The score chart: 0 to 500 and A to E
Every OET sub-test is reported as a number from 0 to 500 in steps of ten, and each number maps to a letter grade from A down to E. There is no overall score. The grade that regulators ask for is usually B, which is 350 to 440; the NMC and several others accept C+, 300 to 340, in Writing. The table is from the OET Test Handbook 2026, which also carries OET's own one-line description of each grade.
| Grade | Score | OET's descriptor, in short |
|---|---|---|
| A | 450 to 500 | Communicates very fluently and effectively with patients and health professionals; complete understanding of any written or spoken language |
| B | 350 to 440 | Communicates effectively with only occasional inaccuracies and hesitations; good understanding in a range of clinical contexts |
| C+ | 300 to 340 | Maintains the interaction in a relevant healthcare environment despite occasional errors and lapses; follows standard spoken language in the field |
| C | 200 to 290 | Maintains some interaction and understands straightforward factual information, but may ask for clarification |
| D | 100 to 190 | Frequent errors, inaccuracies and misuse of technical language cause strain in communication |
| E | 0 to 90 | Manages simple interaction on familiar topics and understands the main point in short, simple messages; a high density of errors causes significant strain and breakdowns |
Three consequences follow. A 340 and a 350 are one step apart on the scale and a whole grade apart for a regulator, which is why re-marks cluster around 340. A 440 and a 450 are also one step apart, but no regulator we list asks for A, so that line matters less. And because there is no averaging, the regulator requirements are always written per sub-test.
Is 350 a pass? OET does not use the word pass; it reports grades and leaves the threshold to the organisation you apply to. For the NMC, AHPRA (tests up to 22 April 2026), the Nursing Council of New Zealand and most employers, 350 in a sub-test is the number that counts. AHPRA's new table for tests from 23 April 2026 moves Reading and Speaking to 360; more on that below.
How each sub-test becomes a score
The OET results and scoring page explains the conversion for each paper.
- Listening and Reading. 42 questions each, one mark per correct answer, converted to the 500 scale. OET states that candidates awarded Grade B "typically achieve at least 30 marks". That is the most useful single number on this page: a timed sample set scored under 30 of 42 is a C+ risk.
- Writing. Six criteria (Purpose, Content, Conciseness and Clarity, Genre and Style, Organisation and Layout, Language), combined and converted.
- Speaking. Four linguistic criteria marked out of 6 and five clinical communication criteria marked out of 3, combined and converted. Two assessors mark the recording; the interlocutor in the room does not grade you. Our criteria page walks through all nine and what a 350 performance sounds like.
Because Listening and Reading are converted from raw marks, the exact raw mark for 350 can move slightly between test forms as OET equates them; "at least 30" is a guide, not a promise. Writing and Speaking have no raw mark to count, which is why feedback from a marker matters more there than another mock.
When results are released, per format
OET publishes two kinds of timing: a per-mode promise and, for paper sittings, a fixed published-by date in the booking table.
| Format | OET's stated timing | Source |
|---|---|---|
| OET on Computer | As little as 48 hours after all four sub-tests; 95% within 6 calendar days; the six-day clock starts when the last component is done | OET on Computer page; booking page |
| OET@Home | As early as 48 hours after completing all sub-tests | OET@Home page |
| OET on Paper, India | As little as 5 days after the test date | Booking page; paper page; results page |
| OET on Paper, Philippines | As little as 5 days (booking and paper pages) or 6 days (results page) | As stated |
| OET on Paper, other regions | From 13 days (booking and paper pages) or 12 days (results page) | As stated |
The published-by dates for the remaining 2026 paper sittings are 24 November (7 November test), 8 December (21 November), 22 December (5 December) and 5 January 2027 (19 December). OET adds on every page that the timings are indicative, may be earlier, may slip around public holidays at the end of the year, and can be delayed by extra quality or security checks. Results can also be withheld while an ID discrepancy or a malpractice flag is resolved; the regulations say you are told by email and must respond within the time given or the result may be withheld permanently. Our dates page keeps the published-by dates current week by week.
Remember the computer-mode clock: Speaking is taken on a separate day, up to five days before or after the written papers per the OET on Computer page, and the 48-hour and six-day promises run from the last of the two.
Reading your Statement of Results
You see an overview of your latest results in your OET online profile, and OET issues a Statement of Results for the sitting. Per the OET Test Handbook 2026, it carries your test-day photograph, your full name as printed on your ID, your OET candidate number, profession, date of birth, gender and nationality, the testing location and date, and your result for each sub-test as a number from 0 to 500 with its letter grade. There is no overall line and no pass or fail line.
Check the name against your passport the day you receive it. Regulators match the Statement to your ID; a transliteration difference between your booking and your passport is the most common cause of a delayed verification, and the OET regulations warn that booking errors found after test day can hold results back.
Keep the candidate number safe. It is the key to verification: the verification page explains that paper candidates have a nine-digit number beginning 20x and computer or OET@Home candidates an eight-digit number beginning x471, and organisations look up results by it.
