How Many Questions Are on the NCLEX? How CAT and the Pass Point Work

How many questions are on the NCLEX? Under the 2026 test plans from NCSBN, which develops the exam, the NCLEX-RN and the NCLEX-PN both run from a minimum of 85 to a maximum of 150 questions within five hours, and 15 of those questions are unscored pretest items. Your answers decide where in that range your exam ends.

That is the short answer. The longer one is about how the NCLEX exam works: why two candidates can finish after very different numbers of questions, and why neither number tells them the result. This article explains how the NCLEX CAT exam chooses each question, what the passing standard (the "pass point") is, the three rules that end the exam, what happened to the old 75-question minimum and where case studies fit, for the NCLEX-RN and the NCLEX-PN alike.

Exam rules can change: NCSBN updates the test plans every three years. Every figure below was checked against NCSBN's pages, the 2026 NCLEX Candidate Bulletin and the 2026 test plans on October 13, 2026.

NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN: 85 to 150 Questions

The two exams follow the same length rules. NCSBN's 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan says all RN candidates "must answer a minimum of 85 items," and that the maximum an RN candidate may answer "is 150 during the allotted five-hour period." The 2026 NCLEX-PN Test Plan sets the same minimum and maximum for LPN/VN candidates, and the 2026 Candidate Bulletin puts it in one line: both exams "can be anywhere from 85 to 150 items."

The five hours do not change with the number of questions, and they include all breaks: the exam clock does not stop while you are on one. How long the NCLEX is and what to expect on test day covers the breaks and the rest of the day.

According to the test plans, a minimum-length exam of 85 questions is built the same way on both exams:

• 52 items from the eight content areas, in the percentages each test plan states.
• 18 items in three clinical judgment case studies, six items each. They are counted separately from the content areas because a case study can span any number of them.
• 15 unscored pretest items. Their difficulty is not known yet (NCSBN uses them to measure it), so they are left out of your ability estimate and your pass or fail decision. They look like every other item, so you cannot tell which ones they are, and every exam has 15 of them.

That leaves 70 scored items on a minimum-length exam. On a longer exam, CAT keeps choosing items to match the test plan percentages, and because exam lengths vary, the test plans let each content area "differ up to ±3% in each category." The pretest items stay at 15. The NCLEX study plan shows how to divide your study time by those percentages.

What Happened to the 75-Question Minimum?

If a forum thread, a video or an older review book says the NCLEX can end at 75 questions, it describes the exam before April 2023. NCSBN's 2019 NCLEX-RN Test Plan and 2020 NCLEX-PN Test Plan, the last ones before the change, each describe a variable-length exam that "can range from 75-145 items," with 15 unscored pretest items and the same five-hour limit.

The 2023 test plans, effective April 2023, set the range at 85 to 150 items for both exams, and NCSBN launched the Next Generation NCLEX on April 1, 2023. The 2026 test plans, in effect from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2029, keep the same range.

So "75 questions" and "145 questions" are history. On the exam you take now, the minimum is 85 for the NCLEX-RN and the NCLEX-PN alike.

How the NCLEX CAT Exam Chooses Your Questions

The NCLEX is a computerized adaptive test (CAT), and NCSBN has given it only in that format since April 1, 1994. On a traditional fixed test, everyone answers the same items, so the percentage correct shows ability. The Candidate Bulletin names two problems with that: high-ability candidates spend time on easy items that say little about their ability, and guessing can artificially inflate the scores of low-ability candidates. CAT targets each item to you instead.

Here is the cycle NCSBN describes:

1. You start with a relatively easy item. NCSBN says everyone is first given an item with a relatively low difficulty level; what follows depends on your answers.
2. Each answer updates your ability estimate. The computer re-estimates your ability from all your answers so far and the difficulty of those items, and the estimate becomes more precise with every item.
3. The next item keeps your exam on the test plan. It comes from the content area that best matches the test plan percentages, so every exam has enough items from each area.
4. It is aimed at your current level. Within that area, the computer picks an item you should have around a 50% chance of answering correctly, so it is neither too easy nor too hard and tells the computer the most about your ability.
5. Repeat candidates do not see old items. CAT excludes any item a repeat candidate saw on an earlier exam.
6. The cycle ends with a decision. Items keep coming this way until a pass or fail decision is made, under the rules below.

Two things follow. First, no two candidates get the same exam: NCSBN says each exam "is unique because it is assembled interactively as the examination proceeds." Second, you cannot skip a question or go back to an answer you have confirmed, because each response is used to select the next item.

