International Exams · Entrance Exams

Online OET Coaching and the OET Guide 2026

Looking for online OET coaching for nursing, medicine or another healthcare profession? Know the test first, then judge any course against it. The Occupational English Test is the English test written for healthcare. It assesses the listening, reading, writing and speaking a nurse, doctor, dentist or pharmacist needs at work — a handover, a referral letter, a consultation — and is accepted by regulators and employers in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, the US, Singapore, Dubai and elsewhere as proof of English for registration. It is owned by Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment, a venture of Cambridge English and Box Hill Institute.

Listening and reading are the same for every candidate; writing and speaking are specific to one of twelve professions — dentistry, dietetics, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, optometry, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry, radiography, speech pathology and veterinary science — so that a nurse writes a nursing letter and role-plays a nursing consultation. The test can be taken on paper at a centre, on computer at a centre, or at home with remote proctoring, and each sub-test is scored from 0 to 500 with a letter grade.

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OET · checked 19 September 2026

The dates, vacancies and rules below are read on the conducting body’s own site and rewritten as each notice appears. The guide beneath carries the full pattern, syllabus, cut-offs and free mock tests.

Free OET mock test OET syllabus Today’s current affairs

19September 2026

Checked 19 September 2026

OET: the facts that matter now

01
CBLA, at test venues in India and worldwide, and at home through OET@Home
Administered by
02
Healthcare registration and employment — NMC and GMC in the UK, AHPRA in Australia, US state nursing boards and others; some visa purposes
Used for
03
Listening about 40 minutes, 42 questions; Reading 60 minutes, 42; Writing 45 minutes, one letter; Speaking 20 minutes, two role plays
Sub-tests
04
0–500 in ten-point steps per sub-test, with grades A 450–500, B 350–440, C+ 300–340, C 200–290, D 100–190, E 0–90
Scoring

Overview

What OET is, and who it suits

Listening has three parts: two consultation extracts with note-completion tasks of twelve questions each, six short workplace extracts each with one three-option question, and two presentations or interviews with six questions each — 42 questions in about 40 minutes, heard once. Reading has three parts: fifteen minutes of expeditious reading across four short texts with twenty matching and completion questions, then forty-five minutes on six short workplace texts with one question each and two longer articles with eight four-option questions each — 42 questions in an hour.

Writing gives five minutes to read profession-specific case notes and forty to write a letter — usually a referral, transfer or discharge letter — assessed on purpose, content, conciseness and clarity, genre and style, organisation and layout, and language. Speaking is twenty minutes with an interlocutor playing a patient or carer: a warm-up, then two role plays of five minutes each after three minutes’ preparation, assessed on four linguistic criteria out of six — intelligibility, fluency, appropriateness, grammar and expression — and five clinical-communication criteria out of three, from relationship building to information giving.

What makes OET distinctive

Healthcare content throughout — the language tasks draw on the candidate’s working knowledge, which most healthcare professionals find easier than abstract academic passages.
Profession-specific writing and speaking — a nurse, a doctor and a pharmacist sit different letters and role plays.
Grades regulators quote directly — the NMC and GMC ask for B in each sub-test, with some allowance for C+ in writing; AHPRA asks for B in each in one sitting or across two within six months.
Three delivery modes — the same test and standard on paper, on computer or at home; not every regulator accepts every mode.

Check the regulator before booking the mode

OET@Home is accepted by many recognising organisations but not by all, and Australia’s Department of Home Affairs does not accept any at-home English test for visa purposes. Confirm three things with the body you are registering with: the grades it requires, whether they must be achieved in one sitting, and which delivery modes it accepts. OET results have no fixed validity; each organisation sets its own, commonly two years.

Online OET coaching

Online OET coaching for nurses, doctors and allied professionals: what it must include

OET is a healthcare English test, and its writing and speaking sub-tests are set for your profession — a nursing letter, a physiotherapy role play. Online OET coaching that is not profession-specific misses the two sub-tests where a grade B is hardest to reach. A good course pairs a nurse with nursing case notes and role cards, marks the letter to OET’s six criteria, and plays the patient in role plays until the clinical-communication criteria are met.

What online OET coaching has to deliver

Profession-specific writing marked to the criteria — purpose, content, conciseness and clarity, genre and style, organisation and layout, language — a letter returned with a mark against each, not a corrected draft.
Role plays with a partner playing the patient — two five-minute role plays scored on four linguistic and five clinical-communication criteria; they cannot be prepared from a book.
Part A drills — listening note completion and reading expeditious location, both against tight clocks, both where clinicians lose marks by reading too carefully.
A regulator-specific target — B in every sub-test for the NMC, GMC and AHPRA, with their sitting and mode rules; coaching should know which apply to you.

