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OET (Occupational English Test) is an international English language test specifically designed for healthcare professionals. It evaluates the language proficiency of healthcare professionals who wish to practice overseas.
There are three different types of OET Exam modes:
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Last Updated: August 25, 2026
OET is an international English language test specially introduced for healthcare professionals worldwide. Personnel from the healthcare sector seeking to migrate to other countries for work must qualify for this test with the required score. This test helps in improving the language skills and clinical communication skills to provide high-quality and safe patient care. The OET score is accepted by various universities in top leading nations. A good OET score can greatly improve your chances of success in settling overseas as a healthcare professional.
OET is recognized by regulatory healthcare boards and councils in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the USA, UAE, Ireland, Dubai, Singapore, Namibia, and Ukraine. The page carries a full acceptance table listing boards, councils and universities by country:
| Country | Healthcare Boards & Councils (summary) | Universities (summary) |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | AHPRA-affiliated boards across Chinese Medicine, Dental, Medical, Medical Radiation Practice, Nursing & Midwifery, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, Paramedicine, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy and Podiatry; plus Australasian Veterinary Boards Council, Australian Dental Council, AIMS, ANMAC, Australian Pharmacy Council, Australian Physiotherapy Council, Dietitians Association of Australia, Occupational Therapy Council, SA Medical Education and Training, Speech Pathology Australia | 30 universities including ACU, Charles Darwin, Charles Sturt, Curtin, CQ University, Deakin, Edith Cowan, Federation, Flinders, Griffith, James Cook, Macquarie, Murdoch, QUT, RMIT, Southern Cross, Swinburne, Adelaide, Canberra, Newcastle, New England, Notre Dame Australia, Queensland, South Australia, Southern Queensland, UTS, Sunshine Coast, Wollongong, Victoria University, Western Sydney |
| Canada | Alberta International Medical Graduate Program; Practice Ready Assessment – British Columbia; Alberta Health Services (paper and computer at test venues) | Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan; FMRAC; Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University |
| Ireland | Medical Council (OET on computer at test venue); NMBI; Dental Council of Ireland; Institute of Technology Tralee; CORU; Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland; RCPI | NA |
| Maldives | Maldives Medical and Dental Council; Maldives Nursing and Midwifery Council | NA |
| Malta | The Council of Nurses and Midwives; Malta Medical Council | NA |
| Namibia | Health Professions Councils of Namibia | NA |
| New Zealand | Dental Council; Dietitians Board; Medical Council; Midwifery Council; NZQA; Nursing Council; Occupational Therapy Board; Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board; Pharmacy Council; Physiotherapy Board; Podiatrists Board; Veterinary Council | AGI Education, Ara Institute of Canterbury, Aspire2 International, ATMC New Zealand, Ignite Colleges, NMIT, New Zealand Tertiary College, NorthTec, Otago Polytechnic, SIT, Toi-Ohomai, Unitec, UCOL, University of Auckland, University of Otago Language Centre, Whitireia, WINTEC |
| Philippines | NA | Ateneo de Davao University; Jose Rizal Memorial State University; Lyceum of the Philippines University – Laguna; ATS Learning Center |
| Qatar | Hamad Medical Corporation | NA |
| Singapore | Singapore Dental Council; Singapore Medical Council; Singapore Pharmacy Council; Allied Health Professions Council (Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Speech-language Therapy, Diagnostic Radiography and Radiation Therapy) | NA |
| Spain | CRUE; Universidad de La Rioja | NA |
| Ukraine | Ukrainian Council of Nursing and Midwifery; Ukrainian Medical Council; Ukrainian Professional Council of Public Health Services | NA |
| United Kingdom | Academy of Medical Royal Colleges; ENT UK; GMC; General Pharmaceutical Council; NMC; Royal Colleges of Anaesthetists, Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Paediatrics and Child Health, Physicians (Edinburgh and London), Psychiatrists, Surgeons of England and Edinburgh, Veterinary Surgeons, Emergency Medicine, Ophthalmologists and Pathologists | Brunel University London, Canterbury Christ Church, Imperial College London, King’s College London, Teesside, UK Foundation Programme, Ulster, Chester, Highlands and Islands, Leicester, University of the West of Scotland |
| United Arab Emirates | Dubai Healthcare City Authority (DHCA); Dubai KHDA | NA |
| United States of America | CGFNS International; ECFMG/FAIMER; Florida Board of Nursing; Oregon State Board of Nursing; Washington State Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission; Michigan LARA Health Professions; Josef Silny & Associates; Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing; Arkansas State Board of Nursing | NA |
If you’re a nurse, doctor, or allied health professional deciding between OET and IELTS, here’s what actually matters for your decision.
