The NCLEX pass rate for first-time, US-educated candidates was 86.7% on the NCLEX-RN and 86.6% on the NCLEX-PN in 2025, according to NCSBN’s annual statistics report. Repeat testers passed far less often: 52.7% on the RN and 41.7% on the PN. Below are the full national figures, 2026 data so far, the Next Generation NCLEX trend and how to judge a school’s rate.
Key takeaways
- In 2025, 167,272 of 192,916 first-time, US-educated NCLEX-RN candidates passed (86.7%). On the NCLEX-PN, 47,470 of 54,818 passed (86.6%).
- Repeat, US-educated candidates passed at 52.7% (RN) and 41.7% (PN) in 2025. First-time, internationally educated RN candidates passed at 47.3%.
- NCSBN’s live dashboard shows 2026 first-time, US-educated rates of 87.2% (RN) and 86.1% (PN) for January 1 to September 26, 2026. That’s a partial year.
- After the Next Generation NCLEX launched on April 1, 2023, the first-time, US-educated RN rate went from 79.9% in 2022 to 88.6% in 2023 and 91.2% in 2024.
- The NCLEX reports pass or fail only. There’s no score, and the number of questions you get doesn’t reveal your result.
- CCNE, which accredits baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs, uses an 80% licensure pass-rate benchmark that a program can meet in any one of four ways.
What the NCLEX Pass Rate Measures
An NCLEX pass rate is the share of candidates in a group who received a pass decision during a set period, usually a quarter or a calendar year. NCSBN, which develops the exam, reports results only as a pass-fail decision, so pass rates are almost the only performance statistic it publishes.
The exam isn’t curved. NCSBN uses a criterion-referenced standard: you pass or fail based on where your measured ability sits against a fixed point that represents safe entry-level practice, and there’s no preset percentage of candidates who must fail. The passing standard is 0.00 logits for the NCLEX-RN and -0.18 logits for the NCLEX-PN, both in effect through March 31, 2029.
NCSBN splits candidates into first-time or repeat, US-educated or internationally educated and, for the RN exam, diploma, associate degree (ADN) or baccalaureate (BSN). When people search for nursing board pass rates, they usually want the first-time, US-educated NCLEX pass rate, the cleanest comparison for a new US graduate.
Latest National NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN Pass Rates
The latest full year is 2025, when the NCLEX pass rate for first-time, US-educated candidates was 86.7% on the RN exam and 86.6% on the PN exam. The 2026 figures so far are close. Every value below comes from NCSBN’s own publications.
| Group | 2025 | 2026* |
|---|---|---|
| NCLEX-RN (US licensure) | ||
| First-time, US-educated | 86.7% | 87.2% |
| Repeat, US-educated | 52.7% | 53.2% |
| First-time, intl. educated | 47.3% | 50.9% |
| Repeat, intl. educated | 30.5% | 31.3% |
| All candidates | 69.1% | 73.2% |
| NCLEX-PN | ||
| First-time, US-educated | 86.6% | 86.1% |
| Repeat, US-educated | 41.7% | 41.0% |
| First-time, intl. educated | 53.7% | 42.1% |
| Repeat, intl. educated | 27.6% | 23.0% |
| All candidates | 77.3% | 77.3% |
The 2025 column covers the full calendar year and comes from NCSBN’s 2025 NCLEX Examination Statistics (published June 2026). *The 2026 column covers January 1 to September 26, 2026, from NCSBN’s NCLEX Pass Rates dashboard. That’s a partial year, and NCSBN notes the live dashboard can differ slightly from its PDF reports as records are reconciled. The 2026 period also spans the new test plans that took effect April 1, 2026.
First-time, US-educated candidates
This is the headline NCLEX first-time pass rate. In 2025, BSN graduates passed the NCLEX-RN at 87.6% (100,258 tested), ADN graduates at 86.1% (89,549 tested) and diploma graduates at 83.3% (2,671 tested). That’s a 1.5-point gap between BSN and ADN.
The rate also moves within a year. In 2025 the pass rate for NCLEX-RN first-time, US-educated testers was 88.4% in January to March, 89.1% in April to June, 84.0% in July to September and 81.2% in October to December. The fourth quarter had 20,128 first-time testers against 68,091 in the second, so one quarter says little about the year.
Repeat testers
In 2025, 22,404 of 42,513 repeat, US-educated NCLEX-RN candidates passed (52.7%), and 5,558 of 13,342 repeat, US-educated NCLEX-PN candidates passed (41.7%). Both were higher than in 2022, when the rates were 43.7% (RN) and 35.7% (PN).
Internationally educated candidates
First-time, internationally educated candidates passed the NCLEX-RN at 47.3% in 2025 (24,999 of 52,827), and repeat internationally educated candidates at 30.5%. This group is large on the RN side and small on the PN side, with 397 first-time PN candidates in 2025.
