UK Nurse application process

Applicants must submit their application to become registered nurses or midwives on NMC website. Please note, before deciding to apply, applicants should consider if they meet the general and specific requirements as described below.

Eligibility

Applicants must complete a self-assessment of their eligibility to apply prior to beginning the application process. They must declare that they meet all of the minimum requirements including good health and good character. They must also confirm that they understand that they must provide supporting evidence of these declarations during the assessment stage of the process. If an applicant confirms the declarations and cannot provide evidence at the assessment stage, their application will not be progressed and their assessment fee cannot be refunded.

Test of competence – part one

Once applicants have passed the eligibility assessment, they will be asked to sit the first part of the test of competence. This will be a computer-based test of theoretical practice-based knowledge. The test format will be multiple choice and can be taken in test centers around the world. Applicants have two attempts at the test. If an applicant fails to achieve the required minimum score after both attempts, they must wait six months in order to restart the application process.

The test provider, Pearson VUE, will administer their own test fee in agreement with us. Applicants will need to contact Pearson VUE directly to book and pay for their tests.

Try the Test.

Assessment

Applicants will need to provide the following evidence in order for us to complete an assessment.

• a valid passport – this same document must also be presented at the test center
• birth certificate
• a qualification certificate for each qualification being submitted as part of the application.
• registration certificates from each jurisdiction where the applicant has practiced and/or been registered – in the applicant’s country operates state registration, they will need to have registered in each state where they practised.
• Two employment references confirming the applicant’s post-registration practice of at least 12 months, their competence and character.
• Verifications from all jurisdictions where the applicant practised or where the applicant has been previously registered.
• Transcript of training for all relevant nursing or midwifery programmes completed by the applicant. These must be calculated in hours or be accompanied by a letter from the training institution with a key to how the credits translate to hours.
• A good health declaration from the applicant’s general practitioner or the occupational health department at their place of work.
• For every overseas country in which they have lived for more than three months, they will need to provide a police clearance certificate. If they have lived in the UK for more than three months, they will need to provide us with a standard level Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate.

All of the relevant forms required are available to download from our website once the applicant reaches the assessment stage, but not before. The applicant must send the relevant forms to the correct authorities to be completed and they must be posted back to us. We require the original forms that the referee or relevant body has completed. Uploads or copies of those forms cannot be accepted. All forms must be completed in full and be signed, stamped and dated.

Once all the evidence has been submitted, an assessment officer will review the full application to ensure that it meets the requirements for registration. Providing all documents are correct and the criteria are met, the application will be progressed to the next stage.

Where further information is required from the applicant and provided separately, a full new assessment and decision will be conducted. This allows the complete application to be reassessed in its entirety to ensure that all documents are consistent. Timescales of applications vary and some will take longer if the correct documents are not included with the initial application.