SNLE: Saudi Nursing Licensure Examination

Facts last verified 5 October 2026.

Check which title fits your nursing diploma before you study for the SNLE. The degree route and nurse technician route have different rules.

Is this the right paper for you?

The SNLE guide lists a recognised Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or equivalent. It also lists interns and students close to graduation.

  • The SCFHS nursing scope sets a 3-year technician diploma. Its 2-year rule covers only Saudi nurses or midwives already classed as technicians.
  • The Prometric qualifications sheet lists a 2-year nursing diploma. Ask SCFHS which title fits your award before you pay.

Scaled score

Format at a glance

200 questions. Time: Two 100-question sections of 120 minutes with a 30-minute break. Pass mark: 500 on a 200–800 scale.

Delivered by Prometric.

What the paper covers

ProMCQ sets these topic targets for its mock papers, using the published SCFHS blueprint as a guide. They can differ from the official weights, so check the blueprint for those. Each mock includes national-topic content, so its final question shares can differ slightly from these targets.

  • Nursing Fundamentals (20%): Fundamentals is 20%. Include basic care, infection prevention, safe medicines and food needs.
  • Adult Nursing (40%): Adult nursing is 40%. It includes medical, surgical, critical-care, community and mental-health nursing.
  • Maternal-Child Nursing (30%): Maternal-child nursing is 30%. Include pregnancy, labour, postnatal care, newborns and sick children.
  • Management & Leadership (10%): Management and leadership is 10%. Practise who to assign care to, who needs care first, and ethical choices.

Sample questions

Eight original practice questions from the SCFHS / SMLE nurses bank. They are written to the paper's style, not taken from the live exam. Pick an answer to see the key and explanation.

  1. A nurse is preparing to verify a resting adult's radial pulse using gentle finger-pad pressure. Where should the finger pads be placed?

    1. Thumb-side outer wrist
    2. Thumb-side inner wrist
    3. Little-finger-side inner wrist
    4. Center of the antecubital area
    Answer

    B. The radial pulse is palpated with finger pads over the radial artery on the thumb-side of the inner wrist.

  2. A client is having bedside hearing screening in the right ear. After the client stops hearing the 512-Hz tuning fork on the mastoid, the nurse prepares the air-conduction phase. Which action by the nurse requires intervention?

    1. Hold the vibrating tines 1–2 cm from the ear canal.
    2. Ask whether sound returns when the tines approach the ear canal.
    3. Document the final result and compare it with the opposite ear.
    4. Strike the fork again before moving it beside the ear canal.
    Answer

    D. Rinne testing compares bone conduction with air conduction in the same ear. After the client no longer hears the fork on the mastoid, the nurse moves the still-vibrating tines 1–2 cm from the external auditory canal without re-striking the fork.

  3. A client reports copious, frothy, malodorous yellow-green vaginal discharge with vulvar irritation. Which cause is most strongly suggested?

    1. Candida albicans infection
    2. Antibiotic-related flora imbalance
    3. Trichomonas vaginalis infection
    4. Scented-product irritant reaction
    Answer

    C. Copious or frothy, foul-smelling yellow-green discharge is the classic clue for Trichomonas vaginalis. The pattern guides suspicion but does not replace diagnostic testing.

  4. Which of the following should the nurse include about fundal-height discrepancies?

    1. "A mismatch confirms incorrect dates."
    2. "A mismatch diagnoses multiple gestation."
    3. "A mismatch proves growth restriction."
    4. "A mismatch needs further assessment."
    Answer

    D. A size-date mismatch can arise from several causes, including incorrect dates, multiple gestation, amniotic-fluid variation, fibroids, macrosomia, or fetal growth restriction, so it requires further assessment.

  5. A 44-year-old man previously treated for depression now starts an SSRI for obsessive-compulsive disorder. The nurse teaches him how long his prescriber needs to assess response. Which statement by the patient shows understanding of this teaching?