If you retake the NCLEX, the process starts again: NCSBN says each attempt is independent, and item selection is based on your responses during that attempt. The NCLEX retake guide covers the wait and the steps.

The NCLEX Pass Point: How the Passing Standard Works

The NCLEX is a licensure exam, not a ranking. It is designed to test the knowledge, skills and abilities essential to safe and effective nursing practice at the entry level, and NCSBN defines an entry-level nurse as a newly licensed nurse with no more than 12 months of nursing experience.

What many candidates call the NCLEX pass point or pass mark, NCSBN calls the passing standard: "a cut point along an ability range that marks the minimum ability level requirement." For the NCLEX, NCSBN says, it is the minimum ability required to practice nursing safely and effectively at the entry level.

NCSBN states both standards in logits, a unit that reports relative differences between candidate ability estimates and item difficulties:

• NCLEX-RN: 0.00 logits, effective through March 31, 2029, and unchanged since April 2013.
• NCLEX-PN: -0.18 logits, effective through March 31, 2029, and unchanged since March 25, 2020.

NCSBN retained both standards in April 2023 and again in April 2026. Do not read the PN number as a lower bar. The two exams "are scored on separate scales and have respective passing standards," and NCSBN notes that the RN and PN standards are not directly comparable because they are based on different item pools and different scopes of practice. NCSBN's Board of Directors reevaluates each standard every three years or when the test plan changes.

The passing standard is a point on that ability scale, not a percentage of correct answers. NCSBN uses a criterion-referenced standard, which means passing or failing "depends solely upon a candidate's level of performance in relation to the established point that represents safe entry-level competence," and there is no preassigned percentage of candidates who pass or fail. To pass, you must perform at or above the passing standard. Your performance is reported only as pass or fail; in NCSBN's words, "Scores are never reported."

That is also why counting your correct answers cannot tell you the result:

• Difficulty counts, not only correctness. Your ability estimate is based on your answers and the difficulty of the items you answered.
• Some items do not count. The 15 pretest items are left out of the decision, and you cannot tell which ones they are.
• Some items earn partial credit. Items with more than one correct key are scored by one of three methods: plus/minus, zero/one or rationale scoring.

NCLEX pass rates shows how many candidates in each group met the passing standard in 2025.

Why the NCLEX Can End at 85 Questions or Run to 150

NCSBN names three rules that decide when the exam stops and whether you pass. They are the same for the NCLEX-RN and the NCLEX-PN:

1. The 95% Confidence Interval Rule. Once you have answered the minimum number of items, the computer stops when it is 95% certain that your ability is clearly above or clearly below the passing standard. NCSBN says this is the most common scenario.
2. The Maximum-Length Exam Rule. If your ability is very close to the passing standard, items continue until the maximum. At that point the computer sets the 95% rule aside and looks only at your final ability estimate: at or above the passing standard is a pass, below it is a fail.
3. The Run-Out-of-Time (R.O.O.T.) Rule. If time runs out before the maximum and the computer has not reached a decision with 95% certainty, a candidate who has not answered the minimum number of items fails. A candidate who has answered at least the minimum is scored on the final ability estimate from all completed items.

So an exam that ends at 85 questions can be a pass or a fail. NCSBN explains a fail at the minimum this way: it "took only the minimum number of items for the scoring algorithm to determine with 95% certainty that the candidate's nursing ability was below the passing standard." NCSBN's statistics report describes both sides: once the minimum has been answered, "Candidates clearly above the passing standard pass. Candidates clearly below the passing standard fail." The NCLEX-PN works the same way: 85 questions is the earliest point at which the 95% rule can end it.

Running to 150 is not a sign of failing either. It means your ability estimate stayed so close to the standard that the computer could not decide sooner. NCSBN's statistics report calls these "the candidates who take the maximum number of items," and their final estimate decides the result. The test plans put it plainly: "The length of the candidate's examination is not an indication of a pass or fail result."

The NCLEX pass rates article gives NCSBN's 2025 figures for how many candidates stopped at the minimum and how many went to the maximum, and how NCLEX results arrive explains why nothing you see during the exam tells you your result.

What the Questions Can and Cannot Tell You

Neither the number of questions nor how they feel tells you the result. CAT picks items of optimal difficulty for you, so NCSBN says each one "will be relatively difficult for the candidate," and an item that resembles an earlier one may address a different phase of the nursing process or be an unscored pretest item. Why the NCLEX feels hard for everyone takes these signs one by one, and NCLEX test-taking strategies turns NCSBN's advice to "maintain a reasonable pace" into a routine you can practice.