Batch or one-to-one: Listening and reading strategy suit a batch of the same profession; writing marking and role plays need one-to-one time with a trainer who knows the criteria.
How the trainer knows the test: Ask which professions the trainer has prepared, whether letters are marked to OET’s published criteria, and whether role plays are scored on clinical communication as well as language.
What a fair course costs: Online OET coaching in India is often priced per sub-test or as a full course; the AU$587 test fee and single sub-test retakes are the benchmarks. Pay for marked letters and role plays.
Free first: The OET syllabus, exam-pattern, practice, mock-test, preparation and study-material pages here set out every part, the criteria and the grades at no cost, and OET’s own sample tests are free for every profession.

What Brolly gives you free, and where coaching starts

This guide and its six sub-pages are free, and OET publishes sample tests for all twelve professions. Brolly Academy runs online training from Hyderabad for students anywhere in India; enquire there for live online OET coaching for your profession, a demo session and batch dates.

Take the next step

Enquire about online OET coaching at Brolly Academy OET syllabus — every part and criterion OET preparation IELTS guide — the alternative for registration

Eligibility

Who can apply for OET

Who takes OET, and what CBLA checks.
Condition	Rule
Who it is for	Healthcare professionals in one of twelve professions — dentistry, dietetics, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, optometry, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry, radiography, speech pathology and veterinary science — seeking registration, employment or study in an English-speaking setting. OET advises that it is not the right test for others.
Profession	Chosen at booking and fixed for the sitting; it determines the writing and speaking tasks.
Identity document	A valid ID uploaded at booking with a photo meeting OET’s guidelines, and the same document presented on the day; a passport is the standard choice, and the booking name must match it.
Mode	On paper at a centre, on computer at a venue, or OET@Home on your own computer with remote proctoring where no venue is available in your country or for access needs; the same test and standard in all three, but not every regulator accepts the at-home mode.
Attempts	No limit; one booking per test administration; single sub-tests can be booked separately where available.
Special arrangements	Extra time, modified materials, large print, Braille and lip-reading versions for candidates who apply with evidence and receive confirmation before the test.

Selection process

How OET selection works

Each stage in order, and what it actually tests.

Stages change between cycles. Confirm the structure in the notification for the cycle you are sitting.
Stage	Format	What it involves
Book	Online; profession, mode and venue chosen at booking; one booking per administration	Register with a personal email, upload ID and a photo, choose the profession, the delivery mode and the venue or an at-home slot, and pay the fee. Test dates run through the year, with computer and at-home dates most frequent. Rescheduling and cancellation fees depend on mode and timing and are published on the OET site.
Listening and Reading	About 40 minutes and 60 minutes; 42 questions each; common to all professions	Listening Part A note completion from two consultations, Part B six short extracts, Part C two presentations. Reading Part A fifteen minutes of expeditious reading, Parts B and C forty-five minutes of short workplace texts and two long articles. Each correct answer is one mark; the raw score out of 42 is converted to the 500 scale.
Writing and Speaking	45 minutes for one letter; 20 minutes for two role plays; profession-specific	Writing: five minutes reading time and forty writing time for a letter from case notes, scored on six criteria. Speaking: a warm-up, then two role plays with a trained interlocutor, three minutes to prepare and five to play each, scored on linguistic and clinical-communication criteria. Both are marked by trained assessors.
Results and sharing	Statement of Results in the OET account; access granted to organisations	Each sub-test is reported as a score from 0 to 500 and a grade. Computer and at-home results typically arrive within six calendar days and sometimes within 48 hours; paper results from five days after the test in India and the Philippines and from 13 days elsewhere. Organisations verify results through the account. A remark can be requested within 72 hours of release, for a fee refunded if the grade changes.

Procedure

How to book OET, what happens on test day, and how results are shared

Booking, results and sharing run through the OET account; the Test Regulations set the rules for every mode.

