How To Apply For NCLEX PN? [2024 Comprehensive Guide]

In order to get a license to practice as a practical nurse, all prospective practical nurses are required to take and pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN). Each state’s Nursing Board is responsible for the test’s administration and regulation, and the NCSN monitors the whole process. How to apply for NCLEX PN? Before you begin studying for the NCLEX-PN exam, we will first walk you through the NCLEX PN registration in a step-by-step recommendation.

How to Apply for NCLEX PN Exam

Below is an 8-step process to register for NCLEX PN exam:

Step 1: Check Your Eligibility

You are required to submit an application for licensing or registration with the Board of Nursing or Regulatory Body (BON/RB) in your state before you can go on with the process of being licensed or registered. Get in touch with the State Board of Nursing if you want to confirm whether or not you are qualified to take the exam.

Step 2: Register Online or Via Telephone

The next thing you need to do is register with Pearson VUE to take the NCLEX-PN test. There are three different methods to sign up: over the phone, by email, or on the internet (online). As a consequence of this, registering online is recommended rather than calling the contact center an extremely high number of times. At Pearson VUE Online, you can find the registration form for the NCLEX-PN test.

Step 3: Make the Payment 

You will be required to provide an email address as well as a program code when you are registering for the event. Your email address is required in order for the Pearson VUE correspondent to communicate with you since they do it only via email.

The Online Application Process for the NCLEX

Visit the Website

Go to the Pearson VUE website to start the registration process so you can get started. Please include your personal details, including your name, email address, and telephone number, by filling out the form. Making a payment to finish the deal is the next step that has to be taken. In order to participate in the test, the name you provide at registration has to be an exact match for the name that appears on your photo identification.

Payment

At this location, you may pay in two different methods. You will need to have your payment card on hand before you begin the process of enrolling for the NCLEX-PN online. Neither debit nor credit cards issued by any other company than Visa, MasterCard, or American Express are recognized as valid methods of payment. There are also various payment alternatives provided by other parties, such as nursing schools, businesses, and government bodies. There is no distinction between this form of payment and the one that was described before.

Telephone Application for the NCLEX

Make a Call

Call Pearson VUE’s NCLEX Candidate Services at 1.866.49NCLEX (1.866.496.2539) between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. CST Monday through Friday.

Pay with a Credit or Debit Card

Make sure you have your card on hand before contacting NCLEX Candidate Services in order to register for the exam. Information such as the card number, the name that is printed on the card, and the expiry date will be required by the representative. You have the option of using any of the following payment methods, including Debit/Credit/Visa/MasterCard, Prepaid/American Express, and VISA Electron while making a purchase.

Step 4: Confirmation of Registration

You should expect to get an enrollment confirmation email from Pearson VUE. After a candidate’s registration has been submitted, there is a grace period of 365 days during which the BON/RB may decide whether or not they are eligible.

Step 5: Obtaining Approval of Eligibility to Participate

You will be notified of your eligibility for licensure by the State Board of Nursing or Board of Registered Nursing (BON/RB) in the state in which you filed for a license to practice nursing.

Please bear in mind that in the event that the State Board of Nursing rejects your eligibility at any point within the 365-day validity period, you will be responsible for covering the cost of both the examination and the registration.

After being determined to be ineligible to take the NCLEX exam, you will not be able to re-register for the exam until the current registration has been voided for a period of 365 days. You are only allowed to sign up for one flavor of the NCLEX exam at a time. If you do this and then reapply before the previous registration has a chance to expire, the second application will be processed and rejected. In the event that this does take place, the money you paid for your second registration will be lost.

Step 6: Receiving ATT

After it has been determined that you are eligible, the ATT will be sent to the email address that you gave when you registered for it. You will not be able to extend the validity term of your ATT email for the exam in any way, shape, or form. The normal validity time for an ATT is ninety days. The name that appears on your ATT and the name that appears on the document that verifies your identification must be the same.

You are required to provide proof of a legally recognized name change at the testing venue on the day of the examination, regardless of whether or not the names match (such as a marriage certificate, divorce decree, or other court-approved documentation for a legal name change action). You are required to bring the original copies of all of these documents with you, and they must all be written in English.

If you haven’t received your ATT within two weeks after registering for the NCLEX-PN exam and receiving confirmation from Pearson VUE, you are required to call the toll-free number shown above for Pearson VUE as soon as possible.

Step 7: Making Arrangements for an Appointment

Making an appointment for the exam is the next step to take after receiving an invitation from ATT, which is the first step. There are two ways to begin the scheduling process: over the phone or online. However, due to the high volume of phone calls, it is strongly recommended that you use the Pearson VUE website to register or sign in before beginning the scheduling process.

