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RCVS (UK) · Last updated November 2026

RCVS Veterinary Nurse pre-registration theory exam: free practice test

The written part of the RCVS pre-registration exams for veterinary nurses with overseas or non-RCVS accredited qualifications. Its 200 questions in three papers test the RCVS Day One Competences and the Code of Professional Conduct. This prep covers only the theory (MCQ) exam, not the practical OSCE, and follows the small animal candidate guide of August 2026.

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About the RCVS VN Pre-registration Theory exam

The written part of the RCVS pre-registration exams for veterinary nurses with overseas or non-RCVS accredited qualifications. Its 200 questions in three papers test the RCVS Day One Competences and the Code of Professional Conduct. This prep covers only the theory (MCQ) exam, not the practical OSCE, and follows the small animal candidate guide of August 2026.

What's on the exam

RCVS VN Pre-registration Theory
Professional Responsibilities and Communication
8 key facts
Animal Husbandry and Basic Nursing Care
8 key facts
Diagnostic Principles
8 key facts
Pharmacy and Dispensary
8 key facts
Complex Veterinary Nursing Care
8 key facts
Surgical Nursing and Theatre Assistance
8 key facts
Anaesthesia and Recovery
8 key facts

Each branch is a topic in the official outline. Members see every key fact on the full mind map. Read the free study guide →

How to pass the RCVS VN Pre-registration Theory exam

  • Paper 3 has 35 questions in 60 minutes, about 1 minute 40 seconds each. It's open book, so practise searching the Code PDF by keyword before exam day rather than reading it for the first time in the paper.
  • Four units carry 143 of the 200 questions: Professional Responsibilities (41), Complex Nursing Care (37), Diagnostic Principles (34) and Anaesthesia (31). Weight your revision to match.
  • Papers 1 and 2 allow about 80 seconds a question, and you can't take a toilet or rest break during a paper. If you fail, you re-sit only the failed papers, though the full fee applies.
  • The RCVS must invite you before you can book. Entries close 30 December 2026 for the February 2027 sitting and 23 April 2027 for June 2027, and you must pass both the theory and the OSCE within an 18-month window.

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Create a free account after the test: your score by topic, a mistakes bank, the complete study notes for the first topic, flashcards and the AVE High-Yield Values Sheet.

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What's in the premium RCVS VN Pre-registration Theory prep

Premium RCVS VN Pre-registration Theory prep is studied one topic at a time. Each step starts with that topic's key notes and flashcard deck, then its own question sets of 25, so you master one topic before you move to the next. When every topic is strong, the 6 full mock exams show you're ready.

3,000practice questions, every answer explained
6full-length mock exams, 200 questions each, timed
800flashcards with spaced repetition, sorted by topic
60comprehensive key notes across 7 topics

Your step-by-step study path

  1. 1
    Professional Responsibilities and Communication9 key notes, 115 flashcards, then 450 practice questions in 18 sets of 25
    Notes free with an account
  2. 2
    Animal Husbandry and Basic Nursing Care9 key notes, 115 flashcards, then 425 practice questions in 17 sets of 25
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  3. 3
    Diagnostic Principles9 key notes, 115 flashcards, then 425 practice questions in 17 sets of 25
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  4. 4
    Pharmacy and Dispensary9 key notes, 115 flashcards, then 425 practice questions in 17 sets of 25
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  5. 5
    Complex Veterinary Nursing Care8 key notes, 115 flashcards, then 425 practice questions in 17 sets of 25
    Premium
  6. 6
    Surgical Nursing and Theatre Assistance8 key notes, 115 flashcards, then 425 practice questions in 17 sets of 25
    Premium
  7. 7
    Anaesthesia and Recovery8 key notes, 110 flashcards, then 425 practice questions in 17 sets of 25
    Premium
  8. Final step: 6 full mock exams200 questions each, timed like test day. Pass them, then book your exam.
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Free with an account

Read the complete RCVS VN Pre-registration Theory study notes for “Professional Responsibilities and Communication”

Our first full set of comprehensive notes, about 15 minutes of reading: Legal framework · Consent, confidentiality and ethics · Working with others · Health, safety and practice organisation · Communication, records and euthanasia, a worked exam example, the traps examiners use and a one-minute recap. Create a free account to read it and see how premium notes work before you decide.

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Study tools included

3,000 practice questions

3,000 exam-style questions per exam, organized topic by topic in sets of 25. Every answer explained, with the rule it comes from.

6 full mock exams

6 full-length timed mock exams per exam, with real question counts and time limits, so test day feels like practice day.

Exam Readiness Score

One 0 to 100 number that tells you when you're ready to book. Reach 80 and you're covered by our Pass Guarantee.

800 flashcards + spaced repetition

800 flashcards per exam, in a deck for each topic, that come back right before you'd forget them. Five minutes a day keeps every number fresh.

60 comprehensive key notes

60 key notes per exam, split across its topics and each explained in full: the concepts, worked exam examples, the traps examiners use and a quick recap. Your first set is free with an account.