From booking to Statement of Results

Register with a personal email Not a university or workplace address — unless applying for ECFMG certification, in which case the same email used with ECFMG. Accept the Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy and Collection Notice.
Choose profession, mode and venue Confirm that the mode, the profession and the venue are available in your country on the booking page; not every date and mode is offered everywhere.
Upload ID and a photo, and pay A valid ID document and a photo meeting OET’s requirements; the fee is charged in Australian dollars at booking — AU$587 for the full test at the date checked.
Prepare with official material Free sample tests for every sub-test and profession in paper and computer formats, the Test Handbook, masterclasses and the assessment criteria for writing and speaking.
Test day Present the same ID for verification. Listening, reading and writing run in one session — about 40 minutes, 60 minutes and 45 minutes — and speaking is a 20-minute session with an interlocutor, on the same day or a scheduled slot. OET@Home candidates follow the technical and room rules with a remote proctor.
Results Computer and at-home results typically within six calendar days and sometimes within 48 hours of the last sub-test; paper results from five days after the test in India. The Statement of Results in the account shows a score of 0–500 and a grade for each sub-test.
Share results Grant recognising organisations access through the OET account; they verify online, and access can be withdrawn at any time. There is no fixed validity — each organisation sets its own, commonly two years.
If a grade is short Request a remark of one or more sub-tests within 72 hours of results, with the fee refunded if the grade changes; or book the single sub-test again where available.

Fees and rules, from OET.
Item	Rule
Test fee	Published in Australian dollars and converted at booking; AU$587 for the full test at the date checked; single sub-tests priced separately
Rescheduling	Options and fees depend on the mode, where the test was booked and the notice given; published on the OET site
Cancellation	A cancellation fee applies after booking; check the Terms and Conditions before cancelling
Remark	Within 72 hours of results; fee refunded if the grade changes
Appeal	Within five calendar days of a remark, complaint or malpractice decision; fee refunded if successful
Validity	Set by each recognising organisation

Official pages

OET — Test Handbook 2026 (PDF) OET — test information OET — book a test OET — results and scoring

Exam pattern

OET exam pattern and marking

The four sub-tests, part by part.
Sub-test	Part	Task	Questions	Time
Listening	A	Note completion from two consultation recordings	24	About 40 minutes in all; heard once
Listening	B	Six short workplace extracts, one three-option question each	6
Listening	C	Two presentations or interviews, six three-option questions each	12
Reading	A	Expeditious reading of four short texts — matching, short answer, completion	20	15 minutes
Reading	B	Six short workplace texts, one three-option question each	6	45 minutes for B and C
Reading	C	Two long articles, eight four-option questions each	16
Writing	—	One profession-specific letter from case notes	1 task	45 minutes — 5 reading, 40 writing
Speaking	—	Two profession-specific role plays with an interlocutor	2 tasks	20 minutes — warm-up, 3 minutes’ preparation and 5 minutes per role play

Scoring: Listening and reading: one mark per question, 42 marks converted to the 500 scale. Writing: six criteria — purpose, content, conciseness and clarity, genre and style, organisation and layout, language — combined and converted. Speaking: four linguistic criteria out of six and five clinical-communication criteria out of three, combined and converted. Each sub-test is reported 0–500 in ten-point steps with a grade: A 450–500, B 350–440, C+ 300–340, C 200–290, D 100–190, E 0–90.

What regulators ask for. Each publishes its own rule; confirm before booking.
Regulator	Requirement as commonly stated
Nursing and Midwifery Council, UK	B in listening, reading and speaking and at least C+ in writing, in one sitting or two sittings within six months with no sub-test below C+
General Medical Council, UK	B in every sub-test in one sitting, or two sittings within six months with no sub-test below B
AHPRA, Australia	B in every sub-test in one sitting, or across two sittings within six months with no sub-test below C
Medical Council of Ireland and NMBI	B in every sub-test, with the council’s own sitting rules
ECFMG, United States	OET Medicine accepted for certification with a minimum of B in every sub-test
Australian Department of Home Affairs	OET listed for Student visas at the minimum on its table; the at-home mode is not accepted for visas

Study plan

How to prepare for OET

An eight-week plan for grade B

Week 1 — diagnose One official sample test for your profession under the real timings, including a role play with a partner; grade each sub-test roughly against the criteria.
Weeks 2–4 — listening and reading Part A note completion and Part A expeditious reading daily against the clock; Parts B and C for purpose and argument; build the clinical vocabulary the recordings and texts use.
Weeks 2–7 — writing, marked One letter a week from case notes in 45 minutes, marked against the six criteria by someone who knows them; practise selecting and ordering the history the reader needs.
Weeks 3–7 — speaking, recorded Two role plays a week with a partner as the patient, recorded and reviewed for the clinical-communication criteria as much as the language.
Week 7 — full mock All four sub-tests in one day in the mode you will book.
Week 8 — book and sit Book the mode your regulator accepts; results follow in days, so a single sub-test retake can be planned quickly if one grade is short.

