakes to avoid

The most frequent avoidable error is underestimating the numeracy component because it looks simple. The second is memorising facts without understanding how they apply to a scenario, since most questions are framed as clinical situations rather than direct recall.