OET Scores Required by NMC, AHPRA, GMC, ECFMG and Other Regulators (2026)

The table first: every regulator on one screen

Each regulator sets its own OET minimum per sub-test, its own rule on combining two sittings, its own list of accepted test modes and its own validity period. There is no overall OET score and no shared "pass mark", so the only honest answer to "what OET score do I need" is a table. The rows below are taken from the regulator pages we read on 19 and 20 October 2026; the GMC and ECFMG pages refused plain fetches but answered a browser-agent read on 20 October, and the TruMerit score table, published as an image, was read on 20 October 2026, so every row is verified. Scores are on the 0 to 500 scale explained on our results and grades page, where B is 350 to 440 and C+ is 300 to 340.

NMC (UK nurses and midwives)

The NMC OET page states the minimum as "at least grade B (350 or above) for reading, listening, and speaking" and "at least grade C+ (300 or above) for writing". It adds that "all applicants should choose the Nursing examination from the list of OET Professions versions", which applies to midwives and nursing associates too. The NMC accepts "the OET on Paper, OET on Computer, and OET@Home test", and if you combine, "we can accept OET@Home combined with OET on Paper or OET on Computer".

Combining two sittings

Paragraph 11 of the NMC language requirements guidance sets four conditions. You can meet the scores "across two sittings of the same test"; you "cannot combine OET and IELTS"; the two sittings must be "within twelve months of each other"; and you "must have been tested in all four sections both times". Across the two you need B in Reading, Listening and Speaking and C+ in Writing at least once, and "you must not score below grade C+ (300-340) for listening, reading, and speaking, or below grade C (250-290) for writing, in either of the two test sittings". The NMC page shows worked examples and offers a combining calculator; the example it rejects is a candidate with a Listening score below C+ in one sitting.

The narrow miss

Paragraph 12 of the same guidance is the clause nobody else quotes. "If you have taken the test twice and missed one of the required scores by no more than 0.5 (IELTS) or no more than half a grade (OET), you can supplement your test scores with additional supporting information from your employer." The employer must be able to speak to your clinical English; the guidance describes the form that information takes. It is a route for a nurse sitting at 340 in one sub-test after two attempts, not a substitute for the test.

Validity and verification

Paragraph 10: "you must have achieved the required scores within the last two years at the point we consider your complete application". To verify, the NMC page says you "provide your OET certificate and candidate number", both certificates if you are using two tests, and that you must have "given permission for us to verify your OET results before you submit your application through your MyOET account, otherwise this may delay your application".

AHPRA (Australia): the 23 April 2026 change

AHPRA's accepted English language tests page now carries two OET tables, split by test date. The English language skills standard confirms that "changes to the minimum scores required are in effect from 23 April 2026" and that the standard "does not apply to students but does apply to graduates and anyone seeking registration in Australia for the first time".

Three things to notice. First, the new table is written in numbers, not letters, so the grade on your Statement of Results is not the test; 350 in Reading is a B and still fails the new AHPRA minimum. Second, Writing went up from C+ (300) to 350, a full grade. Third, combining is still allowed, "a maximum of two test sittings in a 12-month period" with "all four components in each sitting", and the floors are now numeric too. The modes column of the AHPRA table reads "on paper or computer based in testing centre"; OET@Home is not listed. On validity, the page says results are generally valid for two years before you lodge your application, with exceptions for continuous registered practice or study in English.

Nursing and midwifery applicants should note that the AHPRA standard page points to the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia's own page for its wording; the NMBA page blocked our fetch this week, so we rely on the AHPRA table, which says that all National Boards except the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board accept the same tests and the same minimum scores.

GMC (UK doctors)

The GMC's guidance chapter Using your OET certificate, read on 20 October 2026, lists five conditions. The certificate must show that you "took the medicine version of the test", "achieved at least a grade B in each testing area (speaking, listening, reading and writing)", "achieved those grades in the same test", "obtained the grades in your most recent sitting of the test", and that "it shows your candidate number". The same chapter says the GMC accepts "OET on paper, OET on computer, OET@Home", which makes the GMC more open on modes than AHPRA or the NMBI. To use the scores for PLAB 1 you enter them in GMC Online under My Tests, and the GMC asks you to select the General Medical Council as a recognising organisation in your OET account so it can verify them, which it says can take up to two working days.