OET is built entirely around healthcare content. All four sections Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking use clinical scenarios: patient consultations, referral letters, discharge summaries, and healthcare workplace communication. IELTS, by contrast, is general-academic you might be writing an essay on urbanisation or describing a bar chart on global trade, topics with no connection to your clinical work.
Many healthcare professionals report reaching their required grade in fewer attempts with OET, precisely because the content mirrors what they already do daily; writing a referral letter or handling a patient conversation feels far more natural than an academic IELTS essay on an unfamiliar topic. This is a consistently reported pattern across healthcare test-prep sources, though individual results vary by profession and English proficiency level.
Regulator acceptance is nearly identical for the major destinations. NMC (UK), AHPRA (Australia), and NMBI (Ireland) all accept both OET and IELTS Academic — so for most Indian nurses and doctors targeting these countries, the choice comes down to preparation fit, not eligibility.
One meaningful advantage for OET at the UK’s NMC specifically: NMC accepts Grade C+ in OET Writing (rather than requiring a full Grade B), which some nurses find a more achievable bar than IELTS’s Writing band requirement.
Where IELTS wins: it’s significantly cheaper, has far more test centres across India (200+ vs. OET’s roughly 50), and offers the “One Skill Retake” option retake just one weak section instead of the whole test, which OET doesn’t offer at all.
Bottom line: if your target regulator accepts OET and you’re already comfortable with clinical English from daily practice, OET often gets you there in fewer attempts despite the higher upfront cost. If budget or test-centre access is your main constraint, IELTS remains the more accessible option and for non-healthcare visa or migration purposes, IELTS is often your only choice, since OET isn’t accepted for general immigration.
The OET exam is held to assess the English language skills of healthcare professionals. It includes testing of 4 different skills:
OET stands for Occupational English Test. The name of the test itself specifies that the test belongs to a specific occupation. This test helps improve clinical communication skills for safe patient care.
The OET exam syllabus contains four sections: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. All these sections have different formats and time durations. These sections include the skills required for healthcare professionals, mainly used to enhance their language skills.
The Listening section includes 3 parts:
Overall 42 questions will be given in this section. The duration is 50 minutes.
The Reading section includes 3 parts:
Overall 42 questions will be given in this section. The duration is 60 minutes.
The Writing section: You have to write a letter based on a case note. You can select any of the 12 different areas of healthcare.
The Speaking section: You have to interact with an interlocutor who plays the role of a patient or a client. You can select any of the 12 different areas of healthcare.
Updated August 2026. Note: earlier versions of this page quoted 50 minutes for Listening; the correct figure is approximately 45 minutes.
| Sub-test | Test duration | Structure | Profession-specific? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listening | Approx. 45 minutes | 3 parts, 42 questions. All audio plays once only | No — common to all professions |
| Reading | 60 minutes | 3 parts, 42 questions | No - common to all professions |
| Writing | 45 minutes (including 5 minutes reading time) | One letter based on case notes, 180–200 words | Yes |
| Speaking | Approx. 20 minutes | 2 role-plays, each with 2–3 minutes of preparation time | Yes |
Total test time is approximately 3 hours. The Speaking sub-test may be scheduled on the same day as the written sub-tests or on a different day, but it is always scored together with them.