You can begin the scheduling process over the phone or online. On this page, you may submit a request for the day, time, and testing location that you have chosen for your exam. You will need to provide your name, ATT number, and some kind of identification when you phone the NCLEX Candidate Services in order for them to verify your identity. You will also need to choose your chosen test dates, test locations, and time slots.

You may increase your chances of receiving the dates you wish to take your exam by calling ahead or making plans online in advance. If you wait until the invitation’s expiration date has passed, there is a chance that the testing centers will not be able to provide a seat for you at the very last minute. If anything like this happens, you could be compelled to pay for the test all over again and sign up for it again.

Confirmation of Appointment

After you have finished making arrangements for your session, Pearson VUE will email you a confirmation of your scheduled appointment. The usual norm is that test-takers who are taking the exam for the first time will be granted an appointment within 30 days of the exam date, while those who are taking the exam for a second time will be given 45 days.

In the event that the date you selected is not available, you will be offered the next open date that comes as close as feasible to your preferred date. If you are unable to keep the appointment at the time that was originally booked, you should make a request to reschedule the appointment no later than 30 or 45 days in the future.

Changing your appointment for the NCLEX

You may reschedule your NCLEX appointment by contacting Pearson VUE or by visiting the Pearson VUE website. Both of these options are available to you.

• People who wish to schedule their exam over the weekend (Saturday, Sunday, or Monday) should get in touch with the Pearson VUE NCLEX Candidate Services as early as possible but no later than Friday.

• If you wish to schedule a test for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, you need to get in touch with someone at least 24 hours in advance.

• Please be aware that the majority of businesses are closed on weekends and significant holidays. As a direct consequence of this, there is no use in making an appointment for one of these days.

Note: It is not required that a message be left on the answering machine in order for it to be considered a notification. As a result of this, it is imperative that you check to see whether Pearson VUE Candidate Services Agents have responded to your appointment request.

Step 8: The Big Day

The processes to be followed on the day of the NCLEX test have been summarized in the following essential points. Before the test, it is imperative that you carefully go through both of these materials, and that you show up to the testing facility well-prepared.

At the testing center, an ATT email address, as well as a valid form of identification, are required to be shown at least half an hour before the commencement of the exam (you are no longer supposed to carry a paper copy of ATT). If you are late for your exam by more than 30 minutes, you will not only lose your exam money but also be required to re-register for the test.

• If you bring any outerwear into the examination room with you, such as scarves, hats, jackets, or coats, you will be requested to remove it before continuing. This includes gloves. There are, however, exceptions made for attire associated with religious and cultural practices.

• A biometrics check, including a photograph, a signature, and a palm vein scan, is performed prior to the patient entering the examination room.

• You will have access to on-screen calculators as well as erasable note boards so that you may keep track of your mathematical calculations and jot down comments. You are not allowed to bring any additional paper or writing instruments into the CAT testing room with you.

• The NCLEX-PN exam has a time restriction of five hours for completion. There are two optional breaks and a short NCLEX lecture after the first two and a half hours of the exam, respectively.

• Because there is no way to go back and amend your response, you should give great consideration to each question before responding to it.
• At the end of the class, you will be given an opportunity to participate in a quick online survey that is fully automated. Raise your hand and wait for the administrator to respond before you are allowed to proceed with the next section of the exam. After being told to leave by the TA, you will be free to leave the room.
• You will get marks as you go through the exam; however, these grades do not represent your final results. In addition, Pearson VUE receives these scores for extra verification after they have been delivered. The location where the exam was taken will not be able to deliver the final result.

Please bear in mind that all of the documents, including the evidence that you have of your identification, have to be written in English. For candidates from other countries, the sole form of valid POI is a passport.

Understanding the Computerized Adaptive Testing

The efficiency of the NCLEX examination is enhanced by the use of a computer-administered test known as the CAT. It is based on a synthesis of modern measurement theory and principles derived from computer science. Utilizing technology allows for a more accurate assessment of a candidate’s ability to respond to queries.

This results in a lower total number of “tough questions” for candidates with lower levels of ability while simultaneously increasing the amount of challenge for candidates with higher levels of ability. When it comes to determining whether or not a candidate is qualified to work in nursing, the reliability and accuracy of the evaluation of their abilities can never be faulted.

The difficulty level of the next question will be recalculated by the computer depending on the answers that you have previously provided to the previous questions. Because you have a one-in-two shot of correctly answering this question, the method it has been asked has been designed to maximize that possibility. Each question would be prepared with the intention of obtaining the most precise appraisal possible of your capabilities.

