What is the Nurse Licensure Examination?
The Philippine Nurse Licensure Examination (NLE) is the board exam every nursing graduate must pass to become a registered nurse. It is given by the PRC Board of Nursing under RA 9173, the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002. To pass you need a general average of at least 75%, with no subject below 60%.
The exam format
| Papers | Five papers, Nursing Practice I to V, each with 100 items |
|---|---|
| Item style | Situation-based: each paper has 20 clinical situations with 5 questions each, under the Board of Nursing's competency-based framework |
| Passing | General average of at least 75%, with no rating below 60% in any subject (RA 9173, Section 15) |
| Who may take it | Holders of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from a recognised school who are of good moral character and are Filipino citizens, or citizens of a country with reciprocity (RA 9173, Section 13) |
| Recent results | February 2026: 8,162 examinees, with 3,611 successful |
What the exam covers
- Nursing Practice I: community health nursing, including the National Immunization Program, IMCI, TB and dengue control, vital statistics and family nursing.
- Nursing Practice II: care of the mother and child, from prenatal care and labour to the newborn, child growth and common childhood illnesses.
- Nursing Practice III and IV: medical-surgical nursing, including perioperative care, oxygenation, fluids and electrolytes, endocrine, gastrointestinal and renal disorders, and nutrition.
- Nursing Practice V: care of clients with maladaptive patterns of behaviour (psychiatric nursing) and critical and emergency care.
- Across all papers: fundamentals of nursing, pharmacology and dosage calculation, ethics and the Philippine Nursing Act.
Free official resources, and what we add
The PRC publishes the exam schedule, requirements and results, and RA 9173 is freely available online. The DOH publishes its programme guidelines, such as the immunisation schedule and IMCI. The PRC does not publish a practice bank. This pack gives you 107 original NLE-style situational questions covering every Nursing Practice paper, with an explanation and source for every answer, so you can find and fix weak areas before the real exam.
How to prepare
- Start with the free 5-question sample to see the question style.
- Practise one Nursing Practice area at a time and read every explanation, including for the questions you got right.
- Learn the priority rules: airway, breathing and circulation first, then safety, then comfort.
- Memorise the numbers that come up again and again: normal lab values, vital signs, the immunisation schedule and drug antidotes.
- Do the computations by hand: drip rates, dosages, APGAR, Parkland and vital statistics.
- Take timed mock exams in the final weeks to build speed and stamina for five papers.
Practice questions with answers
Tap a question to see the correct answer and explanation.
During a home visit, which action follows correct bag technique?
- Set the bag on a clean surface lined with paper and wash hands before opening it
- Put the bag on the floor beside the patient's bed, open, so that every item stays within easy reach
- Take out every item at once and lay them all on the client's bed so they are ready
- Skip handwashing before the procedure because gloves will be worn
Answer: A, Set the bag on a clean surface lined with paper and wash hands before opening it. The bag is placed on a clean, protected surface (lined with paper or a clean cloth), and the nurse washes hands before handling the contents and again after care. This prevents carrying infection from one household to another. The floor and the bed are not clean work areas. Source: DOH public health nursing procedure on the bag technique.
At about what age of gestation does the fundus usually reach the level of the umbilicus?
- 20 weeks
- 12 weeks
- 16 weeks
- 28 weeks
Answer: A, 20 weeks. The fundus is just above the symphysis pubis at about 12 weeks, midway at about 16 weeks, and at the umbilicus at about 20 weeks. Source: standard maternity nursing assessment (fundal height landmarks).
Who is responsible for explaining a surgical procedure, its risks and alternatives, and obtaining the patient's informed consent?
- The staff nurse assigned to the patient on the day of surgery
- The anaesthesiologist only
- The patient's nearest relative, who signs on the patient's behalf
- The surgeon who will perform the operation
Answer: D, The surgeon who will perform the operation. The surgeon performing the procedure explains it and obtains informed consent. The nurse may witness the signature and checks that the patient understands, but does not carry the duty to explain the surgery. Source: standard perioperative nursing practice on informed consent.