    1. "It should work as fast as my depression treatment did."
    2. "My usual depression dose will be enough this time."
    3. "This may need a higher dose and up to 12 weeks."
    4. "If my rituals persist next week, I'll stop it."
    Answer

    C. Compared with depression, SSRI treatment for OCD often needs a higher therapeutic dose and a longer trial, commonly up to 8–12 weeks, to judge full response.

  6. After early education sessions, the nurse reviews attendance and comprehension before planning the remaining sessions. What is the purpose of reviewing these data now?

    1. Measure resources relative to outcomes
    2. Improve the remaining program sessions
    3. Assess necessary healthcare service use
    4. Verify stated goals were achieved
    Answer

    B. Because sessions remain, reviewing attendance and comprehension serves formative evaluation: the findings guide real-time improvements to the ongoing program.

  7. A 43-year-old woman, Nurse Hala, will vote on a community service policy. She owns shares in a business that would benefit financially from its adoption. How should the nurse manage her personal stake in this decision?

    1. Rely on community endorsement
    2. Collect the policy's outcome data
    3. Disclose and address the conflict
    4. Describe the problem's place and time
    Answer

    C. The nurse stands to benefit financially from a policy she will help decide. She must disclose and address this conflict so that decisions remain transparent, accountable, and guided by ethics.

  8. An 83-year-old woman with low muscle mass is newly prescribed digoxin. Her kidney function has not been checked recently. Her serum creatinine is at the upper end of the laboratory normal range. How should the nurse interpret this creatinine result before the first dose?

    1. Kidney function is confirmed normal
    2. Digoxin clearance will be faster
    3. Kidney function may be substantially reduced
    4. Digoxin accumulation is excluded
    Answer

    C. Age-related loss of muscle mass means less creatinine is produced each day, which lowers serum creatinine. In an older adult, a high-normal or slightly raised creatinine can therefore reflect substantially reduced kidney function. Creatinine clearance should be estimated rather than relying on the creatinine value. This matters for renally cleared drugs such as digoxin, which can accumulate to toxic levels.

Full papers in the real format

10 timed mock papers of 200 questions each, built to the weights above. No question repeats across papers.

How to prepare

  • Practise first-action questions. Identify the greatest risk, then compare the actions.
  • Give community and mental-health nursing time in your study of adult nursing.
  • Our suggested practice includes infusion rates, weight-based doses and paediatric doses.
  • The reading list includes Timby, Kozier and Erb, Brunner and Suddarth, and Lewis. These books are study aids.
  • The SNLE guide gives no way to turn mock marks into scaled scores. Use mocks to find weak topics.

Licensing steps

  1. Check your title and documents: Check which title fits you. Finish DataFlow, then send your file through Mumaris Plus. Read the guide
  2. Check fees and book: Book the paper on your permit. Choose a date within the period printed on it. Read the guide
  3. Check results and register: Find your score and next step. Check your attempts before you book again. Read the guide

Frequently asked questions

Do nurses sit the SMLE?

No. SMLE is for doctors. The SNLE has degree, intern and student eligibility routes. Diploma nurses should ask SCFHS which paper matches their title.

What is the SNLE passing score?

500 on a 200 to 800 scale. (SNLE guide).

Is the SNLE shorter than the SMLE?

No. Both have 200 questions in 2 parts of 100. Each part lasts 120 minutes, with a 30-minute break.

What happens if you have not passed 2 years after graduation?

SNLE says classification and registration rules then apply. The guide does not call this a ban for life. Check your next steps with SCFHS.

Sources

Facts last verified 2026-10-05.

  1. The Scope of Nursing and Midwifery Practice in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Commission for Health Specialties
  2. SCHS Minimum Qualifications, Prometric
  3. SNLE Applicant Guide (September 2025), Saudi Commission for Health Specialties
  4. SNLE Applicant Guide 2024, Saudi Commission for Health Specialties