NCLEX Exam Cost: What You Pay From Registration to License

The NCLEX exam cost is the registration fee you pay Pearson VUE when you register: $200 USD for U.S. licensure, or $350 if you register on or after February 1, 2027. Your board of nursing charges its own application and licensure fees, and fingerprints, testing abroad or a retake can add more.

Below is each cost on the way to your license: who charges it, when it applies and how much it is, from the pages of NCSBN and the boards themselves. If you only want the news about February 1, 2027, and why your registration date matters, read our NCLEX fee increase 2027 guide.

Fees change. Every amount here was checked against the pages of NCSBN and of each board named below on October 12, 2026. Confirm the current fee with NCSBN and your board before you pay.

How Much Does It Cost to Take the NCLEX?

The NCLEX test cost starts with one fee every candidate pays: the registration fee. NCSBN, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, sets it. You pay it to Pearson VUE, the testing vendor, when you register, with a Visa, MasterCard or American Express credit, debit or prepaid card.

The NCLEX exam price you pay depends on where you are seeking licensure and on the date you complete your registration:

NCSBN lists the current U.S. and Australian fees in U.S. dollars and states the new fee for both as $350.

Three rules decide which fee is yours:

• Where you seek licensure, not where you live. NCSBN's own example: if you live in Canada but are seeking licensure in the United States, the U.S. fee applies.
• The registration date, not the exam date. A registration completed before February 1, 2027, is charged the current fee, even if you test after that date.
• Every registration counts. The same fee applies to all NCLEX registrations, including retakes.

What changes on February 1, 2027 covers who the new fee affects and whether registering early makes sense.

The registration fee does not buy your license. NCSBN's fee schedule refers you to your nursing regulatory body (NRB), the board that licenses you, for the licensure or registration fee, which you pay to the NRB with your application.

Cost of the NCLEX-RN Exam vs. the NCLEX-PN

The NCLEX-RN cost and the NCLEX-PN cost start with the same registration fee. NCSBN bases the fee on where you are seeking licensure, and its fee schedule has no separate prices for the two exams. So the NCLEX-PN registration fee is the same as the NCLEX-RN fee: $200 USD for U.S. licensure if you register before February 1, 2027, and $350 on or after that date.

Board fees depend on your board. Florida and New York, for example, charge RN and LPN applicants the same: the Florida Board of Nursing charges $110 for either examination application, and New York's State Education Department charges $143 for either license.

One NCSBN fee is tied to the exam type: changing between the NCLEX-RN and the NCLEX-PN after you register costs $50 USD, a fee NCSBN lists only for U.S. licensure. If you are not sure which exam matches your program, NCLEX-RN or NCLEX-PN explains how to tell.

Extra Fees: Testing Abroad, Changes and Quick Results

A few more fees apply only in some situations. NCSBN says the international scheduling fee and the change fees stay the same when the registration fee changes on February 1, 2027.

International Scheduling Fee

If you schedule your exam at an international test center, you pay an additional, non-refundable scheduling fee at the time of scheduling: $150 USD for U.S. or Australian licensure, or $150 CAD for Canadian licensure or registration, plus value added tax (VAT) where applicable.

Whether a test center counts as international depends on where you seek licensure:

• U.S. licensure: domestic test centers are those in the United States and in American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands; all others are international, including test centers in Canada and Puerto Rico.
• Canadian licensure or registration: domestic test centers are in the Canadian provinces and territories and the mainland United States.
• Australian licensure: domestic test centers are the same as for U.S. licensure, so a test center in Australia counts as international. NCSBN's flyer for candidates applying through Ahpra notes that additional international scheduling fees may apply.

The fee follows your appointment. Moving from one international test center to another keeps it, moving to a domestic test center forfeits it, and moving from a domestic test center to an international one charges it, plus any VAT. The Candidate Bulletin names one exception: if your international test center becomes unavailable and you choose to reschedule at a domestic test center, the international scheduling fee is refunded.

Change Fees After You Register

• Changing your nursing regulatory body: $50 USD for U.S. licensure, or $50 CAD for Canadian licensure or registration.
• Changing your exam type (RN/PN): $50 USD, for U.S. licensure only.
• Changing your exam language (English/French): $50 CAD, for Canadian licensure or registration only.

Quick Results (Optional)

If you are seeking U.S. licensure and your NRB participates in the Quick Results Service, you can buy your unofficial result two business days after the exam for $7.95. Your card is charged only if your results are available. Quick Results do not authorize you to practice, and your official result comes from your NRB within six weeks. How NCLEX results arrive explains both.

