Key Facts
| NMC OET minimum for Reading, Listening and Speaking | At least grade B (350 or above) |
|---|---|
| NMC OET minimum for Writing | At least grade C+ (300 or above) |
| HCPC OET minimum for podiatrists, dietitians, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and radiographers | 1400 with no elements below 300 |
| HCPC OET minimum for speech and language therapists | 1800 with no elements below 400 |
| HCPC certificate age limit | No more than two years old when the application is received |
| HCPC OET retake rule | One element only, within six months of the original test date |
| Typical Reading marks for grade B (350) | At least 30 marks out of 42 |
Figures correct at the time of writing. Confirm current fees and deadlines with the school or university directly.
OET, the Occupational English Test, is an English language test for healthcare professionals that assesses Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking through clinical tasks, and UK regulators such as the NMC and the HCPC accept it as evidence of English for registration. It is tailored to 12 healthcare professions, so the Writing and Speaking sub-tests use tasks written for the candidate's own profession. Each regulator names the version and the grades it expects, which makes the regulator's own page the first thing to read before booking.
Every sub-test is reported on a scale from 0 to 500 and mapped to a grade from A to E. Candidates can sit OET on Paper at a secure test centre, OET on Computer, or OET@Home on their own computer, and preparation works best when it follows the published marking criteria for each sub-test.
What is OET and which professions does it serve?
OET is an English language test tailored to 12 healthcare professions, so the content reflects clinical settings from the first sub-test to the last. Candidates choose the version for their own profession, and a regulator such as the NMC tells nursing applicants to select the Nursing version from the list of OET professions.
Listening and Reading are common to all candidates, whilst Writing and Speaking carry tasks specific to the candidate's profession. A nurse and a pharmacist therefore sit the same Listening and Reading papers but write and speak about their own patients.
- Medicine
- Nursing
- Dentistry
- Dietetics
- Pharmacy
- Physiotherapy
- Podiatry
- Radiology
- Occupational Therapy
- Veterinary Science
- Optometry
- Speech Pathology
How is the test structured?
OET has four sub-tests, and the two shared papers cover general healthcare topics. Listening covers topics of generic healthcare interest, and Reading uses texts from a variety of healthcare professions and subjects. Writing and Speaking then move to the candidate's own workplace, with a formal letter written from case notes and two role-plays drawn from the profession.
In Part A of Listening and Reading, answers are written in the spaces provided. In Parts B and C of both papers, candidates shade the lozenge or circle next to the appropriate answer. During Speaking, notes may be made on the role card and used in the role-play, although the card is handed back to the interlocutor afterwards.
- Listening: approximately 40 minutes, three parts and 42 questions; Part A is worth 24 marks, Part B 6 marks and Part C 12 marks.
- Reading: 60 minutes, three parts and 42 questions; Part A is the expeditious reading task, collected after 15 minutes and worth 20 marks, with Part B worth 6 and Part C worth 16.
- Writing: 45 minutes, made up of five minutes of reading time and the remaining 40 minutes to write a formal letter on a profession-specific matter using case notes, at an expected 180 to 200 words.
- Speaking: approximately 20 minutes, made up of two profession-specific role-plays of five minutes each.
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Enquire about this tutorHow are OET grades and scores worked out?
Each sub-test is reported on a scale from 0 to 500 in ten-point steps, and the score is mapped to a separate letter grade from A (highest) to E (lowest). The NMC shows where several grades sit on that scale: grade B covers 350 to 440, grade C+ covers 300 to 340 and grade C covers 250 to 290. Because regulators quote both letters and numbers, it helps to know which one your regulator uses.
Listening and Reading carry one mark per question, 42 in total, and the raw score is converted to the 500 scale. A grade B typically needs at least 30 marks, although boundaries vary between test versions. Writing is marked by two OET assessors on six criteria, with Purpose scored out of 3 and the remaining criteria scored out of 7. Speaking is recorded and marked by two OET assessors against Linguistic and Clinical Communication criteria.
Which UK regulators accept OET?
