Short answer: OET is accepted in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, parts of Canada and Singapore, among others. OET says more than 550 organisations in over 20 countries recognise it (January 2025). Acceptance is decided by each body, not by country: a nursing regulator may take OET while the dental regulator in the same country does not, and most bodies refuse OET@Home. Before you book, check that your own regulator lists OET, which profession version it needs, and whether it accepts the format you plan to sit.
Which countries accept OET, and which bodies?
The bodies below list OET on their own websites, checked in November 2026. It is not a full list: OET keeps a searchable list of recognising organisations, and its organisation pages note that entries may have changed since publication, so the body's own page is the one to trust.
| Country | Bodies that list OET (checked on their own pages) | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | NMC (nurses and midwives), GMC (doctors), GPhC (pharmacists), HCPC (six professions) | Registration |
| Ireland | NMBI (nurses and midwives), Medical Council (doctors) | Registration |
| Australia | AHPRA and the National Boards, Department of Home Affairs | Registration and visas |
| New Zealand | Medical Council, Nursing Council, Immigration New Zealand | Registration and skilled residence visas |
| United States | ECFMG (doctors), TruMerit VisaScreen | Certification and visa screening |
| Canada | College of Nurses of Ontario | Registration |
| Singapore | Singapore Medical Council | Registration |
Many more bodies are on OET's list, including employers and universities. We have left out any we could not confirm on the body's own website. The scores each regulator asks for sit in one table in our guide to OET scores and grades.
Does every body in a country accept OET?
No. A country does not accept or refuse OET; each regulator decides for its own professions. The UK shows how much this matters.
- The NMC accepts OET for nurses and midwives, and the GMC accepts OET Medicine for doctors.
- The GPhC accepts the Pharmacy version for pharmacists (guidance dated June 2025).
- The HCPC accepts profession-specific OET for six of its professions only: podiatry, dietetics, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and radiography.
- The GDC, which registers dentists, names IELTS on its English language page and does not mention OET (checked November 2026). If you are a dentist heading to the UK, ask the GDC before you book OET Dentistry.
The same pattern holds elsewhere. In Canada, the College of Nurses of Ontario lists OET, but that tells you nothing about a nursing college in another province or about doctors in Ontario. OET's own Canada page claims wider acceptance among physician, nursing and pharmacy regulators; confirm it with the college in your province.
Will your regulator accept OET@Home?
Usually not. Of the bodies in the table, only the NMC and the GMC say on their own pages that they accept OET@Home. Most of the others refuse it in writing:
| Body | OET@Home |
|---|---|
| NMC (UK) | Accepted |
| GMC (UK) | Accepted |
| GPhC (UK) | Not accepted |
| HCPC (UK) | Not accepted: the test "needs to be taken at an official test centre" |
| NMBI (Ireland) | Not accepted |
| Medical Council (Ireland) | Not accepted |
| AHPRA (Australia) | Not accepted: paper or computer at a test centre only |
| Home Affairs (Australia visas) | Not accepted: OET@Home is named as an online test it refuses |
| Nursing Council (New Zealand) | Not accepted: online computer-based tests are excluded |
| Immigration New Zealand | Not accepted: "at home" tests are excluded |
| TruMerit VisaScreen (USA) | Not accepted: at-home versions of English tests are refused |
| ECFMG (USA) | Only if there is no paper or computer test venue in your country |
Three bodies in this guide do not state a position on their pages: the Medical Council of New Zealand, the College of Nurses of Ontario and the Singapore Medical Council. Ask them before you book OET@Home. OET itself warns that OET@Home may not be accepted by every recognising organisation. Note that "on computer" and "at home" are different things: AHPRA, for example, accepts the computer-based OET taken at a test centre. If you are unsure which format to book, our guide to OET paper vs computer compares the three.
Which OET profession version do you need?
The version that matches the profession you are registering in. There are 12 OET professions, and Listening and Reading are the same in all of them, while Writing and Speaking use your own profession's tasks (why that is).
Several bodies say so explicitly. The GMC, ECFMG, the Medical Council of Ireland and the Medical Council of New Zealand want the Medicine version. The NMC tells applicants to choose the Nursing version, the GPhC wants Pharmacy, and the HCPC wants the version for each of its six professions. AHPRA accepts any OET version for a profession that has no OET of its own. A grade B in the wrong version may be refused even when every score is high enough, so pick the version your body names.