There are three different types of OET Exam modes:
Note: Per OET’s official policy, OET@Home is offered only in countries where testing at a venue is not yet available. Since India has established OET test venues in multiple cities, OET@Home is not currently offered to Indian candidates - choose OET on Paper or OET on Computer instead.
Each sub-test is scored from 0 to 500 in 10-point increments and converted to a letter grade. OET does not report a single overall score - regulators assess each sub-test individually.
| Grade | OET score (from September 2018) | OET band descriptor |
|---|---|---|
| A | 500, 490, 480, 470, 460, 450 | Can communicate very fluently and effectively with patients and health professionals using appropriate register, tone, and lexis. Shows complete understanding of any kind of written or spoken language. |
| B | 440–350 | Can communicate effectively with patients and health professionals using appropriate register, tone, and lexis, with only occasional inaccuracies and hesitations. Shows good understanding in a range of clinical contexts. |
| C+ | 340–300 | Can maintain the interaction in a relevant healthcare environment despite occasional errors and lapses and follow standard spoken language normally encountered in his/her field of specialization. |
| C | 290–200 | — |
| D | 190–100 | Can maintain some interaction and understand straightforward factual information in his/her field of specialization but may ask for clarification. Frequent errors, inaccuracies, and mis- or overuse of technical language can cause strain in communication. |
| E | 90–0 | Can manage simple interaction on familiar topics and understand the main point in short, simple messages, provided he/she can ask for clarification. A high density of errors and mis- or overuse of technical language can cause significant strain and breakdowns in communication. |
However, knowing the OET scoring system isn’t sufficient - let’s see what the requirements of various countries’ regulators are:
Some regulators - including several Canadian provincial boards - only accept OET on Paper or OET on Computer, and explicitly exclude OET@Home even where it’s otherwise available. Always check your specific board’s accepted delivery modes before booking, not just the required score.
It’s worth noting that most regulatory boards accept the so-called “clubbing”, where you can use results of two tests taken within 6 months as long as they were taken one after another. This way you can avoid taking the whole test again because of one sub-test result being unsatisfactory.
In India, the OET test is held across major cities such as: Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Thiruvananthapuram.
OET sample test or mock test helps improve the skills required to score high. Along with OET coaching, Y-Axis also allows competitors to test their abilities with the help of free mock tests. Before the OET exam, competitors can review mock tests to assess their skills in each section. The OET exam lasts 175 minutes. Practice with the mock tests to qualify for the exam with a maximum score.
OET score is valid for 2 years. After 2 years, if you require the score, you must take the test again.
Step 1: Visit the OET official website.
Step 2: Create your login account with user name and password.
Step 3: Fill up all the required information.
Step 4: Book an appointment for the OET exam date and time.
Step 5: Check all the details once.
Step 6: Pay the OET registration fees.
Step 7: Click on the Register/Apply button.
Step 8: Confirmation will be sent to your registered mobile number.
Healthcare professionals from these 12 profession-specific OET versions can take the test:
CBLA has not mentioned any specific age group to register for the test. The CBLA has mentioned no specific educational qualification to take the test.
Candidates seeking to appear for the OET test must have the following:
Along with these, other requirements also include:
Fees revised - verified August 2026.
The full OET Test - all four sub-tests (Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking) — costs AUD 587, which is the globally consistent base price and includes a non-refundable online booking fee of AUD 7. Candidates testing in the United States pay USD 455 for OET on Computer at a venue and for OET@Home. The fee is the same across all three delivery modes.
| Booking | Fee (AUD) |
|---|---|
| Full test - all four sub-tests | 587 |
| Three sub-tests | 515 |
| Two sub-tests | 415 |
| One sub-test | 315 |
| Re-mark of a result (per sub-test) | 120 |
| Rescheduling — more than 7 days before the test | from 120 |
| Rescheduling — within 7 days of the test | up to 200 |
Points to note: