How Many Times Can You Take the NCLEX? 2026 Retake Rules

There is no lifetime limit set by NCSBN, the organization that owns the NCLEX. Its retake policy lets you take the exam up to eight times a year, with at least 45 test-free days between attempts, according to NCSBN's candidate pages on nclex.com. Your state board of nursing can be stricter: of the ten state rules we checked below, Louisiana allows four attempts within four years of graduation, and Colorado allows three attempts within three years before you must petition for a fourth.

The national rule: 45 days apart, up to eight times a year

NCSBN's results page states that candidates “can take the NCLEX eight times a year and there must be 45 test-free days between each examination,” and that some jurisdictions have stricter limits. Its post-exam brochure adds that once your board declares you eligible again, your new Authorization to Test (ATT) “will not be valid until the required number of days between examinations elapses.”

The two numbers are the same limit stated twice. A ninth attempt inside twelve months would need eight gaps of at least 45 test-free days plus the nine exam days, 369 days in all, which is more than a year. So the spacing rule, not a separate quota, is what caps you at eight.

A worked example: if you test on March 3, 2026, the 45 test-free days run from March 4 through April 17, 2026, so plan on April 18 or later. Your new ATT is not valid inside that window, and a board that sets a longer wait pushes the date further out.

States that add their own limits

NCSBN tells candidates to check with their board because “some jurisdictions have stricter limits.” The ten rules below are quoted from each state's nursing statute or board regulation (RN candidates, read September 27, 2026); the list covers the states whose rule text we could read in full, not every state. Some cap the number of attempts, some require a prep or remediation course after a set number of failures, and some put a clock on how long after graduation you can keep trying.

Two details change how you should plan. First, the clocks in Texas, Georgia, Michigan, Louisiana and Illinois keep running between attempts, so spacing retakes far apart can cost you eligibility even if you never reach an attempt cap. Second, Florida counts failures “regardless of the jurisdiction,” and Colorado counts attempts taken “in any state or territory of the United States, or foreign country,” so moving to another state does not reset the count there.

Your odds on a retake, from NCSBN's own numbers

NCSBN's 2024 examination statistics report that 50.9% of repeat, U.S.-educated NCLEX-RN candidates passed (16,313 of 32,030), against 91.2% of first-time, U.S.-educated candidates (170,256 of 186,760). For internationally educated candidates the figures were 36.4% on a repeat attempt and 53.8% on a first attempt.

Read the 50.9% carefully. The yearly total in NCSBN's table is the sum of four quarters, so a candidate who retook twice in 2024 is counted twice, and the table does not separate a second attempt from a fifth. It is an average across all retakes, not the odds for your next one. It still says something useful: roughly half of retakes pass, so a retake needs a different preparation plan, not the same one repeated. For the most recent first-time figure, see our NCLEX-RN pass rate article.

How to retake the NCLEX-RN, step by step

1. Get your official result from your board. NCSBN says official results come only from the board, within six weeks of the exam; where the board participates in Quick Results, unofficial results are available two business days after the exam for a fee.
2. Read your Candidate Performance Report. Candidates who do not pass receive this report, which NCSBN says “shows their areas of relative strength and weakness in the content areas of the NCLEX Test Plans.”
3. Ask your board what it needs for a retake. That can be a new application or fee, and in the states above a prep course, remediation or a petition.
4. Re-register with Pearson VUE and pay again. The NCLEX registration fee for U.S. licensure is $200, and NCSBN's FAQ states “the same fee applies to all NCLEX registrations, including retakes.” Registration fees are not refundable.
5. Wait for your new ATT and test within its dates. The ATT only becomes valid once the waiting period has passed, and NCSBN says candidates must test within the validity dates on the ATT email.

What changes on a retake, and what does not

The exam itself does not remember you. NCSBN's FAQ says “each exam attempt is independent. On a new attempt, the CAT process begins again, and item selection is based on the candidate's responses during that exam attempt.” A retake is not shorter or easier because you sat the exam before, and your previous score does not carry over.

What does change is the information you have. The Candidate Performance Report ranks your performance by test-plan content area, so it tells you where to spend the 45 days. Our NCLEX-RN study plan weights study weeks to the test plan, and the free NCLEX-RN practice test lets you drill the areas the report flags.

Eligibility rules that apply before the first attempt, such as education and application requirements, are covered in our NCLEX-RN requirements article.