How to prepare for the Exam

Candidates should take our NCLEX PN practice test in order to acquaint themselves with the format of the examination and get a feel for the question paper in order to be fully prepared for the real thing. These no-cost NCLEX-PN study resources cover a wide variety of subjects, some of which include Physiological Integrity, Psychological Integrity, and a Safe and Effective Care Environment. The majority of the questions are recycled from NCLEX-PN tests from previous years.

What to Do After the Exam

Even though the NCLEX test is done, you still have a lot of questions and worries regarding how it will be graded, how you will obtain your results, and how you may retake the test if you don’t pass it the first time. We have given an expedited service for the NCLEX results and answered all of these questions in order to provide you with an idea of what to anticipate after the exam.

NCLEX-PN Passing Standard

The passing requirements for the NCLEX are evaluated once every three years by the NCBSN Board of Directors. The NCBSN Board of Directors held a vote on the current passing criterion for the NCLEX-PN on April 1, 2014, and decided to maintain it at -0.21 logits. These passing criteria were originally announced in April 2014. This criterion, which must be fulfilled in order to pass, will remain in effect until the end of March 2020.

Pearson VUE’s NCLEX Results Process

As soon as you provide an answer to a question, your score will immediately be shown to you on the screen. However, the final result and score will not be disclosed at the location of the examination. Following that, Pearson VUE will do a second round of evaluations on your responses.

After a period of six weeks, your BON or RB will communicate to you the results of the official NCLEX-PN exam. If that period of time has passed and you still have not got your results, you need to get in touch with your BON as soon as possible. Candidates who are interested in learning the outcomes of their examinations should not contact either the Pearson VUE Candidate Services or your testing location.

The Procedure of Quick Results

The Quick Result Services are used by the majority of the states in the United States, with the exception of the states of Alabama, California, Delaware, and New Hampshire. After 48 hours have passed since the exam, you may visit the Pearson VUE website and pay the $7.95 fee to acquire your unofficial test results.

However, this will not assist you in obtaining your driver’s license in any way. You won’t be able to start the process of earning your practical nursing license until you have your BON verified results in hand. Applicants from other countries and those in Canada who are looking to become licensed are not eligible for this service.

Comprehensive Performance Report for Failed Candidates

Candidates who do not pass the NCLEX exam are given a CPR, which stands for a Candidate Performance Report. The Comprehensive Performance Report (CPR) is a two-page report card that details the applicant’s performance in each of the eight test plan subject areas in the event that they do not pass the NCLEX-PN exam.

The performance of the content areas is categorized according to whether they meet the underperforming, near-passing, or above-passing levels. The portion of the report titled “Below Passing Standard” will assist you in determining your weak spots, which are the areas on which you should focus your study time in order to improve your overall performance on the exam.

How to Re-Register for the NCLEX PN

NCSBN Retake Policy

According to the guidelines of the NCSBN, candidates have the opportunity to retake their examination within forty-five days after the day their test was administered. There must be at least 45 days that have passed since the last NCLEX test for a candidate before they are eligible to take it again. This is in conformity with the rules that have been established by the nursing governing organizations that are participating (NRBs).

This is only the case if the state or province in which you want to be licensed or registered limits the number of people who may take the NCLEX test each year. Candidates who are interested in learning more about NCLEX retakes are strongly encouraged to get in touch with the National Board for Certification in Nursing (NBCN).

Candidates Who Failed the NCLEX PN Test

You will get a Candidate Performance Report if you have been found to have failed the NCLEX exam (CPR). The CPR contains documentation of a candidate’s performance in each of the areas that are included in the test plan. In the event that a candidate does not pass the examination, they may make use of the CPR to prepare for further attempts.

NCLEX PN Retaking Process

In the event that you want to retake the NCLEX, the following steps need to be taken:

You are required to inform your External Link NRB that you want to retake the test. Find out whether there are any fees or documents that need to be submitted to the NRB.

• Make the necessary payment to re-register with Pearson VUE.

• Hold tight as we send your brand new AT&T.
• Schedule an appointment for the forthcoming exam that you have.

According to the guidelines established by the NCSBN, you are required to wait at least 45 days between each examination. The NRB will determine the amount of time that is indicated in the new ATT’s validity dates, and those dates will reflect the NRB’s decision.

How to apply for NCLEX PN? You’ve got the answer via this article. Let’s read carefully and schedule a suitable plan to successfully prepare and pass this exam.