That mix explains why the RN all-candidates rate (69.1% in 2025) sits so far below the first-time, US-educated rate. An NCLEX-RN rate quoted at around 69% to 73% for a recent year is likely the all-candidates figure.
How NCLEX Pass Rates Changed After the Next Generation NCLEX
Pass rates rose after the Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) launched on April 1, 2023. The first-time, US-educated NCLEX-RN rate was 79.9% in 2022, 88.6% in 2023 and 91.2% in 2024, then eased to 86.7% in 2025. The NCLEX-PN followed the same shape: 79.9%, 86.7%, 88.4% and 86.6%.
The quarterly figures in NCSBN’s 2023 statistics report show where the change happened.
| 2023 | RN | PN |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar (before NGN) | 80.5% | 79.6% |
| Apr–Jun (NGN) | 94.3% | 90.1% |
| Jul–Sep (NGN) | 90.7% | 90.7% |
| Oct–Dec (NGN) | 88.6% | 87.6% |
NGN added case studies and new item types built to measure clinical judgment, and the exam length changed from 75 to 145 items to 85 to 150 items. Today’s exam also uses partial-credit scoring for items with more than one correct key. The RN passing standard stayed at 0.00 logits on both sides of the launch. For the item formats themselves, see our guide to Next Generation NCLEX question types.
More candidates also finished at the minimum length. Among first-time, US-educated RN candidates, 47.5% took the minimum number of items in January to March 2023, compared with 71.8% from April to December 2023 and 59.1% in 2025. NCSBN’s statistics reports don’t give a reason for the rise in pass rates, so read the post-2023 numbers as a new baseline, not as proof the exam got easier.
How to Read a Nursing School’s NCLEX Pass Rate
Compare a school’s first-time NCLEX pass rate for a full calendar year with the national first-time, US-educated rate for the same exam and year, and check how many graduates tested. For the NCLEX-RN, the national benchmarks are 91.2% for 2024 and 86.7% for 2025.
Program pass rate vs national average
- Match the year and the exam. A program at 90% in 2024 was slightly below the national RN figure. The same 90% in 2025 was above it.
- Ask whether it’s first-time or all takers. CCNE’s accreditation standards let a program show it meets the 80% benchmark using first-time takers for the latest calendar year, all takers (including repeaters who pass) for that year, or either measure across the three most recent years. A rate that includes repeaters isn’t comparable to the national first-time figure.
- Check the number tested. With 20 first-time testers, each graduate moves the rate by 5 percentage points.
- Ask for the completion rate too. A pass rate counts only graduates who sat the exam, not students who left the program. CCNE asks programs to show completion rates as a separate outcome.
NCLEX pass rates by state and by program
NCSBN’s annual report lists first-time, US-educated NCLEX-RN results for every jurisdiction. These five had the most first-time candidates in 2025:
| State | Tested | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | 17,403 | 81.8% |
| Texas | 16,454 | 88.6% |
| California | 16,255 | 89.0% |
| New York | 11,418 | 82.3% |
| Ohio | 8,529 | 84.0% |
| US total | 192,916 | 86.7% |
For school-by-school numbers, go to the state board of nursing. The Texas Board of Nursing’s report on 2024 NCLEX-RN pass rates, for example, lists each professional nursing program and counts first-time RN candidates educated in Texas regardless of where they were first licensed. Texas programs averaged 92.69% against a national 91.16%. Programs at 90% or above received commendations, and programs below 80% may be required to submit a self-study report.
NCSBN also offers NCLEX Program Reports to schools as a subscription service, so detailed graduate data usually stays with the program; ask the school what it shows. You can find your own board through NCSBN’s member board directory.
Why Repeat-Tester Pass Rates Are Lower and What Helps
Repeat testers are, by definition, candidates who didn’t pass an earlier attempt, so as a group they start further from the passing standard. In 2025 that showed up as a 52.7% pass rate for repeat, US-educated RN candidates against 86.7% for first-timers.
A retake is a fresh exam. NCSBN’s NCLEX FAQ says each attempt is independent, the adaptive process starts over, and item pools are rotated so repeat candidates won’t receive the same items. Under the NCLEX retake policy, you can test again 45 days after your exam, up to eight times a year, though some boards set stricter limits.
Here’s what the official guidance and the learning research support:
- Start with your Candidate Performance Report. Candidates who fail receive a CPR that rates each test plan content area and clinical judgment category as below, near or above the passing standard. NCSBN suggests working on the “below” areas first, then the “near” ones.
- Confirm your board’s timeline. Contact your board before you register again. It may require a longer wait, a fee or new paperwork.