Board Application and Fingerprinting Fees

Beyond the cost of the NCLEX exam itself, your NRB charges its own fees. They are separate from NCSBN's and vary from board to board, and some boards also require fingerprints for a criminal background check, at your expense. Four boards that publish their fees:

• California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN). The RN examination application costs $300 for California graduates, $350 for graduates from another state, district or U.S. territory, and $750 for international graduates. An interim permit is optional: $100, valid for six months or until the results of your first NCLEX-RN arrive, whichever comes first. Fingerprints are taken by Live Scan at a site in California, and you pay that site's fees, which vary. If you are outside California and cannot use Live Scan there, you send a hard fingerprint card instead and pay the BRN a $49 processing fee. The BRN treats a payment as an earned fee once it is received: it is not refundable or transferable.
• Florida Board of Nursing. Licensure by examination costs $110, paid to the board: a $50 processing fee, a $50 initial licensure fee, $5 for the Student Loan Forgiveness Fund and a $5 unlicensed activity fee. Fingerprints are submitted electronically through a Livescan service provider approved by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; the provider's fee varies, and the applicant bears all background screening costs. If you are denied licensure or withdraw your application, you are entitled to a $60 refund.
• New York State Education Department (NYSED). An RN license and first registration cost $143. A limited permit, which lets a graduate practice temporarily under RN supervision at the facility named on it, costs an additional $35. If you withdraw your application, you may be entitled to a partial refund.
• Texas Board of Nursing. The examination application costs $75, including the fee for the Nursing Jurisprudence Exam (NJE), a two-hour exam on the Texas Nursing Practice Act and Board rules that every NCLEX applicant must complete before receiving an Authorization to Test (ATT). Applicants also submit fingerprints for a criminal background check; the board lists that fee as one that varies. All fees are non-refundable.

These are examples, not a full list, and boards change their fees: NYSED, for one, says the fee due is the one in law when your application is received. Check your own board's fee page before you apply. NCSBN's Membership page links to every NRB's website.

Some costs come from your school, too. California's application instructions, for example, tell applicants to send the transcript request to their school "with the fee required by the school."

Boards also differ on when to pay the NCLEX fee. Your Pearson VUE registration stays open for 365 days waiting for your NRB to make you eligible, and if that does not happen in time, you forfeit the fee. The California BRN encourages candidates to wait until the board makes them eligible before registering with Pearson VUE. The Florida Board of Nursing asks applicants to register with Pearson VUE before board approval, except applicants educated outside the United States, who should wait for it. Follow your own board's instructions.

A Retake Is a New Registration

If you need another attempt, you pay the registration fee again. NCSBN applies the same fee to all NCLEX registrations, including retakes, based on the date the registration is completed. Before you re-register, NCSBN's retake steps send you to your NRB first, and the NRB will tell you about any fees or materials it requires to make you eligible to test again.

What boards charge for a retake varies:

• California BRN: a Reapply/Repeat Examination Application costs $250.
• Florida Board of Nursing: licensure by re-examination costs $50, paid to the board.
• NYSED: you do not need to file another RN or LPN licensure application or pay additional fees to NYSED to retake the NCLEX.

How long you must wait between attempts, how many attempts a year NCSBN allows and how to re-register are in our NCLEX retake rules.

What NCSBN Does Not Charge For

Not every step comes with an NCSBN fee:

• The Test Plans. The NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN Test Plans, which describe the scope and content of each exam, can be downloaded at no cost from nclex.com.
• Appointment changes made in time. NCSBN's fee schedule lists no fee for changing your appointment date, time or location with the required notice. Moving between a domestic and an international test center is the exception, because of the international scheduling fee.
• Technical delays. If a technical problem makes you wait more than 30 minutes past your appointment time, or a restart delay lasts longer than 30 minutes, you can choose to reschedule without an additional fee.

Your own expenses stay yours: the Candidate Bulletin says Pearson is not responsible for expenses beyond the cost of the exam, such as travel and lost wages on the day of the exam, so plan the trip to your test center into your budget.

