Find Your Nursing Licensure Guide

About the Nurse Licensure Guide

While all nurses must pass an initial national exam (NCLEX), obtaining license to practice can vary greatly from state to state. At Trusted, we’re all about the transparency of information and having the tools and resources needed to manage and grow your career. Our Licensure Guide provides both high-level and in-depth information on how to get licensed in every U.S. state, including a breakdown of the documents required for your application, fees and application timeline, and additional resources for each state.

This guide was compiled by collecting information from the Board of Nursing of each of the 50 states and Washington, D.C. It’s an up-to-date synthesis of everything you need to know about obtaining your nursing license in each state, including temporary and permanent licenses, renewing your license, and whether or not the selected state is part of the Nurse Licensure Compact.
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As a registered nurse (RN), you can use this guide to gain insight into what is required to obtain or renew a license, especially as it’s related to the travel nursing licensure process. You can look up the licensure requirements and processes for all 50 states while online. If you download the guide, you will receive a comprehensive PDF including details on every state for reference offline.