Validity, and the PLAB 2 extension

"OET certificates are valid for two years." If you are taking PLAB, the certificate "must be valid on the day you sit PLAB part 1"; if you are applying for registration, "it must be valid when we approve your application". A certificate over two years old is not dead: the chapter says the GMC "may be able to extend the validity of your certificate based on your PLAB pass" if the certificate is less than three years old when the registration application is received and PLAB 2 was passed less than three months before that date. Failing that, it may consider references covering at least three months of full-time study or work in a country where English is the first and native language within the last two years.

The IELTS alternative, from the sister chapter Using your IELTS certificate, is the Academic test with "at least 7.0 in each testing area and an overall score of at least 7.5", again in the same and most recent sitting; the GMC accepts an IELTS One Skill Retake pass once, within 60 days of a computer-delivered full test. OET has no equivalent single-paper route at the GMC.

What follows for doctors on the PLAB route: there is no combining, no single sub-test retake, and no C+ anywhere. A 340 in Writing means the whole test again. OET's 2025 demographic data (next section) shows Medicine candidates clearing each sub-test at between 78 and 93 per cent, so for most doctors the realistic preparation question is which one of the four is the weak paper. Our doctors' role-play page covers the Medicine Speaking cards.

ECFMG (USA doctors, the 2027 Pathways)

The ECFMG Pathways OET page, read on 20 October 2026, states the passing requirement in one sentence: applicants "must attain a minimum score of 350 on the Listening, Reading, and Speaking sub-tests, and a minimum score of 300 on the Writing sub-test, in one test administration". A candidate who misses one sub-test "must retake all OET Medicine sub-tests" and reach every minimum "in a single test administration". There is "no limit on the number of times you can retake OET Medicine, subject to scheduling availability". For the 2027 Pathways the satisfactory score must have been obtained "on or after January 1, 2025", and applicants who already hold such a score do not need to retake; they must release the result to ECFMG.

On modes, ECFMG says OET on paper and OET on computer are available at venues worldwide including the United States, and that "OET@Home is available only to applicants who do not have a physical test venue (for paper-based or computer-based testing) in their country". A doctor in India, the Philippines, Egypt or Nigeria therefore sits at a venue. Two practical lines from the same page: give your USMLE or MyIntealth ID when you book so OET transmits a passing result electronically (allow three business days), and if you are in the 2027 Match, ECFMG advises taking OET Medicine "on or before the last scheduled test date in December 2026" so the score reaches it in time. Our dates page lists those December dates.

Note that ECFMG's Writing minimum (300, a C+) is lower than the GMC's (350, a B), while the one-administration rule is the same. A doctor keeping both routes open should prepare to the GMC line.

Ireland, New Zealand, USA nursing and the Gulf

NMBI (Ireland)

The NMBI English language requirements page asks for "OET (Nursing) with Grade B in three components and C+ in one component": Listening B, Reading B, Speaking B and Writing C+. It is stricter than the NMC in three ways: "we only accept one test result and do not accept combined results"; "we do not accept IELTS online or OET at home"; and results must be "less than two years old". It verifies with your nine-digit OET candidate number.

Nursing Council of New Zealand

The Council's English language requirements page for internationally qualified nurses, read on 20 October 2026, asks for "a minimum score of 350 for reading, listening, and speaking; and a minimum score of 300 for writing", which is B, B, B and C+ in Writing, the same line as the NMC. You may sit more than once, but "the required scores must be achieved within 12 months of first sitting the test, and all sittings must be completed within the three years prior to your application to NCNZ". On modes, the Council "does not currently accept online computer-based tests", but adds that "computer-based tests administered in an approved testing centre are accepted (this includes the OET on computer at an approved venue with the speaking sub-test that is hosted online)". So OET@Home is out; OET on Paper and OET on Computer at a venue are in, even when Speaking is done online from home.

USA nursing: TruMerit (formerly CGFNS) VisaScreen

The TruMerit VisaScreen FAQ lists OET among its approved tests and states plainly that "TruMerit does not accept the at-home versions of English language proficiency exams". Its score table, "Updated list of Tests and Scores for Foreign Health Care Workers (as of May 12, 2026)", is published as an image; we read it on 20 October 2026. For registered nurses and other degree-level health workers the OET line is Listening 320, Reading 340, Writing 350, Speaking 360; occupational and physical therapists have the same line, and the column for workers below degree level reads 290, 310, 290 and 360. The page says anyone who sat before 12 May 2026 is assessed on the previous requirements, which it links separately. Note that this is the only regulator on this page whose highest bar is Speaking. State boards of nursing set their own rules on top of VisaScreen.

