OET Exam for Nurses 2026: Scores, Fees in INR, Test Modes, and Booking

The NMC accepts three kinds of English evidence, and a test score from the OET exam for nurses is only one of them. So does every nurse need a test? Not always, and the NMC decides which evidence fits you.

OET is the Occupational English Test, an English test built for healthcare professionals. The NMC is the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the UK regulator, which means the body that decides who joins its register of nurses and midwives.

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Our OET exam guide covers the test for every profession; this page covers what changes for nurses.

• English language test: you recently achieved the required scores in a test the NMC accepts.
• Qualified in English: your pre-registration nursing, midwifery, or nursing associate qualification was taught and examined in English.
• Recent practice in English: one year of recent practice as a nurse, midwife, or nursing associate in a country where English is the majority-spoken language.

Only two tests count for the first route: OET and IELTS Academic, the academic version of the International English Language Testing System. If you are choosing between the two tests, OET vs IELTS lays out how they differ.

Whether your qualification or practice counts is the NMC's decision, so read its English language page before you pay for the OET exam for nurses.

Sources: NMC English language requirements, NMC accepted English language tests

OET is tailored to 12 healthcare professions, nursing among them, and oet.com says it assesses English language ability, not medical knowledge.

A sub-test is one of the four scored parts of OET. Two are shared by every profession, and two change with yours, including Speaking, which uses a role-play (an acted conversation set in a nurse's workplace). Read the table by its middle column:

What this means for you: half of the OET exam for nurses is general healthcare English, and the other half places that English inside nursing work. oet.com publishes Nursing sample packs for both halves, which are covered further down.

My insight: The test marks your English, not your ward knowledge, so put your study hours into language rather than clinical revision.

Sources: OET Test page

The NMC asks for grade B (350 or above) in Listening, Reading, and Speaking, and C+ (300 or above) in Writing.

OET reports each sub-test as a letter grade with a score behind it. On the NMC's bands, B covers 350 to 440, C+ covers 300 to 340, and C covers 250 to 290. The NMC also asks you to choose the Nursing version of the test. To combine means using two OET sittings together. Read the table across: the middle column is the line for one sitting, and the right column is the floor for each sitting when you combine.

Across two sittings, you need one B in Listening, Reading, and Speaking and one C+ in Writing, with nothing in either sitting below the right-hand column. These grades are the lines for nursing in the UK; other regulators set their own.

These grades also come with a clock: the NMC only counts scores achieved within the last two years at the point it assesses your complete application, and if you combine two sittings, both must be taken within 12 months of each other. Leave the gap too wide, and your first sitting stops counting, so book the second one with that window in mind.

• Ireland and Australia: oet.com lists NMBI (the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland) and Ahpra (the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) as regulators that accept OET; read their own pages for grades.
• The US: oet.com tells you to confirm minimum results with your recognizing organization, the body that accepts your result, so ask that body what it needs from the OET exam for nurses.

My insight: The number to watch is your weakest sub-test: the NMC counts each of the four separately, so a strong result elsewhere cannot cover one low line.

Sources: NMC OET page, NMC accepted English language tests

OET runs in three modes, and oet.com says paper and computer follow the same structure, content, length, and marking.

OET@Home is the version you take on your own computer, with remote supervision. The NMC accepts all three modes and lets an OET@Home sitting combine with a paper or computer one. The table compares the three modes based on the questions a nurse asks:

oet.com calls these result times indicative, so don't set a registration deadline based on the fastest figure. The trade-off is simple: paper keeps everything in one day at a center, while the computer and home modes return results sooner.

My insight: Pick the mode on two tests in this order: does your regulator accept it, and then how soon do you need the result.

Sources: OET Test on Paper, OET Test on Computer, OET@Home

One sitting costs AUD 587 in each of the three modes, which is about INR 39,200.

You pay the fee when you book. The second row is derived from arithmetic: twice the AUD fee, converted at the same rate.

The fee is converted at 1 AUD = INR 66.7 as of October 2026. Figures are rounded to the nearest INR 100 and will shift with the exchange rate, so check the latest rate before you pay.

For a family budget, treat the OET exam for nurses as a per-sitting cost. The AUD fee is converted when you pay, so ask your bank about card or transfer charges separately.

Booking the OET exam for nurses happens on oet.com, and paper bookings close 24 days before the test; computer and OET@Home bookings are 7 days before.

1. Register: create your account, accept the Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and Collection Notice, and use a personal email, not a university or workplace one.
2. Add ID and photo: enter valid ID details and a photo that meets OET's guidelines.
3. Choose the test: pick the mode, profession, country, venue, and date. Pick Nursing, the version the NMC asks for, and confirm your regulator accepts the mode.
4. Pay: the fee is due at booking, and you can hold only one booking per test administration.
5. Carry the same ID: on test day, present the ID you booked with.

Sources: OET book a test

Your OET result gives a grade for each sub-test, and the NMC needs your OET certificate and candidate number when you apply.

A candidate number is the number the NMC uses to verify your OET results. MyOET is your online OET account.

• What you get: a grade for each of the four sub-tests, which the NMC checks against its minimum for each one.
• Send it: give the NMC permission to verify your results in MyOET before you submit your application; skipping this can delay it.
• Re-mark: a re-mark is a second marking of one or more sub-tests. You can request it within 72 hours of results release; it needs payment and cannot be reversed.

Treat the MyOET permission as part of finishing the OET exam for nurses, not as a later task.

How you prepare for the OET exam for nurses depends on your current English and the hours you can study each week, oet.com says.

• Official Nursing packs: five paper packs, each with a question, answer key, and audio downloads, and four computer packs with an answer key and a Speaking role card.
• From oet.com: the free Intro to OET online course and the OET Study Guide, which covers each part of the test.
• Unofficial material: oet.com warns it often does not reflect the real test.

Sources: OET Ready page, OET paper sample tests, Nursing, OET computer sample tests, Nursing

The NMC says you must be tested in all four sub-tests at the same time, so missing one grade means sitting the whole test again.

• Combine two sittings: the NMC lets you combine two OET sittings if the grades add up as in the table above, and it sets its own timing rules for combining, so read its page before planning the second sitting.
• All four, every time: oet.com allows a paper-only re-sit of one or more sub-tests where a recognizing organization permits it, but the NMC does not, so you must book all four again.
• Re-mark: the 72-hour re-mark window described above comes before any rebooking.
• Other evidence: the qualified-in-English and recent-practice routes in the first section exist for some applicants; the NMC decides who meets them.
• Cost: a second sitting of the OET exam for nurses is another INR 39,200.

This is general information, not registration or legal advice; check the NMC and oet.com pages before you decide.

My insight: If one sub-test is the problem, fix it before the second sitting: the NMC asks for all four sub-tests again, and each sitting costs INR 39,200.

Sources: OET test regulations

1. Check the evidence first: confirm whether you need a test and which grades your regulator sets, then book Nursing.
2. Budget per sitting: plan about INR 39,200 per sitting, about INR 78,300 for two.
3. Sit all four sub-tests each time for the NMC: fix your weakest sub-test before a second sitting.

Talk to a Leap Scholar counselor to plan your OET timeline around your regulator's grades.