How regulators verify your result
OET's verification page is written for organisations, and it tells you what happens on their side. Recognising organisations use OET's free Online Results Verification Service. OET's results and scoring page recommends that organisations "accept results only when they are shared with them digitally and directly through the OET online portals", and it answers the most common failure plainly: when an organisation cannot see your result, it is almost always because "the candidate has not yet given your organisation permission to view their results".
- You grant permission in your OET account. The results page calls this sharing your results by "granting permission to specific organisations". Add the regulator as a verification institution.
- The regulator looks you up by candidate number. The NMC page says you supply your certificate and candidate number and it verifies through OET; if you are combining two sittings, you must grant access to both.
- Do it before you apply. The NMC says that not granting permission before you submit "may delay your application".
Employers and recruitment agencies that are not recognising organisations cannot use the portal. Send them the Statement of Results and expect them to ask you to add their registration body later. Never pay anyone to "verify" or "attest" an OET result; the service is free to organisations and there is no candidate-side fee.
How long results are valid
OET does not set a validity period. The handbook says there is "no global standard for how long OET Test results are valid" and that each organisation decides. So the answer is always the regulator's answer:
| Regulator | Validity rule | Status |
|---|---|---|
| NMC (UK nurses) | Required scores achieved within the last two years at the point the complete application is considered | Verified: NMC language requirements guidance |
| AHPRA (Australia) | Valid for two years before the date you lodge; older results accepted if you have since worked continuously as a registered practitioner, or studied, in a recognised English-speaking setting under stated conditions | Verified: AHPRA accepted English language tests page |
| Nursing Council of New Zealand | Required scores within 12 months of first sitting the test, and "all sittings must be completed within the three years prior to your application" | Verified: NCNZ English language requirements page, read 20 October 2026 |
| GMC (UK doctors) | "OET certificates are valid for two years"; valid on the day you sit PLAB 1, or when the GMC approves your registration; most recent sitting counts; a PLAB 2 pass can extend a certificate under three years old | Verified: GMC, using your OET certificate, read 20 October 2026 |
| ECFMG (USA) | For the 2027 Pathways, a satisfactory score obtained on or after 1 January 2025 | Verified: ECFMG Pathways OET page, read 20 October 2026 |
The practical rule: sit OET when you are within about eighteen months of being ready to lodge the application, so that document collection, verification and any retake fit inside the two years.
What grades people actually get
OET publishes grade distributions on its test statistics page. The 2025 demographic data, read for this page, is the best guide to what your Statement of Results is likely to say. Adding the A and B columns gives the share at Grade B or above.
| Group (2025) | Listening B+ | Reading B+ | Writing B+ | Speaking B+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malayalam first language | 27.8% | 24.0% | 73.2% | 85.0% |
| Hindi first language | 58.2% | 48.9% | 73.1% | 89.1% |
| Tagalog/Filipino first language | 67.4% | 43.9% | 57.9% | 85.4% |
| Arabic first language | 66.1% | 69.7% | 73.1% | 91.1% |
| Nigerian nationals | 59.5% | 52.4% | 69.0% | 92.3% |
| Sri Lankan nationals | 42.2% | 45.0% | 67.6% | 78.9% |
| Nursing (all) | 32.3% | 24.9% | 63.2% | 82.2% |
| Medicine (all) | 77.6% | 78.9% | 79.9% | 92.8% |
Read it honestly. For nurses, and above all for Malayalam-speaking nurses, Speaking is the paper most likely to show a B; Reading is the paper most likely to show a C+ or C (41.1% of Malayalam speakers were at C in Reading in 2025). The same 2024 performance report gives mean scaled scores for Nursing of 312 Listening, 306 Reading, 332 Writing and 361 Speaking, against Medicine at 377, 376, 348 and 384. A nurse who treats Speaking as the danger and spends the preparation on role-plays is preparing for the wrong paper; the Listening and Reading page is where the result is decided.
Re-marks, and what to do with a C+
A re-mark is a request for OET to mark a sub-test again. You have 72 hours from receiving results to ask, the fee is AU$120 per sub-test (regulations section 8.3), it is refunded if the grade changes, the outcome takes three to six weeks, and it cannot be reversed once started. The regulations also say that if you sit another test while the re-mark is in progress, that cost is yours even if the re-mark later raises the grade. Re-marks make sense at 340 or 330 in Writing or Speaking, where human judgement set the score; they rarely change a Listening or Reading result, which is a count of correct answers.
If the re-mark is not worth it, the choice is between a single sub-test retake on paper (AU$315 per sub-test, only if your regulator combines sittings) and a full retake (AU$587). The NMC and AHPRA combine two sittings within twelve months with floors in every paper, the Nursing Council of New Zealand accepts scores reached within twelve months of your first sitting, and the GMC and ECFMG want all four in one sitting. The fee table and the floor rules are on our fees and retake page, and the NMC also offers a separate route for a narrow miss, described on its site, that we cover on the regulator page.
Whatever you decide, decide with a timed sample set first. OET's own OET Ready portal has free sample tests per sub-test; score Listening and Reading against the 30-of-42 guide before you spend anything. For Speaking, a five-minute AI role-play a day keeps the paper you already pass at B while you work on the two you do not.