NCLEX-PN practice questions, NCLEX-PN practice test and LPN prep for the April 2026 test plan

The NCLEX-PN is a computer-adaptive test administered by NCSBN at Pearson VUE centers. Every candidate answers a minimum of 85 items, and the maximum is 150 items within a five-hour period that includes all breaks. The exam ends as soon as the computer is 95% confident your ability is above or below the passing standard, which is why finishing at 85 items tells you nothing about whether you passed. On a minimum-length exam, 52 items come from the eight content areas in their published percentages, 18 items make up three clinical judgment case studies, and the remaining 15 are unscored pretest items that are indistinguishable from scored ones. Treat every item as if it counts.

• Computer-adaptive: minimum 85 items, maximum 150
• Five-hour session, and that limit includes all breaks
• 15 unscored pretest items on every exam, unmarked
• Three six-item clinical judgment case studies (18 items)

The 2026 NCLEX-PN Test Plan took effect April 1, 2026 and is built on NCSBN's 2024 PN Practice Analysis. Content is organized under four Client Needs categories, two of which split into subcategories. Coordinated Care carries the largest share at 18% to 24%, followed by Safety and Infection Prevention and Control at 10% to 16% and Pharmacological Therapies at 10% to 16%. Psychosocial Integrity and Reduction of Risk Potential are 9% to 15% each. Basic Care and Comfort and Physiological Adaptation are 7% to 13% each, and Health Promotion and Maintenance is 6% to 12%. NCSBN notes actual exams may differ by up to plus or minus 3% in each category, so treat the ranges as targets rather than guarantees.

• Coordinated Care: 18% to 24%, the largest single area
• Safety and Infection Prevention and Control: 10% to 16%
• Pharmacological Therapies: 10% to 16%
• Actual exams can vary by up to plus or minus 3% per category

There is no percentage score and no numerical result. The NCLEX-PN is scored against a passing standard expressed in logits, a unit that compares your estimated ability against item difficulty. The NCSBN Board of Directors voted in December 2022 to hold the NCLEX-PN passing standard at -0.18 logits, and that standard runs through March 31, 2029. Because the exam adapts, two candidates who both pass can answer wildly different numbers of items and see completely different difficulty levels. The only outcome reported is pass or fail; candidates who fail receive a Candidate Performance Report showing how they did in each content area, which is the document to build a retake plan around.

• Passing standard: -0.18 logits, held through March 31, 2029
• Reported as pass or fail, with no percentage or number
• Item count and difficulty tell you nothing about your result
• Failing candidates get a Candidate Performance Report by content area

The NCLEX-PN is demanding but very passable for graduates who practice at volume. In 2025, 86.6% of first-time, US-educated candidates passed, out of 54,818 who tested, with state results ranging from 99.4% in Vermont down to 78.6% in Florida. The pass rate across all NCLEX-PN candidates, including repeat and internationally educated test takers, was lower at about 77%. The candidates who struggle are usually the ones who studied by rereading notes rather than by answering hundreds of application-level and clinical judgment items. The exam does not test recall of facts so much as what you would do next with a specific client.

The NCLEX-PN registration fee is $200, paid to Pearson VUE, and your state board of nursing charges its own licensure fees on top. If you fail, NCSBN policy permits eight attempts per year with 45 test-free days between attempts, and there is no national lifetime cap, though individual state boards can and do set stricter rules, so check yours before you plan a retake. Most candidates prepare for four to six weeks after finishing their program, doing 75 to 150 practice questions a day and reviewing every rationale, including for questions they got right. Consistent daily question volume predicts a pass far better than total study hours.

• NCLEX-PN registration fee: $200 to Pearson VUE
• Up to eight attempts per year, 45 test-free days between them
• No national lifetime cap, but state boards may be stricter
• Four to six weeks of daily question practice is the typical plan