- Study against the current test plan. The 2026 RN and PN test plans took effect April 1, 2026 and run through March 31, 2029. Our NCLEX-RN study plan sets out a step-by-step schedule.
- Practice retrieval, then read the rationale. Answering from memory and checking why each option is right or wrong is better supported than rereading notes; our guide to practice testing covers the research. Our original NCLEX practice questions come with full rationales.
- Use NCSBN’s free materials. The NCLEX prepare page has a sample pack with three RN and two PN case studies, an exam preview and a tutorial for the testing software.
If your program allows outside question banks (check your honor code), self-testing with rationales fits steps 3 and 4. These are self-assessment aids matched to a review book or the Client Needs categories, not questions from the NCLEX itself, and no question set can predict your result. Browse all NCLEX test banks and review sets or the wider nursing test banks catalog.
- Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination, 8th edition test bank — for students using the 8th edition; Elsevier’s current edition is the 9th (2022), so check your ISBN first.
- NCLEX Review: Practice Questions with Rationales — general RN and PN items across the Client Needs categories, each with a rationale.
- NCLEX-PN Practice Test — PN-focused practice questions across the Client Needs categories, with a rationale for every item.
Each test bank is matched to one edition and ISBN-13. Check the number on your book before you buy.
What Pass Rates Do Not Tell You
An NCLEX pass rate describes a group of candidates in one period. It doesn’t tell you your own odds, and it doesn’t rank anyone who passed.
- It isn’t a score. NCSBN never reports NCLEX scores, only pass or fail, so there’s no such thing as a high pass.
- Your exam length isn’t a verdict. Under the computerized adaptive testing rules, the test usually stops when the computer is 95% certain you’re above or below the standard, or at the maximum length. NCSBN says item count alone doesn’t reveal the result.
- It leaves people out. Graduates who delay or never sit the exam aren’t counted, and students who leave a program never appear in its pass rate.
- Close calls exist. NCSBN estimates decision consistency for 2025 first-time, US-educated RN candidates at 0.90: the proportion of pass-fail decisions expected to stay the same if the same group retested immediately with different items.
Frequently asked questions
What is the NCLEX pass rate for first-time test takers?
In 2025, 86.7% of first-time, US-educated candidates passed the NCLEX-RN and 86.6% passed the NCLEX-PN, according to NCSBN’s annual report. For 2026 through September 26, NCSBN’s dashboard shows 87.2% (RN) and 86.1% (PN). First-time, internationally educated RN candidates passed at 47.3% in 2025, so check which group any quoted figure covers.
Is the NCLEX-PN pass rate higher than the RN?
Not for first-time, US-educated candidates. In 2025 the two were nearly identical (86.6% PN, 86.7% RN), and in 2024 the RN rate was higher (91.2% vs 88.4%). The PN all-candidates rate looks higher (77.3% vs 69.1% in 2025) mainly because far fewer internationally educated candidates, who pass at lower rates, take the PN.
Does passing at 85 questions mean a higher score?
No. The NCLEX reports only pass or fail, so there’s no higher or lower pass. The exam can stop at the 85-item minimum once the computer is 95% certain whether you’re above or below the passing standard, and NCSBN says item count alone doesn’t reveal the result. In 2025, 59.1% of first-time, US-educated RN candidates took the minimum number of items.
What is a good nursing school NCLEX pass rate?
Look for a first-time rate at or above the national first-time, US-educated rate for the same year (86.7% for the RN in 2025), held over several years with a reasonable number of testers. CCNE uses an 80% benchmark for the programs it accredits, and the Texas board may ask programs below 80% for a self-study report. Always ask whether the rate includes repeaters.
Where can I find official NCLEX pass rate data?
Go to NCSBN. Its NCLEX Pass Rates page hosts a live dashboard by year, quarter and candidate type, and its Nurse Licensure and NCLEX Exam Statistics page links each annual NCLEX Examination Statistics report, which includes state-by-state tables. For individual schools, check the program reports your state board of nursing publishes.
Bottom line
If you’re comparing schools, pull each program’s first-time NCLEX rates for the last three years from your state board and set them beside the national figures above: 91.2% and 86.7% for the RN in 2024 and 2025. If you’re retaking, open your Candidate Performance Report today and list every area marked below the passing standard. That list is your first week of study.
Sources & further reading
- NCSBN — 2025 NCLEX Examination Statistics (Research Brief Vol. 96, June 2026)
- NCSBN — NCLEX Pass Rates (interactive dashboard)
- NCSBN — Nurse Licensure and NCLEX Exam Statistics (annual reports, 2019–2024 used for the chart)
- NCLEX — Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT)
- NCLEX — Exam Results and Retake Policy
- NCLEX — Next Generation NCLEX
- CCNE — Standards for Accreditation of Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing Programs (2024)