The Gulf

OET's 2026 post on Speaking at venues lists Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia among the regions with venue-based Speaking, and OET's "Who recognises OET" page on oet.com is searchable by country; that page is built in the browser and we could not read it this week. Minimums in the Gulf are set per authority and often per facility, and we have not read an official Gulf score page this week, so we do not state a number. OET's own advice applies: confirm "the minimum OET Test results they'll accept", "which OET Test delivery modes they accept" and "if your OET Test results are required to be achieved in one sitting" with the organisation before you book.

Which modes and which combining rules, side by side

The mode question matters more for OET on Computer than it looks. In most countries the computer format puts Listening, Reading and Writing at a venue and Speaking at home on another day; from 2026 OET lets candidates in the Philippines and in Mumbai and Gurgaon choose a venue for Speaking as well. If your regulator's wording is "in a testing centre", as AHPRA's is, that choice is worth making. Our format and modes page explains how each mode runs.

Where our readers fall short of these thresholds

It is tempting to read "B in Speaking" as the hard part, because Speaking is the sub-test coaching centres sell. OET's 2025 demographic data, published on its test statistics page, says the opposite for the groups who read this page. Adding the A and B columns gives the share who met a B threshold in each sub-test in 2025:

For a Malayalam-speaking nurse, the NMC's Speaking B was met by 85 per cent of her peers; the Listening B by fewer than 28 per cent and the Reading B by 24 per cent. The regulator table and the data table together say where the weeks go: Listening and Reading first, Writing second, Speaking kept warm. For AHPRA after 23 April 2026 the Reading line moves to 360, which is harder still, because 350 is exactly where the "typically at least 30 of 42" guide on the OET results page lands. Our Listening and Reading page is built around that gap; the AI role-play is for keeping the paper you already pass at B.

How to prove your result to a regulator

1. Grant the regulator access in your OET account before you apply. OET's verification page says that when an organisation cannot see a result, "it's because the candidate has not yet given your organisation permission to view their results". The NMC says the same from its side.
2. Give the candidate number the regulator asks for. Paper candidates have a nine-digit number beginning 20x; computer and OET@Home candidates an eight-digit number beginning x471, per the same OET page. The NMBI asks for the nine-digit number on your Statement of Results.
3. If you are combining, share both sittings. The NMC: "if you are submitting two tests, you'll need to give us permission to verify both tests".
4. Check the name. Your Statement of Results carries your name as printed on the ID you booked with. A spelling that differs from your passport is the most common cause of a stalled verification.
5. Watch the two-year clock. The NMC counts to the day it considers your complete application, not the day you submit; AHPRA counts to the day you lodge. Document collection for either takes months, so a result from eighteen months ago is already tight.

Verification is free for organisations and there is no candidate-side fee. Nobody needs to "attest" an OET result for you.

How we checked, and what we could not

On 19 October 2026 we read the NMC OET page and its language requirements guidance PDF, the AHPRA accepted-tests page and standard, the NMBI English language requirements page, the TruMerit VisaScreen FAQ and the OET verification and statistics pages. On 20 October 2026 we re-read the OET, NMC, AHPRA, NMBI and TruMerit pages, read the TruMerit score image, and read the Nursing Council of New Zealand English language requirements page for the first time, which is why both rows are now marked verified. The GMC and ECFMG pages returned 403 to plain fetches on both days, but on 20 October 2026 both answered a fetch with a browser user agent, so the GMC chapters on OET and IELTS certificates and the ECFMG Pathways OET page were read in full and their rows are now verified. The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia page served only a JavaScript challenge on both days and stays unread; we rely on the AHPRA table for it. We re-run these checks weekly, and the status column changes before the prose does. Where this page and a regulator page differ, the regulator page wins; tell us through the feedback link at the foot of the OET hub.

If you are still choosing between tests, our OET vs IELTS page sets these OET thresholds beside the IELTS ones (the NMC's are 7 in Listening, Reading and Speaking and 6.5 in Writing, with the same twelve-month combining window), and the IELTS Speaking hub covers that test in the same depth.