How Candidates End Up Paying Twice

There are no refunds of NCLEX fees for any reason, so the costliest fee is the one you pay twice. These are the situations NCSBN describes:

• A late change or a no-show. Change or cancel at least one full business day (24 hours) before your appointment; for a Saturday, Sunday or Monday appointment, do it no later than the Friday before and at least 24 hours ahead. Not arriving, or changing without that notice, forfeits the exam fee and any international scheduling fee, invalidates your ATT and means registering and paying again.
• An ATT that runs out. You must test within your ATT's validity dates. The average ATT lasts 90 days, and the dates cannot be extended. If you wait until the ATT is close to expiring, the test center may not be able to seat you in time. Either way, you re-register and pay another fee.
• An ID problem at check-in. If your ID does not meet the requirements, or does not match exactly the first and last names you registered with, you are turned away and must re-register and pay again, and any international scheduling fee is forfeited too. What to expect on test day covers the ID rules.
• A registration that never becomes eligible. If your NRB does not make you eligible, or denies eligibility, within the 365 days your registration stays open, you forfeit the registration and the fee.
• A second registration. You cannot have two registrations for the same exam type open at once. A second one is denied, and its fee is not refunded. If you have no confirmation within two days of registering, contact Pearson Candidate Services before you pay again.

Who Can Pay the NCLEX Fee

You do not always have to pay it yourself:

• Your school, an agency or an employer. Nursing schools, agencies and employers may register and pay for the NCLEX on a candidate's behalf, using Pearson VUE's third-party payment option.
• Veterans and their dependents. The Department of Veterans Affairs has added the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN to its list of qualified licensure and certification exams, so eligible veterans and their dependents, as the VA defines them, can be reimbursed for the cost of the test. The first request goes to your local VA office with VA Form 22-0803. Veteran reimbursement is not available to candidates seeking licensure or registration in Canada or Australia.

NCLEX Price at a Glance

The NCLEX test price and the costs around it, in one table:

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the NCLEX-RN exam?

For U.S. licensure, the NCLEX-RN registration fee is $200 USD if you complete your registration before February 1, 2027, and $350 if you register on or after that date. Your board's application and licensure fees come on top, and they vary by board.

Is the NCLEX-PN cheaper than the NCLEX-RN?

No. The registration fee depends on where you seek licensure, not on the exam, so both cost the same to register. Board fees depend on your board; Florida and New York, for example, charge RN and LPN applicants the same amount.

Do internationally educated nurses pay more?

NCSBN's registration fee is based on where you are seeking licensure, so an internationally educated nurse seeking U.S. licensure pays the U.S. fee. The international scheduling fee applies only if you test at an international test center. Some boards charge international graduates more: the California BRN's examination application is $750 for an international graduate and $300 for a California graduate.

Is there a fee to change my NCLEX appointment?

Not if you change it in time: NCSBN's fee schedule lists no fee for changing your appointment date, time or location, though moving from a domestic to an international test center adds the international scheduling fee. Change at least one full business day (24 hours) ahead, or by the Friday before a Saturday, Sunday or Monday appointment. A later change or a no-show forfeits the exam fee, and you register and pay again.

Is the NCLEX fee the same in every state?

The registration fee is: NCSBN charges one fee for U.S. licensure, $200 USD if you register before February 1, 2027, and $350 on or after. Board fees differ: for example, $110 for Florida's examination application, $143 for a New York license, $300 to $750 for California's examination application and $75 for the Texas examination application, NJE included.

What happens to my fee if my board never makes me eligible?

Your registration stays open for 365 days waiting for your NRB's eligibility decision. If you are not made eligible, or are denied, within that time, you forfeit the registration and the fee, and you would have to register and pay again.

Do I pay my board again to retake the NCLEX?

It depends on the board. You always pay the NCLEX registration fee again, but board fees differ: the California BRN charges $250 for a repeat examination application, the Florida Board of Nursing charges $50 for re-examination, and NYSED charges no additional fees to retake. The wait and the steps are in our NCLEX retake rules.

Before You Pay

You cannot change the fees on this page, but you can choose when you register and how ready you are for the attempt you pay for. Explore ExamReady NCLEX preparation when you want a structured place to practice before you register.

Official resources

• NCLEX: Fees and payment
• NCSBN: NCLEX Fee Changes Feb. 1
• NCLEX: Frequently asked questions
• 2026 NCLEX Candidate Bulletin
• NCLEX: Registration
• NCLEX: Scheduling, rescheduling and cancellation
• NCLEX: Testing locations
• NCLEX: Quick Results
• NCLEX: Results and retake policy
• NCLEX information flyer for Ahpra candidates
• California Board of Registered Nursing: Fee schedule
• California Board of Registered Nursing: Applicant fingerprint information
• California Board of Registered Nursing: Examination application fees and instructions
• California Board of Registered Nursing: Applicant FAQs
• Florida Board of Nursing: Nursing (RN and LPN) licensure
• Florida Board of Nursing: Licensure by examination application
• NYSED: RN license requirements
• NYSED: RN frequently asked questions
• Texas Board of Nursing: Schedule of fees
• Texas Board of Nursing: Licensure by examination