Exam resources

Everything for OET

Six resource pages, each kept in step with the latest official notification.

OET SyllabusOET syllabus — every part of the four sub-tests, question counts and task types, the writing and speaking assessment criteria, and the twelve professions.OET Exam PatternOET exam pattern — the four sub-tests and their timing, the 0–500 scale and A–E grades, the three delivery modes, result timelines and fees.OET Previous PapersOET practice material — the official sample tests for every sub-test and profession, and how to use the profession-specific writing and speaking samples.OET Mock TestsOET mock tests — full four-sub-test sittings with a speaking partner, scored against the grade your regulator requires.OET PreparationOET preparation — choosing OET over IELTS for registration, the letter-writing method, the role-play criteria, and the booking decisions that matter.OET Study MaterialOET study material — the official handbook, sample tests and masterclasses, and the profession-specific reading, writing and speaking practice to add.

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Questions

OET — FAQs

What is the OET exam pattern?

Four sub-tests: Listening of about 40 minutes with 42 questions in three parts; Reading of 60 minutes with 42 questions in three parts; Writing of 45 minutes for one profession-specific letter; and Speaking of 20 minutes with two profession-specific role plays. Listening and reading are common to all candidates; writing and speaking are set for one of twelve healthcare professions.

How is OET scored and what grade do regulators want?

Each sub-test is scored from 0 to 500 in ten-point steps and given a grade: A 450–500, B 350–440, C+ 300–340, C 200–290, D 100–190, E 0–90. The NMC, GMC, AHPRA and most other regulators ask for B in every sub-test, with some accepting C+ in writing or two sittings within a set period; check the regulator’s own page.

Which professions can take OET?

Twelve: dentistry, dietetics, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, optometry, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry, radiography, speech pathology and veterinary science. The profession is chosen at booking and determines the writing and speaking tasks.

Can OET be taken at home?

Yes, through OET@Home, on your own computer with remote proctoring, using the same test and marked to the same standard as the centre versions. Not every recognising organisation accepts the at-home mode, and Australia’s Department of Home Affairs does not accept any at-home English test for visas, so confirm with the body you are applying to.

How quickly do OET results come and how long are they valid?

Computer and at-home results are typically available within six calendar days and sometimes within 48 hours of the last sub-test; paper results from five days after the test in India and the Philippines and from 13 days elsewhere. OET sets no validity period; each regulator or employer decides how old a result may be, commonly two years.

What does OET cost?

Fees are published in Australian dollars and converted at booking, varying by country and delivery mode; the full test was AU$587 at the date checked, with single sub-tests available for candidates retaking part of the test. Rescheduling and cancellation fees depend on the mode and the notice given.

Is online OET coaching better than IELTS coaching for nurses?

Both tests are accepted by the NMC, AHPRA and most regulators. Nurses who find academic IELTS passages alien and clinical letters natural usually score higher on OET, and online OET coaching for nursing — nursing case notes, nursing role plays, letters marked to the six criteria — is more targeted than general English coaching. The choice is the test, and the coaching should follow it.

What should online OET coaching include?

Profession-specific writing tasks marked against OET’s six criteria; role plays with a trainer as the patient, scored on the linguistic and clinical-communication criteria; timed Part A listening and reading drills; full sub-test mocks in the mode you will book; and knowledge of your regulator’s grade, sitting and delivery-mode rules. Confirm the trainer’s experience with your profession.

How do I book OET from India?

Register on the OET site with a personal email, choose your profession, the delivery mode — paper or computer at a venue in India, or OET@Home — and a date, upload a valid ID and a compliant photo, and pay in Australian dollars at booking. One booking per administration is allowed, and the mode must be one your regulator accepts.

What happens on OET test day?

ID verification with the document uploaded at booking, then listening, reading and writing in one session — about 40, 60 and 45 minutes — and a 20-minute speaking session with an interlocutor who plays the patient, either the same day or in a scheduled slot. At-home candidates are proctored remotely under the same rules.

When do OET results come and how are they shared?

Computer and at-home results typically within six calendar days, sometimes within 48 hours of the last sub-test; paper results from five days after the test in India. The Statement of Results shows a 0–500 score and a grade per sub-test, and you share it by granting organisations access through your OET account.

What OET grade do the NMC, GMC and AHPRA require?

Grade B in every sub-test is the common standard: the NMC allows C+ in writing, the GMC asks B across the board, and AHPRA accepts B in each in one sitting or across two within six months with no sub-test below C. Each regulator publishes its own rule, and ECFMG accepts OET Medicine at B in every sub-test.

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