Where Case Studies Fit in the Question Count

Case studies entered the question count with the Next Generation NCLEX (NGN), which NCSBN launched on April 1, 2023, "to better measure nursing candidates' clinical judgment and decision making abilities through the use of innovative item types." The 2019 NCLEX-RN and 2020 NCLEX-PN test plans do not mention case studies; the 2023 test plans put 18 case study items in every minimum-length exam, and the 2026 plans keep them.

The test plans define clinical judgment as "the observed outcome of critical thinking and decision-making." It is measured in two ways:

• Case studies. A case study is a set of six items about the same client presentation, with client information that unfolds from item to item. Each of the six items measures one step of the NCSBN Clinical Judgment Measurement Model (NCJMM): recognize cues, analyze cues, prioritize hypotheses, generate solutions, take action and evaluate outcomes. The 2026 test plans give a fixed number, "18 case study items (i.e., three item sets)," so every exam has three scored case studies, 18 items in all.
• Stand-alone items. Clinical judgment can also be tested in an individual stand-alone item. Besides the 18 case study items, the 2026 test plans call for "approximately 10% stand-alone items, which will be selected depending on exam length," so a longer exam has more of them.

The NCLEX Clinical Judgment Model guide explains each of the six steps.

Items come in multiple formats and can include charts, tables and graphics. NCSBN sets no percentage of item formats for your exam: items are chosen by your ability and their difficulty, whatever their format. The NCLEX question types guide shows what each format asks you to do, and the Prepare page on nclex.com has the free Candidate Tutorial, the Exam Preview and a Sample Pack with three RN case studies, two PN case studies and additional examples.

NCLEX Question Count at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

How many questions are on the NCLEX-RN exam?

Between 85 and 150. NCSBN's 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan says every RN candidate must answer at least 85 items and may answer up to 150 within five hours. Fifteen of them are unscored pretest items, and your answers decide where in the range your exam stops.

Does the NCLEX-PN have the same number of questions?

Yes. The 2026 NCLEX-PN Test Plan sets the same minimum of 85 items and maximum of 150 within five hours, with three case studies and 15 pretest items on every exam. The passing standards differ, and NCSBN says the RN and PN standards are not directly comparable.

Can the NCLEX still end at 75 questions?

No. A range of 75 to 145 items appears in NCSBN's 2019 NCLEX-RN and 2020 NCLEX-PN test plans. The 2023 test plans, effective April 2023, set the range at 85 to 150 for both exams, and the 2026 test plans keep it.

What is the pass point for the NCLEX-RN?

NCSBN calls it the passing standard, and for the NCLEX-RN it is 0.00 logits, effective through March 31, 2029. It is a point on NCSBN's ability scale, not a percentage of correct answers: you pass if your final ability estimate is at or above it.

How many questions do you have to get right on the NCLEX?

There is no set number or percentage. The NCLEX compares your ability estimate, which depends on the difficulty of the items you answered, with the passing standard, and the 15 pretest items do not count. NCSBN reports the result only as pass or fail.

Is the NCLEX always a CAT exam?

Yes. The 2026 Candidate Bulletin says the NCLEX is only provided in the CAT format, and both the NCLEX-RN and the NCLEX-PN are variable-length computerized adaptive tests. There is no paper-and-pencil or oral version.

How many NCLEX questions are scored?

All but the 15 unscored pretest items: 70 of the 85 questions on a minimum-length exam and 135 of the 150 on a maximum-length exam. The pretest items look like the scored ones, and NCSBN leaves them out of your ability estimate and your pass or fail decision.

Before Test Day

The number of questions you get may differ from everyone you compare notes with, and under NCSBN's rules it cannot tell you your result. Explore ExamReady NCLEX preparation when you want a structured place to practice before your exam.

Official resources

• NCLEX: Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT)
• NCLEX: Passing Standard
• NCLEX: Test Plans
• 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan (PDF)
• 2026 NCLEX-PN Test Plan (PDF)
• 2026 NCLEX Candidate Bulletin (PDF)
• NCLEX: Frequently asked questions
• NCLEX: Next Generation NCLEX
• NCLEX: Prepare (Candidate Tutorial, Exam Preview and Sample Pack)
• NCSBN: 2025 NCLEX Examination Statistics (PDF)
• NCSBN: 2019 NCLEX-RN Test Plan (PDF)
• NCSBN: 2020 NCLEX-PN Test Plan (PDF)