What an NCLEX test plan is
A test plan is the blueprint of the exam. In NCSBN's words, the test plans “guide candidates preparing for the exam, inform the direction for item development and facilitate classification of exam items.” Each plan contains:
- a definition of each Client Needs category and subcategory, with the percentage of items from each;
- a definition of clinical judgment and the six steps a case study measures;
- the nursing activity statements and detailed content examples behind each category;
- sample NCLEX items and item writing tips;
- how the exam is given: exam length, the passing standard and how items are scored.
Besides the categories, processes fundamental to nursing, such as caring, clinical judgment, communication and documentation, culture and spirituality, the nursing process and teaching and learning, run through all of them rather than having their own share of items. Clinical judgment is also measured directly: every exam has 18 case study items (3 item sets of 6) plus about 10% stand-alone clinical judgment items, the number depending on exam length.
NCLEX-RN test plan 2026
The NCLEX-RN is the licensure exam for registered nurses. Its two divided categories are Safe and Effective Care Environment (Management of Care; Safety and Infection Prevention and Control) and Physiological Integrity, which has four subcategories. See our NCLEX-RN overview for the exam as a whole.
The 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan is in effect from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2029. Its percentages are based on NCSBN's 2024 RN Practice Analysis, in which nearly 24,000 newly licensed RNs were asked how often they perform each nursing activity, how important it is and how relevant it is to clinical judgment.
| Client Needs | % of items |
|---|---|
| Safe and Effective Care Environment | |
| Management of Care | 15–21% |
| Safety and Infection Prevention and Control | 10–16% |
| Health Promotion and Maintenance | 6–12% |
| Psychosocial Integrity | 6–12% |
| Physiological Integrity | |
| Basic Care and Comfort | 6–12% |
| Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies | 13–19% |
| Reduction of Risk Potential | 9–15% |
| Physiological Adaptation | 11–17% |
Download: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan (PDF). NCSBN's PDF also lists the nursing activity statements and sample content for every category, with sample items.
NCLEX-PN test plan 2026
The NCLEX-PN is the licensure exam for practical and vocational nurses (LPN/VN). It uses the same four categories, with two differences in the areas: Coordinated Care instead of Management of Care, and Pharmacological Therapies instead of Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies. See our NCLEX-PN overview.
The 2026 NCLEX-PN Test Plan is in effect from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2029. Its percentages are based on NCSBN's 2024 PN Practice Analysis, in which more than 26,000 newly licensed LPN/VNs were asked how often they perform each nursing activity, how important it is and how relevant it is to clinical judgment.
| Client Needs | % of items |
|---|---|
| Safe and Effective Care Environment | |
| Coordinated Care | 18–24% |
| Safety and Infection Prevention and Control | 10–16% |
| Health Promotion and Maintenance | 6–12% |
| Psychosocial Integrity | 9–15% |
| Physiological Integrity | |
| Basic Care and Comfort | 7–13% |
| Pharmacological Therapies | 10–16% |
| Reduction of Risk Potential | 9–15% |
| Physiological Adaptation | 7–13% |
Download: 2026 NCLEX-PN Test Plan (PDF). NCSBN's PDF also lists the nursing activity statements and sample content for every category, with sample items.
What changed in the 2026 test plans
Compared with the 2023 NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN test plans (RN, PN), the 2026 editions keep the four Client Needs categories and their structure. At that level they change:
- The dates. In effect from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2029.
- The evidence. The percentages now rest on NCSBN's 2024 RN Practice Analysis and 2024 PN Practice Analysis instead of the 2021 RN Practice Analysis and 2021 LPN/VN Practice Analysis.
- A new name. “Safety and Infection Control” is now “Safety and Infection Prevention and Control” on both exams; every other category and subcategory keeps its 2023 name.
- Not the percentages. Every category and subcategory keeps the range it had in 2023, on both exams.
Inside each area, the lists of related activity statements (the nursing tasks the items are written from) were revised throughout, from the new practice analyses. The full lists are in the 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan (PDF) and 2026 NCLEX-PN Test Plan (PDF). Among the changes, for example, quoted as each PDF prints them:
- New: “Perform care for clients to support unbiased treatment and equal access to care, regardless of culture/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression”. In NCLEX-RN, Management of Care (2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, p. 7); NCLEX-PN, Coordinated Care (2026 NCLEX-PN Test Plan, p. 7).
- Reworded: “Follow security plan and procedures (e.g., newborn security, violence, controlled access)” now reads “Follow security plan and procedures (e.g., newborn security, violence, controlled access, environmental)”. In NCLEX-RN, Safety and Infection Prevention and Control (2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, p. 8); before: 2023 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, p. 8.
The exam length rules stay as they were: 85 to 150 items within 5 hours, breaks included, on both exams. The passing standards stay too: NCSBN's Passing Standard page keeps 0.00 logits for the NCLEX-RN and -0.18 logits for the NCLEX-PN, effective through March 31, 2029.
How to study by the test plan
The test plan tells you where the items come from, so it is the most direct guide to how to split your time. A minimum-length exam of 85 items has 52 items from the eight areas in the stated percentages, 18 case study items and 15 unscored pretest items.
- Weight your schedule. The largest areas, such as Management of Care (15–21%) on the NCLEX-RN and Coordinated Care (18–24%) on the NCLEX-PN, deserve the most hours. The NCLEX study plan shows how to divide a 4-, 8- or 12-week schedule by these percentages.
- Practice one area at a time. In the ExamReady app, Quiz Modes by Topic lists the RN areas as topics, so you can drill the ones your results show are weak. The app's topic list still uses the 2023 name “Safety and Infection Control” for Safety and Infection Prevention and Control. See how to practice by topic.
- Practice clinical judgment. Case studies cut across every area. The Clinical Judgment Model guide walks through the six steps the case study items measure.
- Know the exam rules. How the NCLEX works explains the question count, adaptive testing and the pass point.
The test plan is the base of your content review, the first of the four parts of a prep. The NCLEX Prep guide covers all four, from practice questions to test-day strategy, with a free guide for each.