NCLEX-PN vs NCLEX-RN
Same format and scoring · different test plan and scope
85 questions including three unfolding case studies, scored the NCSBN way, with a report by client-needs category.
Or start with a free drillA nurse is reinforcing incentive spirometer use. Which statement by the client shows correct technique?
Same exam engine, different nurse
Both exams are computer adaptive, run 85 to 150 items in five hours, include three case studies and 15 unscored pretest items, and use the same scoring rules and retake policy. What differs is the nurse they license. The NCLEX-PN tests the licensed practical/vocational nurse, who collects data, gives care, reinforces teaching and reports under the direction of an RN or health care provider. In 2025, 68,996 candidates took the NCLEX-PN and 77.3% passed; 86.6% of first-time U.S.-educated PN candidates passed.
- Length and time
- Both: 85 to 150 items, 5 hours
- Largest category
- PN: Coordinated Care, 18–24% · RN: Management of Care, 15–21%
- Medications
- PN: Pharmacological Therapies, 10–16% · RN: Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies, 13–19%
- Fee
- Both: $200 until January 31, 2027; $350 from February 1, 2027
The test plans side by side
- Coordinated Care (PN 18–24%) replaces Management of Care (RN 15–21%): the practical nurse assigns tasks to assistive personnel, prioritizes and reports, while the RN delegates, supervises and manages the plan of care.
- Safety and Infection Prevention and Control is 10–16% on both exams, and Health Promotion and Maintenance is 6–12% on both.
- Psychosocial Integrity is larger on the PN exam (9–15% against 6–12%), and so is Basic Care and Comfort (7–13% against 6–12%).
- Pharmacological Therapies (PN 10–16%) covers the routes and infusions an LPN/VN manages; the RN category adds parenteral therapies (13–19%).
- Reduction of Risk Potential is 9–15% on both; Physiological Adaptation is smaller on the PN exam (7–13% against 11–17%).
Sit the full exam under the real clock
85 questions including three unfolding case studies, scored the NCSBN way, with a report by client-needs category.
Or start with a free drillHow PN questions read differently
The PN test plan’s verbs are collect, monitor, reinforce, contribute, assist and report. A PN question about a new symptom usually asks what data to collect and what to report, not which diagnosis to make. A teaching question asks which statement shows the client understood the teaching the RN or provider gave. A delegation question asks what to assign to assistive personnel and what to bring to the RN.
If you studied from RN materials, retrain one habit: an option that has the practical nurse perform an initial assessment, write the plan of care, start a blood transfusion or give an IV push medication is wrong on the PN exam, however sound the clinical idea behind it.
Moving from PN to RN later
Many practical nurses go on to an RN program. The RN exam keeps the same format and case studies but adds the RN’s scope: initial assessment, delegation and supervision, initial teaching, IV medications and parenteral therapies, and a larger share of acute physiological care. Our NCLEX-RN practice pages are built the same way as these PN pages.
Common questions
Is the NCLEX-PN easier than the NCLEX-RN?
It tests a different scope at the same entry level. In 2025, 86.6% of first-time U.S.-educated NCLEX-PN candidates passed, against 86.7% for the NCLEX-RN, so first-time candidates pass both at nearly the same rate. Repeat U.S.-educated candidates passed the PN at 41.7% and the RN at 52.7%.
Do the NCLEX-PN and NCLEX-RN have the same number of questions?
Yes. Both run 85 to 150 items in five hours, with three six-item case studies and 15 unscored pretest items. Both stop when the computer is 95% certain of the result.
Can I switch from the NCLEX-PN to the NCLEX-RN after registering?
Your nursing regulatory body decides which exam you are eligible for. Pearson VUE charges $50 to change the exam type (RN/PN) after registration for U.S. licensure.
85 questions including three unfolding case studies, scored the NCSBN way, with a report by client-needs category.
Or start with a free drillMore NCLEX-PN guides
- NCLEX-PN Coordinated Care Practice Questions
- NCLEX-PN Safety and Infection Control Practice Questions
- NCLEX-PN Health Promotion Practice Questions
- NCLEX-PN Psychosocial Integrity Practice Questions
- NCLEX-PN Basic Care and Comfort Practice Questions
- NCLEX-PN Pharmacology Practice Questions
- NCLEX-PN Reduction of Risk Potential Practice Questions
- NCLEX-PN Physiological Adaptation Practice Questions
- NCLEX-PN Next Generation case studies
- Retaking the NCLEX-PN
- Studying for the NCLEX-RN instead? RN practice test
- NCLEX-PN practice exam (85 items)
Sources
- NCSBN: 2026 NCLEX-PN Test Plan (effective April 1, 2026)
- NCLEX.com: Test plans
- NCSBN: NCLEX Candidate Bulletin (October 2025): fees, retake policy, exam length and breaks
- NCSBN: NCLEX registration fee change effective February 1, 2027
- NCSBN: 2025 NCLEX Examination Statistics (NCLEX-PN volumes, pass rates and test length)
- NCLEX.com FAQs: partial-credit scoring (plus/minus, zero/one, rationale)
- NCSBN: Candidate Performance Report
Original practice questions for exam preparation, written to the 2026 NCLEX-PN Test Plan. Independent practice, not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) or Pearson VUE. NCLEX and NCLEX-PN are registered trademarks of NCSBN.