Mind maps

See the whole exam on one screen: every topic and the facts under it.

Sample questions with answers

These are the questions in the free test above, with answers. Try the test first. You'll learn more by getting some wrong.

1. Under Schedule 3 of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, which task may a registered veterinary nurse carry out at the direction of their employing veterinary surgeon?
Answer: Suturing a small skin wound on a companion animal under that surgeon's care. Schedule 3 lets an RVN carry out medical treatment or minor surgery not involving entry into a body cavity, on a companion animal under the care of a directing veterinary surgeon who is, or acts for, the employer. Entering the thorax or abdomen falls outside it, and diagnosis and prescribing POM-V medicines stay with the veterinary surgeon. The nurse must also be competent for the task.
2. A dog has injuries that a veterinary nurse suspects are non-accidental. The client will not discuss them. How should the nurse respond, following RCVS guidance on client confidentiality?
Answer: Raise it with the veterinary surgeon, as welfare can override confidentiality. Client confidentiality is important but isn't absolute: it can be overridden where animal welfare or the public interest is at stake. The nurse should record the findings objectively and involve the veterinary surgeon, so that a decision can be made about reporting to an appropriate body. Disclosure must go to a proper authority, not to relatives or the public.
3. A 32-kg sedated dog must be moved between a kennel and the prep room. Under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, what is the first priority?
Answer: Avoid a hazardous manual lift, for example by using a trolley. The Regulations set an order: avoid hazardous manual handling so far as reasonably practicable, assess any that can't be avoided, then reduce the risk. A trolley or stretcher removes the lift altogether. Personal strength and back belts don't meet the duty, and assessment comes before the task.
4. After a case of canine parvovirus, a kennel must be disinfected. Which is the most suitable choice?
Answer: A peroxygen or hypochlorite product left for its full contact time. Parvovirus is a non-enveloped virus that resists many disinfectants, including quaternary ammonium compounds, alcohol and chlorhexidine. Oxidising agents such as peroxygen and hypochlorite are effective when the surface is cleaned first and full contact time is given. Match the disinfectant to the organism and read the data sheet.
5. A colleague offers to hold a sedated cat's legs for a lateral thoracic radiograph while wearing a lead gown. What is the correct response under the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 and the practice's local rules?
Answer: Decline, and position the cat with sandbags, ties and foam wedges. Doses must be kept as low as reasonably practicable, so patients are positioned with sedation or anaesthesia and positioning aids. Manual restraint is kept for exceptional clinical cases and needs specific provision in the local rules. A lead gown doesn't stop scatter reaching unprotected parts of the body, and neither does a dose badge, which only measures exposure.
6. A bright, well dog's serum biochemistry shows potassium above 12 mmol/L and calcium of 0.5 mmol/L. Which explanation is most likely, and what should be done?
Answer: Potassium EDTA contamination; collect a new sample and rerun it. EDTA is supplied as a potassium salt and chelates calcium, so contamination of a serum tube gives a spuriously very high potassium with very low calcium in a patient who looks well. Fill plain tubes before EDTA tubes and never pour between tubes. Results that don't fit the patient should be questioned and the test repeated on a fresh sample.
7. A radiograph needs 200 mA for 0.04 seconds. The machine must be set to 100 mA for this exposure. What exposure time keeps the same mAs?
Answer: 0.08 s. mAs is mA multiplied by time in seconds, so 200 x 0.04 = 8 mAs. At 100 mA, the time needed is 8 divided by 100, which is 0.08 s. Halving the mA therefore means doubling the time, and a longer time raises the risk of movement blur in a breathing patient.
8. A vet asks for 3 mg/kg of lidocaine for an 8-kg dog, using a 2% solution. What volume should be drawn up?
Answer: 1.2 mL. A 2% solution contains 20 mg/mL. The dose is 3 x 8 = 24 mg, and 24 divided by 20 is 1.2 mL. Multiply the percentage by 10 for mg/mL, and do a gross error check: a dose of 24 mg can't sensibly be 12 mL of a 20 mg/mL product.
9. A client presents a written prescription for phenobarbital, a Schedule 3 controlled drug, dated five weeks ago. What should the veterinary nurse do?
Answer: Withhold it, as it has expired, and refer it to the prescriber. Prescriptions for Schedule 1 to 4 controlled drugs are valid for up to 28 days, and Schedule 2 and 3 items can be dispensed only once within that time. The 6-month limit applies to other prescription medicines and Schedule 5 drugs. An expired prescription can't be part-filled, so the client needs a new one from the veterinary surgeon.
10. An owner phones to say their dog ate slug pellets 20 minutes ago and is now twitching. What advice is correct?
Answer: Come in immediately, bringing the packaging, and don't make the dog vomit. Metaldehyde causes tremors and seizures, so this is an emergency needing immediate attendance, and the packaging helps the vet and the Veterinary Poisons Information Service. Salt water is dangerous and vomiting must not be induced at home in a patient with neurological signs. Delay lets absorption continue and signs worsen.
11. A 20-kg dog is prescribed fluids at 5 mL/kg/h. The giving set delivers 20 drops per mL. What drip rate is required?
Answer: 1 drop every 1.8 seconds. The rate is 5 x 20 = 100 mL/h, and 100 x 20 = 2,000 drops per hour. Dividing 3,600 seconds by 2,000 drops gives 1 drop every 1.8 seconds. A result of 3.6 seconds comes from using a 10 drops per mL set, so always read the drip factor on the packaging.
12. Ten minutes into a blood transfusion, a dog becomes pyrexic and restless, and its muzzle begins to swell. What should the nurse do first?
Answer: Stop the transfusion and alert the veterinary surgeon. Pyrexia and facial swelling early in a transfusion suggest a reaction, so the infusion is stopped and the veterinary surgeon informed at once, keeping IV access for treatment. Slowing or finishing the unit continues the exposure. This is why patients are monitored closely in the first part of a transfusion, which starts at a slow rate.
13. A theatre list contains a cat spay, a cruciate repair, a scale and polish, and the lancing of an abscess. Which order best protects against infection?
Answer: Cruciate repair, cat spay, scale and polish, lancing the abscess. Operating lists run from clean to dirty. Orthopaedic surgery goes first because implants and joints are especially vulnerable to infection, then other clean procedures. Dentistry generates contaminated aerosols and an abscess is dirty, so these come last, followed by cleaning of the theatre.
14. A 4-kg cat is on a T-piece with a circuit factor of 2.5. Tidal volume is 15 mL/kg and the respiratory rate is 20 breaths/min. What fresh gas flow is required?
Answer: 3.0 L/min. Minute volume is tidal volume x respiratory rate: 15 x 4 x 20 = 1,200 mL/min. Multiplying by the circuit factor of 2.5 gives 3,000 mL/min, or 3.0 L/min. Stopping at 1.2 L/min leaves out the circuit factor, and on a non-rebreathing system too little fresh gas means the patient rebreathes carbon dioxide.
15. During anaesthesia on a non-rebreathing circuit, the reservoir bag becomes rapidly distended and the airway pressure rises. What should the nurse do immediately?
Answer: Open the APL valve or disconnect the patient from the circuit. A closed APL valve or blocked scavenging traps gas in the circuit, and the pressure can cause barotrauma, reduced venous return and cardiovascular collapse. Pressure must be released at once by opening the valve or disconnecting the patient. Extra gas flow would worsen it, and the machine check should include confirming that the APL valve is open.

