Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) is the body that regulates Nigerian nurses and midwives.
It oversees the entrance requirements into ACCREDITED NURSING SCHOOLS, sets the professional exam and keeps the register that employers check before hiring.
If you’re an aspirant, a student or graduate nurse seeking license, read this NMCN exam guide from eligibility and how to apply, to exam format, past questions and dates, result checking, licensing and what to do if you fail.
NMCN overview
- NMCN exam is mandatory before you can register and practise as a nurse or midwife in Nigeria.
- Applications go through your nursing school and the NMCN portal, not by yourself.
- The exam has a CBT, an oral and a practical.
- After passing, you pay for registration and licensing within 90 days of the result release or face a penalty.
What the NMCN does
The council regulates nursing and midwifery education and practice in Nigeria.
It accredits training institutions, conducts the licensing exams and registers licensed practitioners.
NMCN HEADQUARTERS is in Abuja.
If you haven’t passed the exam, you can’t legally practise.
Who sits the NMCN exam
The exam covers several programs:
- Basic General Nursing (Registered Nurse)
- Basic Midwifery
- Post Basic specialty programmes, such as Public Health, Paediatric and Psychiatric nursing
- Community Nursing
- Foreign Trained Nurses (FTN), who sit a separate qualifying route
Each program has its own sitting during the year:
| Program | Usual sitting |
|---|---|
| Midwifery | March and September |
| General Nursing | May |
| General and Post Basic Nursing | November |
Eligibility to apply
To sit the exam you must:
- have completed your program at an NMCN-ACCREDITED INSTITUTION.
- have passed your school’s final or hospital exam.
- be indexed with the council and hold an index number.
- be put forward by your institution within its deadline.
How to apply for NMCN exam
Your school plays a central role.
It submits the Exam Application Checklist (EAC) to the council before deadline, months before the sitting.
Late schools face penalties.
- Complete indexing and get your index number.
- Log in to NMCN portal and open the Examination tab.
- Select the correct route: Fresh Basic, Fresh Post Basic, Resit Basic or Resit Post Basic.
- Upload your documents and submit. Applications can’t be edited once submitted, so check every detail.
- Pay the examination fees and keep your receipt.
See NMCN EXAM REGISTRATION and NMCN FEES for the current steps and amounts.
Documents you will need
- A passport photograph
- Your O’Level certificate or result
- Your birth certificate or declaration of age
Resize your scans before uploading because the portal sets file size limits.
NMCN exam format
During exam week, the schedule often run like this:
| Day | Activity |
|---|---|
| Tuesday and Wednesday | Computer-Based Test (CBT) |
| Thursday | Oral examination (and Paper 3 for some post basic programmes) |
| Friday | Practical examination |
The written papers combine objective and essay questions, while the practical is conducted as a timed station-based clinical assessment.
NMCN exam centres and offices
Candidates write at venues assigned by their institution, often at universities and approved sites.
You don’t choose your own centre.
Check your slip and your school for your allocation.
Contact the council through its Abuja headquarters and its official portal for enquiries, applications and complaints
How to check NMCN result
Results are approved by the council, then released.
Heads of nursing institutions check their school’s results on NMCN application portal, so ask your school for your outcome first.
Complaints about results are time-limited.
Past notices set the deadline at 30 days from the result release, so raise any issue fast through your institution.
- See HOW TO CHECK NMCN RESULT
NMCN pass rates
The May 2026 examination had 11,835 successful candidates, an overall pass rate of 69%:
| Programme | Pass rate |
|---|---|
| General Nursing | 70% |
| Post Basic Nursing | 72% |
| Community Nursing | 58% |
| Foreign Trained Nursing | 52% |
General Nursing had 9,906 successful candidates, Post Basic 775, Community Nursing 846 and Foreign Trained 308.
Pass rates vary between sittings. Treat these as a guide, not a prediction.
NMCN registration and licensing
Passing the exam doesn’t make you a licensed nurse. You must register and license through NMCN portal.
- Complete online registration and pay your fees within 90 days of the result release.
- A late-registration penalty applies after that window.
- You then receive your professional ID number and certificate of registration.
See NMCN REGISTRATION AND LICENSING.
If you fail NMCN exam
Failing is not the end, but attempts are limited.
Resit candidates apply through the Resit Basic or Resit Post Basic route and pay again.
There are no rules on the maximum number of resit attempt nor any mandatory tutorial period after repeated failure.
Just remember that every resit requires a new payment, which can be expensive on the long run.
And even more expensive is the constant waste of time.
- See NMCN RESIT GUIDE
Foreign-trained nurses
Nurses trained outside Nigeria go through the council’s verification and qualifying process, including a separate exam.
Pass rates for this group is lower than for local candidates, so prepare harder.
- See FOREIGN-TRAINED NURSES GUIDE
How to prepare for NMCN exam
Start early and practise in the same format as the real exam.
Our NMCN PAST QUESTIONS and CBT PRACTICE cover all subjects, and the NMCN STUDY PACK brings the material together.
Pair them with NMCN SYLLABUS and your school notes.
Practise under timed conditions as the CBT stage comes, and rehearse your clinicals for the practical.
When is the next NMCN exam?
The council sits Midwifery in March and September, General Nursing in May, and General and Post Basic Nursing in November
All usually on the first or second Tuesday of the month.
Always confirm with your school, because the council announces details by notice.
- See NMCN RN/RM EXAM DATES
Frequently asked questions
No. Your nursing institution must put you forward and submit its Exam Application Checklist by the council’s deadline.
You then complete your own application on the NMCN portal. If your school misses the deadline, you may be unable to sit that exam.
You have 90 days from the result release to complete online registration and pay your fees.
After that, a late penalty applies.
Start as soon as results are out, and keep your payment receipts.
The written stage is computer based and takes place early in the exam week.
The oral and practical stages follow in-person.
Practise on a computer, not only on paper.
Detailed NMCN guide
The topics below follow the real nursing journey.
- Choosing an NMCN-accredited school
- Entrance exam preparation
- Gaining admission
- NMCN professional exam prep
- Result checking
- NMCN fees
- Certificate of registration
- License renewal
Still choosing where to study? Start with the DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NURSING SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY NURSING
Preparing for admission? See NURSING SCHOOL ENTRANCE EXAM QUESTIONS.
And if you’re preparing for your exams already, jump to NMCN PAST QUESTIONS & ANSWERS plus e-Notes.
Click any topic below to see the full guide.
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