To become a licensed nurse in the United States, you have to clear three gates: graduate from a state-approved nursing program, pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), and get through a fingerprint-based criminal background check. Nursing licensure requirements are set by each state’s board of nursing under its Nursing Practice Act, so the fine print shifts across state lines, but the core framework is the same everywhere.1National Council of State Boards of Nursing. What Every Nurse Needs to Know About State and Territorial Boards of Nursing You apply to the board in the state where you intend to practice, and that board decides whether you qualify.
Finish an Approved Nursing Program
Your program has to be approved by the state board of nursing. Most candidates enter the profession through an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), which runs two to three years, or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), which takes four. A smaller number of hospital-based diploma programs still exist and are still recognized in some states.
At the national level, two bodies accredit nursing programs: the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), which covers everything from practical nursing certificates through clinical doctorates, and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), which focuses on baccalaureate and graduate programs.2Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing Accreditation matters: if your program loses it while you’re enrolled, many states will refuse to let you sit for the NCLEX, federal financial aid dries up, and your credits may not transfer. If the program was accredited the day you graduated, your degree remains valid regardless of what happens afterward.
Every approved program includes supervised clinical hours in direct patient care under licensed nurses. State minimums range from roughly 250 hours to more than 1,000, with rotations through medical-surgical nursing, pediatrics, mental health, and obstetrics. The board verifies your hours through transcripts sent directly from your school.
Pass the NCLEX
After you graduate, you have to pass the NCLEX before the board will issue a license. Registered nurse candidates take the NCLEX-RN; practical and vocational nurse candidates take the NCLEX-PN. Both are computerized adaptive tests, meaning the software raises or lowers the difficulty of the next question based on how you answered the last one.3National Council of State Boards of Nursing. NCSBN Examinations – Section: NCLEX the Premier Licensure Exam
The exam runs between 85 and 150 questions, 15 of which are unscored pretest items, with a maximum of five hours including breaks.4National Council of State Boards of Nursing. How Long Is the NCLEX There is no percentage score; the computer stops once it has enough information to call you a pass or a fail against a fixed standard. Registration costs $200, paid to Pearson VUE when you schedule. If you don’t pass, you must wait at least 45 days before trying again, and you can attempt the exam up to eight times in a year.5National Council of State Boards of Nursing. 2026 NCLEX Examination Candidate Bulletin Some state boards cap total lifetime attempts.
Clear the Background Check
Every board runs a fingerprint-based criminal background check against FBI and state databases, looking for felonies, drug offenses, and misdemeanors that bear on patient care.6National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Criminal Background Check Guidelines A record isn’t an automatic bar. Most boards weigh how long ago the offense happened, whether it relates to nursing practice, and what you’ve done since.
You are expected to self-disclose arrests, convictions, and plea agreements on the application. Boards treat omissions harshly; failing to disclose something that then shows up in the background check often leads to denial based on dishonesty, which is worse than the underlying offense would have been on its own.
Submit the Application and Fees
The application goes to the state board where you plan to practice, usually through an online portal. You’ll provide your Social Security number, legal name matching your government ID, and your full educational history. Transcripts have to be sent directly from your nursing school to the board.
Initial licensure application fees generally run $50 to $350 depending on the state, separate from the $200 NCLEX fee. Once the board verifies your transcripts and background check, it notifies Pearson VUE that you’re eligible to test, and you receive an Authorization to Test (ATT) you can use to schedule your exam.
Initial review commonly takes several weeks and can stretch to two months or more during graduation season. After you pass the NCLEX and the board completes its remaining verifications, you get a license number and appear in the board’s public verification database that employers search.
Working Between Graduation and Your License
Most states issue temporary practice permits for graduates waiting on the NCLEX or on their results. A temporary permit lets you work in a clinical setting under the direct supervision of a licensed RN. Your scope is limited: no charge nurse responsibilities, no independent practice. The permit converts to a full license when you pass and ends immediately if you fail. Duration, supervision rules, and whether a separate application is required all vary by state, so check early if you plan to work in that window.
Practicing in More Than One State
The Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) lets you hold a single multistate license valid across all participating jurisdictions. As of 2026, 43 jurisdictions have joined.7Nurse Licensure Compact. Home It’s particularly useful for travel nurses and telehealth across state lines.
A multistate license is only available if your primary state of residence is a compact member and you meet the uniform licensure requirements, which include: graduating from an approved nursing program, passing the NCLEX, completing state and federal fingerprint-based background checks, no felony convictions, no nursing-related misdemeanor convictions, a valid Social Security number, and an active, unencumbered license.8National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Uniform Licensure Requirements for a Multistate License You prove residency with a driver’s license, voter registration, or federal income tax return showing an address in the compact state, and all documents should come from the same state.9National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Nurse Licensure Compact Frequently Asked Questions When you treat a patient located in another compact state, you follow that state’s nursing laws.
If you move to a new compact state, apply for licensure by endorsement in the new state right away. There is no grace period: you can keep practicing on your old multistate license only until the new state issues the replacement, which deactivates the old one.10National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Moving to Another State If you move to a non-compact state or can’t establish residency in a compact state, your multistate license converts to a single-state license, and you’ll need individual licenses for any other states where you want to practice.11Nurse Licensure Compact. Frequently Asked Questions – Section: Primary State of Residence and Moving
If You Were Educated Outside the United States
Nurses trained abroad have an extra layer before they can apply for a state license. Most states require the CGFNS Certification Program, which has three parts: a credentials evaluation of your foreign nursing education and licensure, a qualifying exam, and proof of English proficiency.12CGFNS International. CGFNS Certification Program
The credentials evaluation requires official transcripts sent directly from your nursing school, verification of your home-country nursing license dated within the past three years, and evidence of secondary school completion. The qualifying exam is a three-hour, 165-question computer-based test on nursing fundamentals. For English, CGFNS accepts several standardized tests including TOEFL iBT, IELTS, OET, and PTE Academic, each with its own minimum scores. You’re exempt from the English requirement if you completed your nursing education in English in Australia, Canada (with some Quebec exceptions), Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, or the United Kingdom.
If you also need an occupational visa to work in the U.S., you’ll need a VisaScreen certificate, a federal screening required under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. VisaScreen verifies your education, licensure, and English proficiency, and requires proof that you’ve passed either the CGFNS Qualifying Exam or the NCLEX-RN.13CGFNS International. VisaScreen Visa Credentials Assessment
Keeping Your License Active
Licensure isn’t permanent. Most states operate on a two-year renewal cycle, with some on one, three, or four-year cycles depending on license type. Miss the deadline and your license lapses, and practicing on a lapsed license carries the same legal exposure as practicing without one.
Most states also require continuing education (CE) for renewal. Required contact hours range from as few as 10 to 15 per cycle in some states to 30 or more in others. A few states don’t mandate any CE for RNs, though they may accept national certification or active practice as proof of ongoing competency. Advanced practice nurses with prescriptive authority often need additional pharmacology-related CE on top of the baseline. Courses have to come from approved providers, and you should keep certificates showing provider approval, completion date, and contact hours in case your renewal is audited.
Practicing Without a Valid License
Working as a nurse without a valid license, whether it expired, was revoked, or was never obtained, is a criminal offense in every state. Most Nursing Practice Acts classify it as a misdemeanor, with repeated violations or cases involving patient harm escalating to felony charges. On top of criminal exposure, unlicensed practice opens you to civil suits from patients and can permanently foreclose any future legitimate license.
A quietly expired license puts you in the same legal category as someone who never earned one. If you’re between renewals or waiting on a compact license transfer, use your board’s online verification tool to confirm active status before you work another shift.