The REx-PN exam, explained: format, scoring and the 2027 changes.

What is the REx-PN exam?

The Regulatory Exam for Practical Nurses (REx-PN) is the registration exam for practical nurses in two provinces. The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) uses it for Registered Practical Nurses, and BCCNM uses it for Licensed Practical Nurses in British Columbia. NCSBN, which also runs the NCLEX, develops it, and you write it at a Pearson VUE test centre in English or French.

The REx-PN replaced the Canadian Practical Nurse Registration Exam (CPNRE) in both provinces on 4 January 2022. Practical nurses in most other provinces still write the CPNRE. Your education decides whether you write the REx-PN or the NCLEX-RN: a practical nursing diploma leads to the REx-PN. Our guide to the NCLEX-RN vs REx-PN explains how CNO decides.

How many questions are on the REx-PN?

Between 90 and 150. Every candidate gets 4 hours, however many questions they see, and the 4 hours include the tutorial, the sample items and all breaks. Two optional breaks are offered, after about 2 hours and after about 3.5 hours, and the clock keeps running during both.

• 30 questions are unscored. They are pretest items that NCSBN is trying out, and they look exactly like the scored ones.
• You cannot go back. Once you press NEXT, the answer is final, and every question must be answered before the next one appears.
• Most questions are multiple choice. The rest are multiple response (select all that apply), fill-in-the-blank calculations, exhibits with a client chart behind tabs, and graphics. An on-screen calculator is provided.
• Partial credit. Since January 2026, multiple-response questions earn partial credit. Questions with one correct answer are scored right or wrong.

What does the REx-PN test plan cover?

NCSBN's test plan divides the exam into eight client needs areas, each with a fixed share of the questions. The ranges below are from the 2027 test plan, and they are the same in the plan used until the end of 2026. The only change is a name: Safety and Infection Control became Safety and Infection Prevention and Control.

Management of Care and Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies together make up about 32 to 44% of the exam, so they deserve the most study time. The test plan, free on the REx-PN website, lists the nursing activities each area tests.

How is the REx-PN scored, and what is the passing score?

There is no passing percentage and no number of correct answers to reach. The REx-PN is adaptive: after each answer the computer estimates your ability and picks the next question to match it. You pass if your ability is at or above the passing standard, a point on NCSBN's ability scale measured in logits. The exam stops in one of three ways:

1. The 95% confidence rule. The most common ending. The exam stops once the computer is 95% certain your ability is clearly above or clearly below the passing standard.
2. The maximum-length rule. If you reach 150 questions, the result depends on your final ability estimate.
3. The run-out-of-time rule. If time runs out before you have answered the minimum number of questions, you fail. Otherwise the result depends on your final ability estimate.

The passing standard is −0.32 logits for exams up to 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027 it is −0.09 logits, approved in September 2026 by the REx-PN's Practical Nurse Exam Committee, which is made up of the Ontario and BC regulators. A higher standard means you have to show a higher level of ability to pass. The length of your exam says nothing about the result: you can pass or fail at 90 questions or at 150.

What changes on the REx-PN in 2027?

The date of your exam decides which version you write.

NCSBN repeats the practice survey every five years and the passing standard is reviewed with it, so the 2027 standard runs until 31 December 2031.

How do I book the REx-PN?

There are no fixed exam dates. You book your own appointment once you are eligible:

1. Apply to your regulator. In Ontario that is CNO, through its online portal. If you trained outside Canada, your education is assessed first: see NNAS or a credential assessment.
2. Register with Pearson VUE and pay $350 CAD, plus local tax. Use the same name as on your CNO application and your ID. If the name on your ID does not match your registration, you are turned away on exam day and must pay again.
3. Wait for your Authorization to Test (ATT). Your regulator makes you eligible, then Pearson VUE emails the ATT. Your regulator sets how long it is valid, 90 days on average, and it cannot be extended.
4. Schedule your appointment. First-time candidates are offered a date within 30 days. You can write at any Pearson VUE centre in Canada, or at an international centre for an extra $150 CAD plus any local tax.

Fees are not refunded. To reschedule, give at least one full business day's notice; for a Saturday, Sunday or Monday exam, that means by Friday. Missing an appointment without notice costs the full fee. Your registration stays open for 365 days while your regulator decides your eligibility.

When do REx-PN results come out?

Not at the test centre. Only your regulator releases results. CNO sends them through its portal within a week, BCCNM by email, and NCSBN says to allow up to six weeks before contacting your regulator.

If you do not pass, your regulator also sends a Candidate Performance Report. It shows how many questions you answered and how you did in each test plan area, which tells you where to focus next.

How many times can you take the REx-PN?

You need at least 60 test-free days between attempts, which allows up to 6 attempts a year. CNO and BCCNM set no limit on the total. A repeat exam never shows you a question you have already seen, and each attempt is a new $350 registration. Our guide to passing after a failed attempt explains how to read the performance report and plan the next try.

How should I prepare for the REx-PN?

Start with the free official material on the REx-PN website:

• The exam preview: 125 questions in English or French. They will never appear on a real exam, and the preview is not scored, so it shows the style without predicting a result.
• The candidate tutorial: a walk through Pearson VUE's exam software and the question types.
• The test plan: every area and the activities it covers.

Then study in proportion to the test plan, practise select-all-that-apply and dosage calculations under time, and sit full-length timed mocks. Four hours for up to 150 questions leaves under 1.6 minutes a question, because breaks come out of the same 4 hours.

The 12-Week Comprehensive Review Program prepares practical nurses for the REx-PN with weekly tests and one-to-one evaluations. If you have already written it and not passed, the 4-Week Retaker Program starts from your performance report.