What is the SNB Licensure Examination?
The Singapore Nursing Board (SNB) requires foreign-trained nurses to sit its Registered Nurse (RN) or Enrolled Nurse (EN) Licensure Examination as part of applying for registration or enrolment. SNB says the exam is designed to evaluate your competency to practise nursing in Singapore. The RN exam assesses you against SNB's Core Competencies and Generic Skills for Registered Nurse (2023), so that foreign-qualified nurses can perform safely and effectively as RNs in Singapore.
You cannot book the exam on your own. You first need an offer of employment from an eligible healthcare provider in Singapore. The employer's HR team submits your exam application to SNB, and once SNB authorises you, Pearson VUE sends you an "Authorisation to Test" (ATT) email. The ATT period is usually 4 months, so book early.
The exam format
Since 28 November 2024 the exam has been computer-based, run by Pearson VUE at its test centres.
| Question type | Multiple-choice questions. SNB's five published sample questions each have 4 options (A to D) with one correct answer, so our questions use the same layout. |
|---|---|
| Time allowed | 60 minutes, with no extension |
| Calculator | An on-screen calculator is provided |
| Number of questions and pass mark | Not published. Neither SNB nor Pearson VUE states them in the pages and documents we checked. |
| Attempts | 2 attempts in total. A second attempt needs a fresh application, and its ATT period starts 6 months after your last exam date. |
| Result | Released to your employer's HR (usually within 2 to 3 days), not to you directly. A pass is valid for 5 years from the exam date. |
On the day, arrive 30 minutes early. If you are more than 15 minutes late you will be refused entry and lose your fee. Bring your valid original passport and a printed copy of your booking confirmation. The exam starts with a non-disclosure agreement, which you must accept within 5 minutes, and a short tutorial on using the exam screen.
What the exam covers: SNB's RN test plan
SNB publishes a test plan for the RN exam, organised into four domains of its core competencies:
| Domain | Categories in the test plan |
|---|---|
| 1. Legal and Ethical Nursing Practice | Accountability and legal obligations, ethical practice, culturally appropriate care |
| 2. Professional Nursing Practice | Quality improvement and holistic care, health promotion and client education, safe environment, critical thinking, nutrition, fluids and electrolytes, communication, medical emergencies, end-of-life and palliative care, mental health, respiratory care, elimination, client assessment, pre and post-operative care, wound care, diabetes care, client safety and comfort, infection control, medication and pharmacology, elder care, mobility |
| 3. Collaborative Practice and Teamwork | Collaboration and teamwork, delegation and supervision |
| 4. Continuing Professional Education and Development | Maintaining CPE and currency of practice |
SNB does not publish how many questions come from each area. Our 204 questions are grouped into eight practice sections that follow this plan: legal and ethical practice; professional practice and communication; emergencies, respiratory care and assessment; medical-surgical care; safety, infection control and elder care; medication and drug calculations; mental health and palliative care; and teamwork, delegation and CPE. The plan does not list maternal or paediatric nursing as separate categories, so we have not added a separate section for them, although some drug calculations use children's weight-based doses.
The Singapore-specific part
Most clinical content is the same as in nursing anywhere, but the legal and ethical domain is Singapore's own. Expect questions on the Nurses and Midwives Act 1999 (registration, practising certificates, offences and discipline), SNB's Code for Nurses and Midwives (its 10 principles on autonomy, confidentiality, advocacy, accountability, records, professionalism and teamwork, plus its guidance on professional boundaries and social media), and SNB's scope of practice for RNs and ENs. Our explanations quote the section or principle so you can check it yourself.
How to prepare
- Download SNB's RN test plan and sample questions, the Code for Nurses and Midwives and the RN core competencies from the SNB website. They are free and short.
- Take the free 10-question test here to see where you stand.
- Practise one section at a time, especially the Singapore law and Code questions and the drug calculations, which are easy marks if you prepare.
- Sit full timed mocks. You have 60 minutes, so practise working at a steady pace and using an on-screen calculator.
- Read every explanation, including for the questions you got right.
TestReady SG is an independent practice platform. It is not affiliated with the Singapore Nursing Board, the Ministry of Health or Pearson VUE, and our questions are original practice questions, not real exam questions.
Three worked examples
One question from different sections of the full pack, with the answer and explanation.
Under the Nurses and Midwives Act 1999, which body approves applications for the registration of nurses and issues practising certificates?
- The Chief Nursing Officer acting alone
- The hospital that employs the nurse
- The Singapore Nursing Board
- Pearson VUE on behalf of the Board
You have taught a patient how to use an insulin pen. What is the best way to check that he has understood?
- Ask him, 'Do you understand everything?'
- Give him a leaflet to read at home later and ask if he has questions
- Ask him to show you how he uses the pen and explain each step in his own words
- Repeat the whole explanation slowly a second time, then move on
How deep should chest compressions be for an adult in cardiac arrest?
- About 2 to 3 cm
- 4 to 6 cm
- 7 to 8 cm
- About 1 cm