How to get a single-state Registered Nurse license in Maryland

Maryland registered nurse licenses

Maryland 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 Maryland registered nurse license on this page, so they are shown once here. Each license's own section lists only what differs.

Requirements

Education or training

Diploma or degree from a Board-approved entry-level registered nursing education program, or an out-of-state/foreign program the Board finds substantially equivalent to Maryland programs at the time of graduation.²
Who may teach it: Entry-level RN program approved by the Maryland Board of Nursing (out-of-state programs must be substantially equivalent; the Board publishes an approved out-of-state program list and an assessment tool).⁸
Alternative: If the program was completed 5 or more years before passing the NCLEX and the applicant has not practiced 1,000 hours in the previous 5 years, only an inactive license is issued until a Board-approved review (refresher) course or preceptorship is completed.⁹

Exam

NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses)²
Given by: National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN); application to take the exam is filed with NCSBN and the exam fee is paid to the testing service.³
Passing score: Reported as pass or fail.³
When you can take it: Graduates (or applicants whose school signs before graduation) may apply; the Board sends an Authorization to Test once eligible. Applicants whose primary state of residence is another NLC party state cannot test for a Maryland license. The ATT is valid 6 months; a complete application not used for testing within 6 months must be refiled with all fees.³
Retakes: Unsuccessful candidates can re-take the NCLEX after 45 days; each re-exam carries the re-exam fee ($187 Board fee).¹⁰
Exam waived: Graduates of nursing schools in Puerto Rico or outside the US must meet the spoken-English requirement and have their transcript evaluated by CGFNS (TruMerit).¹⁰

Background check

Background check required²
Fingerprints required⁵
The Board weighs age at the offense, circumstances, time elapsed, later work history, references and other evidence of risk; positive records go to a pre-licensure committee and the Board may deny, license with or without probation.¹

Also required

English competency (written and oral) is required; accepted proofs include 3+ years at and graduation from an English-speaking undergraduate school, an English-speaking professional school, 5 years of nursing practice in another state or English-speaking US territory, or an HHS-approved English exam.²

Also required

Incomplete applications are abandoned after 12 months; you must then reapply and pay current fees.³

Fees

Some lines are combined figures, or parts of one; do not add the lines up.

The board's pages we cite do not list the exam fee.

How to apply

1. Check where you live: you can test for a Maryland license only if your primary state of residence is Maryland (multistate license) or a state outside the Nurse Licensure Compact (single-state license). Residents of other compact states must license in their home state.¹⁰
2. Complete a Board-approved entry-level RN program (or one the Board finds substantially equivalent). Your school certifies completion before you test.³
3. Register an account in the MDH CHART portal and submit the licensure-by-exam application with the $187 Board fee (non-refundable).¹⁰ mdchart.health.maryland.gov¹⁰
4. Get fingerprinted for the State and FBI criminal history records check (CJIS fee $57.25 per the Board fact sheet); no license is issued until the Board reviews the results.⁵
5. Register for the NCLEX-RN with the National Council of State Boards of Nursing and pay the exam fee to the testing service; once the Board finds you eligible it sends an Authorization to Test, valid for 6 months.³
6. Pass the NCLEX-RN. The license is issued once the Board has reviewed your criminal history record information and approved the application; check it in the CHART license lookup.³

Apply online

mdchart.health.maryland.gov¹⁰

Temporary or provisional license

90-day temporary license ($70) for endorsement applicants not holding a multistate license, and for NCLEX passers awaiting the background check; extendable 90 days while CHRC is pending.³

Processing time

Military applicants: license within 15 business days of a complete application. Renewals: 5 to 10 days (longer if a background check is required). No general processing time is published for exam or endorsement applications.¹²

Renewal

How often

Every 2 years⁴

When it expires

Licenses expire on the 28th day of your birth month; odd-year birth years renew in odd years, even-year birth years in even years. Renewal opens up to 90 days before; notices go out at least 3 months ahead.³

Renewal fee

$191³ (Active RN biennial renewal: $165 Board fee + $26 Maryland Health Care Commission user fee)

