NCLEX · Pass rates
NCLEX pass rates 2025: who passed, by candidate type
The number now
86.7%
NCLEX-RN pass rate for first-time candidates educated in the United States, calendar year 2025
Cohort: First-time, U.S.-educated NCLEX-RN candidates for U.S. licensure
Period: Calendar year 2025 (January 1 – December 31, 2025)
192,916 tested · 167,272 passed
Last verified Oct 13, 2026 · Source: NCSBN, 2025 NCLEX® Examination Statistics, Table 1 (RN) and Table 12 (PN).
These are official group figures, copied by hand from the source shown and checked on the date shown. They describe past candidates, not your chances. Always confirm fees and rules with the official organization before you pay.
NCLEX-RN, candidates for U.S. licensure, 2025
| Candidate type | Tested | Passed | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-time, U.S.-educated | 192,916 | 167,272 | 86.7% |
| Repeat, U.S.-educated | 42,513 | 22,404 | 52.7% |
| First-time, internationally educated | 52,827 | 24,999 | 47.3% |
| Repeat, internationally educated | 40,187 | 12,271 | 30.5% |
| All candidates | 328,443 | 226,946 | 69.1% |
Last verified Oct 13, 2026 · Source: NCSBN, 2025 NCLEX® Examination Statistics, Table 1 (RN) and Table 12 (PN).
Same numbers as the table above. “All candidates” (69.1%, 328,443 tested) is NCSBN's own published aggregate — we never average cohorts ourselves.
First-time, U.S.-educated RN: quarter by quarter
The largest cohort, split into the four quarters of 2025. Quarters move with who sits the exam, not with the exam itself.
| Quarter | Tested | Passed | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q1 | 52,891 | 46,743 | 88.4% |
| 2025 Q2 | 68,091 | 60,663 | 89.1% |
| 2025 Q3 | 51,806 | 43,529 | 84.0% |
| 2025 Q4 | 20,128 | 16,337 | 81.2% |
First-time, U.S.-educated RN: by program type
| Program type | Tested | Passed | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baccalaureate | 100,258 | 87,814 | 87.6% |
| Associate degree | 89,549 | 77,061 | 86.1% |
| Diploma | 2,671 | 2,226 | 83.3% |
NCLEX-PN, 2025
| Candidate type | Tested | Passed | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-time, U.S.-educated | 54,818 | 47,470 | 86.6% |
| Repeat, U.S.-educated | 13,342 | 5,558 | 41.7% |
| First-time, internationally educated | 397 | 213 | 53.7% |
| Repeat, internationally educated | 439 | 121 | 27.6% |
| All candidates | 68,996 | 53,362 | 77.3% |
The internationally educated PN cohorts are small — a few hundred candidates — so those two percentages are easy to over-read.
What the official body does not publish
- Pass rates for individual nursing schools — the report gives national figures by candidate type only; state boards of nursing decide what they publish about schools.
- A single pass rate that mixes RN and PN candidates — none exists in the source, and we do not compute one.
What changed
Oct 13, 2026
Wave 2 added this page with the full 2025 figures, checked by hand against the NCSBN report (Table 1 for RN, Table 12 for PN). The report's historical figures go back to April 1994, when computer-adaptive testing began; this page shows 2025 only.
Mar 1, 2027
Next scheduled check — the 2026 edition of the statistics report is expected around then.
How to read these numbers
A pass rate is a group figure: it describes what happened to everyone in a category last year, not your odds this year. Your own preparation, study hours and test-day condition are not in these tables.
The cohort labels are NCSBN's own. “First-time” means the first attempt; “repeat” covers everyone on a later attempt, whatever the reason. “U.S.-educated” and “internationally educated” describe where the nursing education happened, not where the candidate lives now.
The 69.1% all-candidates figure is NCSBN's own total, and we show it because the source does. It puts first-time and repeat candidates from both education groups together, so it is not the rate a first-time candidate faces.
Use the rates to set expectations, then build the thing that actually changes your result: a plan you can keep. The planner below turns your exam date and real weekly hours into a week-by-week schedule.