The NMC and the HCPC both accept OET, each with its own version and score requirements. The NMC accepts OET on Paper, OET on Computer and OET@Home, asks all applicants to choose the Nursing version, and lets applicants combine scores from two sittings provided each score meets the stated minimum for its sub-test.
Profession-specific versions are accepted by the HCPC for podiatrists, dietitians, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists and radiographers, taken on computer or on paper. Its requirement is a total across the four sub-tests with a minimum for each element, and speech and language therapists face a higher figure than the other professions. The GMC publishes its own English language requirement for doctors on its registration pages, and that page is the one to read before booking the Medicine version.
Can OET be used for a UK visa?
OET can meet the visa language requirement for doctors, dentists, nurses and midwives, because GOV.UK says they can use the test taken for their professional registration. The required scores must have been achieved before the visa application is made, and the regulator's minimum for these roles is higher than the requirement for a Health and Care Worker visa.
For applicants outside those registered professions, GOV.UK says the Health and Care Worker route needs a Secure English Language Test with an approved provider at level B2 of the CEFR scale, and that page does not name OET.
What are the ways to take OET?
OET can be taken in three formats: OET on Paper at a secure test centre, OET on Computer, and OET@Home, which lets candidates take the test remotely on their own computer. OET describes the computer format as offering faster results and flexible dates, whilst the paper format is the traditional pen and paper test.
Regulators differ on which formats they accept. The NMC accepts all three and allows OET@Home to be combined with Paper or Computer results, noting that they include the same tasks, difficulty, format and timings. The HCPC page names OET on Computer and OET on Paper. Fees are paid at the time of booking.
How does OET preparation differ from IELTS Academic?
OET preparation centres on clinical tasks and OET's own published criteria, since OET describes itself as tailored for health and care professionals, unlike generic English tests. A first step is a full sample test in each sub-test, which shows how the task formats work and which sub-test needs the most practice.
Writing and Speaking then deserve the most practice time, because assessors mark them against published criteria. For Writing, practise the letter from case notes in the 40 minutes after the five minutes of reading time, aim for 180 to 200 words, and score yourself on Purpose and Language before checking the remaining criteria. For Speaking, record two five-minute role-plays, then mark the recording against the Linguistic and Clinical Communication criteria.
Listening and Reading follow, practised against the clock. In Reading, work Part A inside its 15 minutes, since that paper is collected then. In Listening Part A, write the words and short phrases you hear without paraphrasing, and use the checking time for spelling and grammar. Comparing scores with the typical 30 of 42 for grade B shows how close each paper is.
Related guides
- What is IELTS? Format, versions and scoring
- OET or IELTS for healthcare staff
- PTE Academic explained
- The Duolingo English Test
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Frequently asked questions
- Does a candidate sit a different OET for each profession?
- Listening and Reading are common to all candidates, whilst Writing and Speaking are specific to your profession, so you choose your profession's version when booking. Regulators name the version they accept. The NMC tells all applicants to choose the Nursing version, and the HCPC lists profession-specific versions such as Podiatry, Dietary, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Radiography. Check the regulator's page for your profession before you book.
- Who marks the OET Speaking sub-test?
- The Speaking sub-test is recorded, and the audio is assessed by two official OET assessors using the published criteria. Each of the two role-plays usually ends naturally at around the five-minute mark, or when the interlocutor signals that it is time to conclude. Practising with a recording of yourself therefore mirrors how the marking happens, and the Linguistic and Clinical Communication study guides on the OET website can be used to check each criterion.
- Can candidates combine results from two OET sittings?
- The NMC allows results from two sittings to be combined, provided every score across both sittings meets the minimum for its sub-test and the required grades are reached at least once. The HCPC takes a different approach: it accepts a retake for one element only, and the retake has to be completed within a time limit stated on its page. Each regulator's rule applies only to that regulator.
- Do accents and spelling matter in OET Listening?
- Both matter. OET Listening uses a range of accents, including Australian, British and American, plus others such as New Zealand and Irish, to reflect the global healthcare workforce. Each part is played only once. Spelling and grammar can cost marks, and misspelling commonly used medical words such as diabetes or cholesterol is one way to lose them, so practise writing familiar clinical vocabulary accurately under time pressure.
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