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RCVS VN Pre-registration Theory exam FAQ

How many questions are on the RCVS VN Pre-registration Theory exam?

200 multiple-choice questions in three papers: Paper 1 (100), Paper 2 (65) and Paper 3 (35); four options, single best answer, with a time limit of 4 hours 40 minutes in total: paper 1 2 h 15 min, paper 2 1 h 25 min, paper 3 60 min, over two dates within 7 days (no breaks within a paper). Format: papers 1 and 2 are closed book. paper 3 is open book, with a searchable pdf of the rcvs code of professional conduct for veterinary nurses on screen. calculator and notepad are in the software. this prep covers only the theory (mcq) exam; the 10-station practical osce is separate and not covered.

What is the passing score for RCVS VN Pre-registration Theory?

A pass mark is set for each paper by standard setting and is not published; results show how far above or below it you were. Practise to 70% or higher.

How much does the RCVS VN Pre-registration Theory exam cost?

£286 per sitting, however many papers you sit (RCVS 2026 fee, reviewed annually); the OSCE is a separate £498 per sitting. AVBC reviews its fees, so confirm the current schedule at avbc.asn.au before you apply.

Which languages is the RCVS VN Pre-registration Theory exam offered in?

English (the RCVS guide lists no other language; confirm with the RCVS).

Where do I take the RCVS VN Pre-registration Theory exam?

RCVS through TestReach: online with live invigilation from a location of your choice in the UK or overseas, or at the RCVS examination centre in London; up to three sittings a year on UK time.

Is this RCVS VN Pre-registration Theory practice test free?

Yes. The 15-question practice test on this page is free, with an explanation for every answer and no signup. A free account also unlocks the complete study notes for the first topic. The full RCVS VN Pre-registration Theory prep is Premium at A$217 a month for this exam.

What's in the premium RCVS VN Pre-registration Theory prep?

3,000 practice questions organized topic by topic (Professional Responsibilities and Communication: 450; Animal Husbandry and Basic Nursing Care: 425; Diagnostic Principles: 425; Pharmacy and Dispensary: 425; Complex Veterinary Nursing Care: 425; Surgical Nursing and Theatre Assistance: 425; Anaesthesia and Recovery: 425), 6 full-length timed mock exams of 200 questions, 800 flashcards and 60 comprehensive key notes split across all 7 topics, plus a mistakes bank and the Readiness Score.

Related practice tests

Exam details are summarized from the official candidate information available in November 2026. the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC) changes formats and fees, so confirm with Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) before you book. AVEVetExam is not affiliated with AVBC or any veterinary registration board.

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