Failed the NCK Exam? Resits, Rules and How to Pass Next Time

You are allowed up to four resits

The Nursing Council of Kenya allows a maximum of four resit attempts at the licensure exam. You must satisfy the Board of Examiners in each paper before you can be registered and licensed, so treat every paper as one you have to pass on its own.

Because the requirement is per paper, focus your energy on the area you came up short in rather than starting from scratch, but confirm the exact resit rules for your cadre with the NCK and your training institution.

How resits are scheduled

The NCK announces a resit window after each examination series. For example, candidates who were unsuccessful in the August 2025 series were offered a resit in February 2026, with applications submitted through their training institutions in the weeks before.

Watch the NCK online services portal and the council's official channels for your series' resit dates, and make sure your institution submits your application before the deadline.

Why candidates fail, and how to fix it

Most fails come down to a handful of avoidable causes:

• Revising from notes only, without practising real exam-style questions.
• Weak multiple-choice technique, knowing the content but misreading what the question asks.
• Going in unsure of the format and running out of time.
• Neglecting weak subjects and over-revising comfortable ones.

A six-week retake plan

A simple structure that works for a resit:

• Weeks 1-2: work through past papers for your weakest subjects, reading every explanation.
• Weeks 3-4: timed multiple-choice practice to fix technique and pace.
• Week 5: revisit the questions you got wrong, plus a full mixed set across both papers.
• Week 6: light spaced-repetition review of high-yield topics, no cramming the night before.

Frequently asked questions