Can OET get you a visa as well as registration?
In some countries, yes. Australia's Department of Home Affairs lists OET among the tests it accepts for visas, for tests taken at a secure test centre. Results from tests taken on or before 6 August 2025 can be used until 6 August 2028, depending on the visa. Immigration New Zealand lists OET for skilled residence visas, with results no more than 2 years old.
The UK works differently. GOV.UK says doctors, dentists, nurses and midwives applying for the Health and Care Worker visa do not need to prove their English again if they passed an English language assessment accepted by their regulator. Other applicants need a Secure English Language Test (SELT) with an approved provider, and the page does not mention OET. So in the UK, OET helps with the visa through your NMC or GMC registration, not on its own.
In the United States, healthcare workers who need a VisaScreen certificate can use OET: TruMerit (formerly CGFNS) lists it among its approved English tests. OET says it is accepted by more than 40 state nursing boards (OET USA page), which is OET's own figure; check your state board's site before you book. For doctors, ECFMG requires OET Medicine from every Pathways applicant, whatever their native language, and for the 2027 Pathways the result must be from a test taken on or after 1 January 2025.
How long does a result stay valid for each country?
OET does not set a validity period. Its results page says the length of time a result is recognised is decided by the authority that accepts it. In practice, most regulators in this guide accept results up to 2 years old, but the exceptions matter: the GMC can extend validity in narrow cases after PLAB 2, ECFMG sets a start date for each Pathways year, and Australia's visa rules depend on the visa subclass. The scores guide lists each regulator's period.
How do you check your own body before booking?
We suggest five questions, answered from your regulator's own website, not from a prep site or a social media post (ours included):
- Is OET on its list of accepted tests for your profession?
- Which OET profession version does it name?
- Does it accept the format you plan to book: paper, computer at a centre, or OET@Home?
- Does it accept grades from two sittings, or only one?
- How old can the result be on the day you apply?
If the page does not answer one of them, email the regulator and keep the reply. When your visa is a separate step, ask questions 1, 3 and 5 again for the immigration body, because its answers can differ from your regulator's.
Where can you practise for the country you are aiming at?
Whatever the country, the scores come from the same four sub-tests, and Listening and Reading do not change with your profession. You can try your first OET Listening mock exam and your first OET Reading mock exam before you decide on a subscription, and see where you stand against the grade your regulator asks for. Spelling counts in Listening Part A: OET explained in one of its live sessions that a common word any healthcare professional should know, such as gallbladder, is marked wrong if misspelt by even one letter, and British or American spelling are both accepted if you keep to one style throughout. The OET Listening Part A section lets you hear Part A words, type them and check your spelling straight away.
Frequently asked questions
Is OET accepted in the UK?
Yes, for several professions. The NMC accepts it for nurses and midwives, the GMC for doctors (Medicine version), the GPhC for pharmacists and the HCPC for six professions. The GDC's English language page names IELTS and does not mention OET, so dentists should check with the GDC first.
Is OET accepted in Canada?
Some Canadian regulators accept it, province by province. The College of Nurses of Ontario lists OET on its own site. OET says many physician, nursing and pharmacy regulators accept it, so confirm with the college in your province before booking.
Is OET accepted for Australian visas?
Yes. The Department of Home Affairs lists OET among the tests it accepts for visa purposes when the test is taken at a secure test centre. It does not accept OET@Home.
Which countries accept OET@Home?
It depends on the body, not the country. In the UK the NMC and GMC accept OET@Home, while the GPhC and HCPC do not. Ireland's NMBI and Medical Council, Australia's AHPRA and Home Affairs, and New Zealand's Nursing Council and immigration department refuse it. ECFMG allows it only where there is no test venue in your country.
Does OET work in the USA for nurses?
Yes, in many states. TruMerit lists OET as an approved English test for VisaScreen, and OET says more than 40 state nursing boards accept it. Each state board sets its own rules, so check yours.
Do I need a different OET for a different country?
Not for a different country, but you need the right profession version. A doctor can use one OET Medicine result for several regulators if each one accepts the format, the scores and the date.
Does OET expire?
OET sets no validity period of its own. The body that receives the result decides how old it may be, and most regulators in this guide accept results up to 2 years old.
OET Ultimacy is an independent OET preparation provider and is not affiliated with OET or Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment. Test rules, fees and requirements can change, so always check oet.com and the body you are applying to.
