The NMC clubbing rule explained: combining OET scores across two sittings

The NMC has allowed candidates to combine their best scores from two OET sittings within a 12 month window, rather than requiring grade B across all four subtests in a single sitting. To combine, each individual sitting commonly needs to clear a lower bar: at least C+ (300) in Writing and at least C (250) in Listening, Reading and Speaking, with the overall combined picture still needing to reach grade B (350) in each subtest across the two sittings.

In practice this means a candidate who scores B in three subtests but C+ in Writing on one sitting does not necessarily need to retake everything: retaking Writing alone, provided the second attempt clears the required combined threshold, can be enough.

The NMC extended the combining window from six months to 12, which gives more room to prepare properly for a single-subtest resit rather than rushing it. If your first sitting is early in that window, you have meaningfully more time to target the weak subtest specifically before the second sitting needs to happen.

If you are close to the combining thresholds on your other three subtests and one subtest is clearly the outlier, a targeted single-subtest resit within the window is usually cheaper, faster and less draining than sitting the whole exam again. If more than one subtest is below the combining threshold, or your first sitting falls outside what NMC will accept for combining, a full retake may be the more reliable route: work out which situation you are in before you book anything.

For candidates who have taken the test at least twice and narrowly missed the required score, or who trained in English in a country where English is not the majority language, the NMC has also accepted supporting evidence from employers alongside test results. This is a separate, narrower route and its conditions are set by the NMC, so confirm current eligibility directly rather than assuming it applies to your situation.