How to get a Registered Nurse license in Colorado

Colorado registered nurse licenses

Colorado issues 2 registered nurse credentials. Each has its own section below; the table shows what each one covers and its headline requirements.

Who needs a Registered Nurse license

Professional (registered) nursing is independent and collaborative nursing care for people of all ages in all settings: health promotion, supportive or restorative care, disease prevention, and diagnosis and treatment of disease, injury and physical or mental conditions, including assessing health status and health teaching.¹

Work that does not need this license:

• A nurse holding a multistate license from another compact state (their primary state of residence) may practice in Colorado without a Colorado license.³

Other rules on who may do this work:

• You may not work as a nurse in Colorado, even after graduating or while an application is pending, until a Colorado license (or a multistate license from another compact state) authorizes it.⁵

Requirements for a Registered Nurse license

Education or training

Graduate from a professional nursing education program approved by the Colorado Board, or a traditional program approved by another US board of nursing and accredited by a USDE/CHEA-recognized accreditor; foreign graduates need a credentials evaluation and English proficiency.²
Who may teach it: Board-approved Colorado program, other-state board-approved traditional program, or substantially equivalent US armed services nursing program.²
Alternative: Graduates of nontraditional programs (no concurrent faculty-supervised clinicals) must first complete 750 supervised clinical hours as an RN (350 if already an LPN) under a student permit.²

Exam

NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination for registered nurses)²
Given by: Pearson VUE (NCSBN exam)⁵
When you can take it: Only after graduation: apply to the Board with an official transcript showing the graduation date; the Board then makes you eligible and Pearson VUE issues the Authorization to Test.⁵
Taken at Pearson Professional Centers; Colorado sites are Greenwood Village, Colorado Springs and Westminster.⁵
Retakes: Up to three attempts within three years of your first NCLEX; wait 45 days between attempts; a fourth attempt needs a Board-approved waiver petition after remediation.²
Time limit: Three attempts within three years of the first attempt (fourth only by waiver).²
Exam waived: No new exam for endorsement applicants licensed elsewhere who previously passed the NCLEX (or SBTPE).¹

Background check

Background check required³
Fingerprints required³
Criminal history is reviewed case by case; it is not an automatic bar, but a felony conviction rules out a multistate license (a single-state license may still be considered). Convictions must be reported to the Board within 45 days.⁵

Residency or citizenship

A multistate (compact) license requires Colorado to be your primary state of residence (proof such as voter registration, driver's license or W-2); non-residents of compact states get a single-state license.³

Social Security number

A valid US Social Security number is required for a multistate license.³

Also required

Multistate license also requires: no prior state or federal felony convictions, no current discipline, no current alternative-program enrollment, and English proficiency for foreign graduates.³

Also required

Incomplete applications expire one year after receipt.²

How to apply

1. Get fingerprinted for the CBI/FBI background check (required for every applicant; earlier checks cannot be reused).³
2. Apply online through DPO Online Services ("Registered Nurse - Original License by Examination or Endorsement") and pay the application fee.⁶ colorado.gov⁶
3. Declare your primary state of residence (Declaration of Primary State of Residence form) so the Board can issue a multistate or single-state license.⁶
4. Have your school send an official transcript showing completion and graduation date.²
5. Exam applicants: register and pay with Pearson VUE, wait for the Authorization to Test, then pass the NCLEX-RN.⁵
6. Endorsement applicants from non-Nursys states: send the Original (Non-NURSYS Participating States) Verification form.⁶

Apply online

colorado.gov⁶

Processing time

Applications referred for Board (program) review take at least three weeks; the Board meets monthly and replies within 14 days after the meeting.⁵

Renewal and continuing education

How often

Every 2 years⁴

When it expires

Two-year licenses; Colorado RN licenses expire on September 30 (the DPO renewal table lists the year as "Odd and Even", i.e. staggered). A 60-day grace period after expiry allows renewal with a delinquency fee; after that the license is expired and you must reinstate.¹

If it expires

Expired or inactive under two years: apply to reinstate/reactivate and pay the fee. Two to five years: prove competency (e.g. 20 CE contact hours per two years without an active license, or clinical hours). Five years or more: remedial or refresher course under a restricted license (120 theory + 120 clinical hours).²
Inactive and retired licenses must still be renewed every cycle.⁵
Reinstatement after two or more years can also be supported by proof of active practice outside Colorado.⁷

Renew online

colorado.gov⁶

Moving to Colorado with a license from another state

These are the routes the State Board of Nursing publishes for the Registered Nurse license. The other registered nurse licenses have their own routes in their sections below.

Special Student Permit - RN

Lets graduates of out-of-state nontraditional nursing programs complete the supervised in-state clinical hours they need before the NCLEX; holders may not supervise others or exceed the permit terms.²

Requirements

Education or training

Graduate of a nontraditional program located in another US state/territory, accredited (USDE) and approved by that state's board of nursing.²

Experience

At least 750 clock hours²
Supervised clinical hours completed under the permit (needed to sit the NCLEX).²
Supervision: Instructor/preceptor with at least two years of practice and an active, unencumbered Colorado RN license, under a written agreement with the facility.²

How to apply

1. Use the Board's Registered Nurse - Special or Student Permit Application and include the preceptor documentation and agreement.⁶

Renewal

How often

Every year²

When it expires

Issued for up to twelve consecutive months; the DPO list marks the type "Do not renew".⁴

From another state

City and county rules

Registered NurseNo local license: the Colorado State Board of Nursing licenses RNs statewide.⁸

Check a license or report a problem

Before you hire a registered nurse in Colorado, you can confirm the license is current on the board's own search. Every board we cover in Colorado is on the Colorado license lookup page.

Look up a license

apps2.colorado.gov⁵

Laws and rules

The requirements above come from these laws and board rules.

• C.R.S. title 12, article 255, part 1 (Nurse Practice Act), incl. 12-255-104, -109, -110, -117, -122, -129
• C.R.S. 12-20-202 (renewal, grace period, reinstatement, occupational credential portability)
• 3 CCR 716-1, Rule 1.1 (licensure of practical and professional nurses) and Rule 1.19 (multistate licensure), eff. 03/17/2026

Rule changes since January 2024

• March 17, 2026: Current 3 CCR 716-1 version effective 03/17/2026; the Board held an October 22, 2025 rulemaking on Rule 1.19 (multistate licensure) to align with the 2024 Nurse Licensure Compact program.⁸

Common questions

Registered nurse (RN) licenses in other states

• Alabama
• Alaska
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• California
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• Delaware
• District of Columbia
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