Council Updates Timeline for Nursing License Re-examinations

The Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK) has declared new schedules to those who failed the August 2025 Licensure Examination and provided them with an opportunity to retake the test at the beginning of the next year.

The Council announced on the notice of Wednesday, November 5, that the re-sit would be conducted on between February 17 and 20, 2026.

The move, according to NCK, comes after thorough deliberation of the struggles of those who failed the pass mark in the last round.

Part of the statement explained that those who failed in the August 2025 Licensure Examination have been considered by the Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK) to re-take the examination between 17th and 20th February 2026.

The timeline of registration of the next examination was also described by the Council. The application window will open on the 10th of November 2025 and close on the 31st of December 2025, providing eligible candidates with an estimated two months to submit their applications.

The NCK urged individuals planning to rewrite the test to commence preparations early enough so that they would have a high probability of success.

The Council recommended that candidates should prepare in that manner and that significant revision is necessary before the February exams. The regulatory body also remarked that the information about the re-sit process and the special rules of application will be made available in the official communication channels of the Council, such as the website and the social media, during the next several weeks.

This was announced shortly after the release of results on the August 2025 Online Licensure Examination.

The Council had earlier in a communication, instructed the candidates to verify their results via the online portal of the NCK at usp.nckenya.go.ke.

Those who passed successfully were asked to log into the system and after that, they should have clicked on the Registration button and uploaded the necessary documents in order to complete their professional registration process.

Licensure Examination is the compulsory test that every nursing graduate in Kenya has to pass and only then be licensed to practise.

It is used as a way of determining competency because only qualified nurses can be authorized to enter the healthcare workforce.

Candidates who failed in August can have a chance to sit in February to re-write and attain the required standards, and become full-fledged members of the nursing profession.

The NCK restated that it would assist the candidates in transparent procedures and timely communication.

The Council also advised potential applicants to continue visiting its official sources in case of any changes or clarifications regarding the re-sit such as examination centers, payment information, and examination guidelines.

Offering an additional testing opportunity, the Nursing Council strives to maintain professionalism and also provide deserving applicants with one more opportunity to receive licensure and benefit the Kenyan healthcare system.