Every regulator sets its own OET minimums, and the rules change. This page summarises what the main nursing and medical regulators asked for when it was last updated. Always confirm the current requirements on the regulator’s own website before you book or apply: they decide, not OET and not this site.

OET reports a score from 0 to 500 for each sub-test, with letter grades. Grade B starts at 350 and grade C+ at 300. There is no overall score, so every requirement below is per sub-test. For the grade bands, see the OET test guide.

Summary

UK: Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

• Scores: at least grade B (350) in Listening, Reading and Speaking, and at least C+ (300) in Writing.
• Version: take the Nursing version of OET.
• Formats: the NMC accepts OET on Paper, OET on Computer and OET@Home.
• Combining two sittings: allowed if both tests are OET, each sitting covers all four sub-tests, and the sittings are within 12 months of each other. Across the two you need B, B, B and C+ (Writing). No Listening, Reading or Speaking score in either sitting can be below C+, and Writing must not fall below the NMC’s floor for that sub-test (grade C).
• Validity: scores are valid for two years, and must be within that period when the NMC assesses your complete application.
• Other tests: the NMC’s only other accepted English test is IELTS Academic. You can’t combine an OET result with an IELTS result.

UK: General Medical Council (GMC)

The GMC accepts OET Medicine with grade B in all four sub-tests. The grades must come from the same test, and the GMC looks at your most recent sitting. Certificates are generally accepted for up to two years. Check the GMC’s English language page for the current rules before you apply.

Australia: Ahpra and the National Boards

All National Boards (except the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board) accept the same English tests and minimum scores, including the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. Ahpra changed its OET minimums for tests taken on or after 23 April 2026:

• One sitting: Listening 350, Reading 360, Writing 350, Speaking 360.
• Two sittings: each sitting must include all four sub-tests, the minimums must be met across the two, and no score in either sitting can be below Listening 320, Reading 340, Writing 350 and Speaking 350.

For tests taken on or before 22 April 2026, the old rule applies: grade B in Listening, Reading and Speaking and C+ in Writing, with no score below C+ when combining two sittings. If your first test was before the change and your second after it, each must meet its own table.

Other Ahpra rules:

• Two sittings must be no more than 12 months apart, and results from different test providers can’t be combined.
• At-home and remotely proctored tests aren’t accepted. OET on Computer taken at a test centre is accepted.
• Any profession’s OET version can be accepted.
• Results are generally valid for two years before you apply, with some exceptions for people who have kept working or studying in English.

United States

There is no single US English requirement for nurses or doctors.

• Nurses (VisaScreen): TruMerit, the organisation formerly known as CGFNS International, accepts OET for its VisaScreen certificate, which foreign-educated nurses usually need for a US work visa. Minimum scores vary by profession and are published by TruMerit; check its current score table. TruMerit doesn’t accept at-home versions of English tests.
• State boards of nursing: some boards accept OET for licensure, with their own minimums. Check the board in the state where you plan to work.
• Doctors (ECFMG certification): Intealth ECFMG accepts OET Medicine. Its published minimum is 350 in Listening, Reading and Speaking and 300 in Writing, all in one test administration. If you miss a minimum, you retake all four sub-tests.

Canada

The Canadian Nurse Regulators Collaborative (CNRC) has recommended OET scores for nursing registration: B in Listening and Speaking, and C+ in Reading and Writing. But each provincial or territorial nursing regulator decides whether to accept OET and what scores to require, so check the regulator in the province or territory where you’ll apply.

OET is a test for professional registration in Canada, not for immigration. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) doesn’t list OET among its approved English tests for programs such as Express Entry, so you may need a separate test, such as IELTS General Training or CELPIP, for your immigration application.

Before you book

• Check the version. Take the OET version for your profession (Nursing for nurses and, for the NMC, midwives).
• Check the format. OET@Home is accepted by some regulators and not others.
• Check combining rules. Some regulators let you combine two sittings, and the GMC and ECFMG want all scores from one test.
• Check validity. Most regulators want results from the last two years.

For a comparison with IELTS minimums, read OET vs IELTS for nurses.