How to get a single-state Registered Professional Nurse (RN) license in Maine

Maine registered nurse licenses

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

Applies to every license level

These rules are the same for every Maine registered nurse license on this page, so they are shown once here. Each license's own section lists only what differs.

What it covers

Professional nursing: diagnosis and treatment of human responses to actual or potential health problems (case finding, health teaching and counseling, supportive and restorative care) and executing the medical regimen prescribed by an authorized prescriber, among other defined services.¹¹

Requirements

High school diploma or GED

Not required²

Education or training

At least 2 years²
Completion of a course of study of at least 2 years in an approved program in professional nursing, with a degree, diploma or certificate.²
Who may teach it: Approved professional-nursing program; Maine graduates need a School Certification Form mailed by the program administration; out-of-state graduates have the school send an official final transcript with degree and conferral date.³
Alternative: Foreign-educated applicants: TruMerit (formerly CGFNS) CES education report (the only evaluator accepted) and, if taught in another language, TOEFL with total 84 and speaking 26; Canadian graduates send transcripts instead of a CES report.³

Exam

NCLEX-RN³
Given by: Pearson VUE³
When you can take it: Register with Pearson VUE (registration stays open 365 days); once the Board makes the applicant eligible, the Authorization to Test is valid for 90 days and cannot be extended. No required interval between graduation and testing.³
Retakes: 45 test-free days between attempts; NCSBN allows up to eight attempts a year; Maine sets no limit on attempts. Retake by re-applying online (fee) and re-registering with Pearson VUE ($200).⁶
Time limit: No limit stated: Maine does not limit attempts or enforce a time frame between graduation and testing.¹²
Exam waived: Endorsement applicants licensed by examination in another U.S. state, territory or Canadian province are licensed without examination by the Board if they passed an acceptable exam: the State Board Examination, State Board Test Pool Examination, NCLEX or, for a person licensed before December 31, 2006, the Canadian Nurses' Association Testing Service Examination (CNATS).¹³

Background check

Background check required⁴
Fingerprints required⁷
Full disclosure of criminal history and discipline is required, with a signed letter of explanation for "yes" answers. No crime automatically disqualifies; the Board weighs rehabilitation, nature and timing of the conviction.³

Social Security number

A U.S. Social Security Number is required for a Maine RN license (may be added after application once issued).³

Also required

Applicant must complete the online application personally and upload a recent unedited color headshot.³

Fees

Each line is a separate charge as the board lists it. The board does not publish a combined total, so none is shown here.

How to apply

1. Apply online through the Board of Nursing website ("Apply for a license") and pay the $75 non-refundable fee; you must complete it yourself.³ licensing.web.maine.gov³
2. Upload a recent color headshot photo and the Declaration of Primary State of Residence form.³
3. Disclose any criminal history or discipline, with a signed explanation letter for any "yes" answer.³
4. Register for the NCLEX-RN with Pearson VUE ($200).³
5. Request the fingerprint background check through IdentoGo ($52); results are valid 90 days, so time it with the exam.³
6. Maine graduates: the program mails the School Certification Form; out-of-state graduates: the school sends an official final transcript.³
7. When eligible, use the Authorization to Test (valid 90 days) to schedule and take the NCLEX-RN.³
8. The license is emailed once all requirements are met (no paper licenses).¹²

Apply online

licensing.web.maine.gov³

Temporary or provisional license

An RN currently licensed in another U.S. state or territory may practice in Maine for up to 90 days pending Maine licensure (32 M.R.S. §2103(4)(A)).⁹

Renewal

How often

Every 2 years⁵

When it expires

Initial license runs at least one year and no more than two (to the birthday); afterwards renew every two years on or before the birthday. Online renewal is mandatory.¹⁶

Renewal fee

$75¹⁵

Late renewal

Reinstatement fee: $85¹⁶ (renewal after the license has lapsed (no grace period; $75 renewal + $10 reinstatement))

If it expires

No grace period: a license not renewed by the birthday lapses and the nurse may not practice until it is resolved; practicing on a lapsed license is illegal practice.¹⁶
Unlicensed practice for 90 days or less: letter of concern kept on file 5 years; 91 days or more: consent agreement with warning and $500 fine (or meeting with the Board).¹⁵
Nurses not practicing in Maine may go inactive (no renewal fee) and must notify the Board and pay the current renewal fee before resuming practice.⁵

Renew online

licensing.web.maine.gov¹⁷

From another state

Who needs a single-state Registered Professional Nurse (RN) license

Work that does not need this license:

• Emergency assistance and supervised practice by students in board-approved programs (and graduates in structured orientation) are exempt.⁹

Requirements for a single-state Registered Professional Nurse (RN) license

The rules this license shares with every other level are under Applies to every license level.

Residency or citizenship

Single-state (Maine-only) license is for applicants whose PSOR is a non-compact state. Applicants whose PSOR is another compact state are not eligible for Maine licensure. A Declaration of Primary State of Residence form is uploaded.³

Renewal and continuing education

Moving to Maine with a license from another state

These are the routes the Maine State Board of Nursing publishes for the single-state Registered Professional Nurse (RN) license. The other registered nurse licenses have their own routes in their sections below.

Multistate Registered Professional Nurse (RN) license

Requirements

Residency or citizenship

Multistate license requires Maine declared and evidenced as primary state of residence (PSOR). Applicants whose PSOR is another compact state are not eligible for Maine licensure. A Declaration of Primary State of Residence form is uploaded.³

Also required

Multistate (uniform licensure) requirements under the NLC: home-state qualifications, approved prelicensure program, NCLEX, active unencumbered license, fingerprints, no felony and no nursing-related misdemeanour, not in an alternative program, valid SSN.³

How to apply

1. No separate compact application: every Maine application is automatically reviewed for multistate eligibility.¹²

From another state

The rules this license shares with every other level are under Applies to every license level.

Check a license or report a problem

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

Look up a license

maine.gov¹⁹

File a complaint

maine.gov²⁰

Laws and rules

The requirements above come from these laws and board rules.

• 32 M.R.S. §2102 (definitions)
• 32 M.R.S. §2103 (exceptions)
• 32 M.R.S. §2111 (criminal history record information)
• 32 M.R.S. §§2171-2181 (Nurse Licensure Compact), incl. §2173 and §2174
• 32 M.R.S. §2201 (qualifications)
• 32 M.R.S. §2202 (licenses; examination)
• 32 M.R.S. §2205-A (licensure of persons licensed by another jurisdiction)
• 32 M.R.S. §2206 (renewals)
• 32 M.R.S. §2207
• 02-380 CMR ch. 3 (general requirements relating to licensure)
• 02-380 CMR ch. 13 (criminal history record information)

Rule changes since January 2024

• January 2, 2024: NLC rule 402(2): multistate licensees who move to another party state must apply there within 60 days.²¹

Common questions

Registered nurse (RN) licenses in other states

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