What the NMC asks for after you pass OET: the registration steps in order

Passing OET feels like the finish line, and for many nurses it is the hardest single hurdle. It is not the last one. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) registers nurses trained outside the UK through a multi-step process, and your English language result is one piece of evidence inside it. This post sets out the usual order of those steps so you can plan the months after your result.

One thing before the list: the NMC changes its requirements from time to time, and the details below describe the general shape of the process rather than the current rules. Always confirm the exact requirements, grades, fees and time limits on nmc.org.uk before you act on anything here.

1. Check you are eligible and open an NMC Online account

The process starts with the NMC's own eligibility checks. You create an NMC Online account and answer questions about your qualification, where you trained, and your current registration. The NMC uses this to confirm that your training is comparable to a UK pre-registration programme and to tell you which route applies to you.

Do this early. Some nurses discover at this stage that they need extra evidence about their qualification, and it is better to find that out before you have booked anything else.

2. Your English language evidence

The NMC accepts OET as evidence of English language competence, alongside IELTS Academic and a small number of other routes. It publishes a minimum grade for each OET subtest, rules on whether two sittings can be combined, and a limit on how old the result can be when you apply.

Grade B is the figure most nurses aim for in every subtest, and for a long time it was the only accepted standard. The NMC has since published separate minimum grades per subtest, so read the current table rather than relying on what a colleague was told a year ago. If you are close to the line in one subtest, the combining rules matter, and they have conditions attached.

If you have not yet sat the test, the NMC's page is also the best guide to what you are actually preparing for.

3. Test of Competence, Part 1: the computer-based test

The Test of Competence has two parts. Part 1 is a computer-based test (CBT) that you can sit in your home country at an approved test centre. It has a numeracy section and a clinical section, both based on UK nursing practice and the NMC's standards of proficiency.

You can usually sit the CBT before or after your OET result, and many nurses do it first. The NMC sets a limit on the number of attempts and a period within which a pass remains valid, so check both before booking.

4. Submit the full application and supporting documents

With your eligibility confirmed, your English evidence in hand and the CBT passed, you submit the full application through NMC Online. The documents the NMC typically asks for include:

• proof of identity, usually a passport
• evidence of your nursing qualification and a transcript of your training
• confirmation of your current or most recent registration, often sent directly by that regulator
• declarations of health and good character, which may need to be supported by a referee
• any further documents the NMC requests for your specific route

There is an application fee at this stage. The NMC assesses your application and tells you whether you can proceed to Part 2. Verification of qualifications can take time, so chase your university and your home regulator early rather than late.

5. Test of Competence, Part 2: the OSCE

Part 2 is an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), sat in person at an approved test centre in the UK. It assesses clinical skills, communication and professional values in simulated scenarios. Most nurses sit it after arriving in the UK, often with their employer's support, and employers commonly give protected preparation time.

The NMC sets a time limit for completing the OSCE after your application is accepted, and a limit on attempts. Put both dates in your calendar on the day you receive your decision letter.

6. Registration and your PIN

Once every element is complete, you pay the registration fee and the NMC adds you to the register. Your PIN is the number employers check before you can practise as a registered nurse in the UK. Until it is issued you are not registered, whatever your contract says.

Keeping the order straight

In practice the sequence most nurses follow is: eligibility check, English language test, CBT, full application and documents, travel and OSCE, registration. Steps two and three can happen in either order, and some employers will recruit you before the OSCE. What cannot change is that every piece has a validity period, so the plan that works is the one where nothing expires while you wait for something else.

If OET is the step in front of you now, that is where Clodia helps: Writing and Speaking marked against the OET criteria, full Reading and Listening tests, and a plan built around your test date. Everything after the result is between you and the NMC.

Check the current rules. Requirements, grades, fees and time limits are set by the NMC and change. The authoritative source is nmc.org.uk, under registration for nurses and midwives trained outside the UK. This article is general information, not regulatory or immigration advice.