Continuing education

At least 30 hours each renewal period³

Required topics

Implicit bias and structural racism training: attest at your first renewal after April 1, 2026 to completing an approved program (Health Occ. § 1-225, HB 783 of 2025).¹³
Active-renewal practice/competence requirement: 1,000 hours of active nursing practice within the previous 5 years (or program graduation within 5 years, or 30 CEUs in 2 years); otherwise a Board-approved refresher or preceptorship is required before renewal.³

Approved courses

CEUs must be awarded or approved by AHEC, ANA, ANCC, APRN certifying organizations, a local/state/national nursing association, the Maryland Nurses Association, NCSBN or the National League for Nursing; qualifying college courses (grade C or better) count; CEUs cannot be carried forward and records must be kept 6 years.³

Exemptions

Graduating from a Board-approved nursing program within the 5 years before renewal satisfies the active-renewal requirement without CE.³

If it expires

30-day grace period after the expiration date.³
A lapsed license is reinstated when the renewal requirements are met; after 1 year or more without renewal a new criminal history records check is required (temporary license available while it is pending).¹⁴
Renewal applicants are put through a fingerprint CHRC by birth-month schedule (2026: September or October birth months; 2027: October or November), and every 12 years after.⁴
Former Maryland licensees listed as Inactive, Non-Renewed or Invalid must request a renewal packet rather than apply by endorsement.⁸

Renew online

mdchart.health.maryland.gov¹⁰

From another state

Who needs a single-state Registered Nurse license

Work that does not need this license:

• Nurses licensed in another state may give care in Maryland for up to 30 days to a person visiting Maryland for medical, educational or personal reasons (and other limited exceptions in COMAR 10.27.01.03).³

Requirements for a single-state Registered Nurse license

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

Residency or citizenship

A single-state Maryland license is for applicants whose primary state of residence is not an NLC party state (it is valid only in Maryland); applicants living in another compact state must license in their home state and their application is returned.¹⁵

Social Security number

ITIN holders may apply online (Maryland Only license); applicants with neither SSN nor ITIN file a paper application with a signed affidavit.¹⁶

Renewal and continuing education

Moving to Maryland with a license from another state

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

Multistate Registered Nurse license

Requirements

Residency or citizenship

Maryland must be your primary state of residence for a Maryland multistate license (a license can be held in only one party state, issued by the home state). The Board links a Declaration of Primary State of Residence form.¹⁰

Social Security number

A valid US Social Security number is a uniform requirement for a multistate license; ITIN applicants receive a "Maryland Only" license instead.¹⁵

Also required

Multistate (NLC uniform) requirements: approved RN program (or verified foreign equivalent), English exam for non-English programs, NCLEX-RN, active unencumbered license, fingerprints, no felony conviction or agreed disposition, no nursing-related misdemeanour (case by case), not in an alternative program.¹⁵

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 Maryland, you can confirm the license is current on the board's own search. Every board we cover in Maryland is on the Maryland license lookup page.

Look up a license

mdchart.health.maryland.gov¹⁰

Laws and rules

The requirements above come from these laws and board rules.

• Md. Code, Health Occupations § 8-302 (qualifications)
• Md. Code, Health Occupations § 8-303 (criminal history records check)
• Md. Code, Health Occupations § 8-304 (application; primary state of residence)
• Md. Code, Health Occupations § 8-305 (examination; retakes)
• Md. Code, Health Occupations § 8-308 (issuance; criminal history factors)
• Md. Code, Health Occupations § 8-312 (renewal)
• Md. Code, Health Occupations § 8-313 (reinstatement)
• Md. Code, Health Occupations § 8-7A-01 (Nurse Licensure Compact)
• COMAR 10.27.01 (Examination and Licensure)
• COMAR 10.27.01.02

Rule changes since January 2024

• October 1, 2026: Modernizing Civil Relief for Service Members Act of 2026: relocated active service members and spouses may practice on another state's license.⁷
• August 25, 2026: Emergency amendments to COMAR 10.27.01.04 (application/CHRC) and.14 (inactive status) in effect August 25, 2026 to February 21, 2027; further changes to.04 and.14 pending in Md. Register 53:22 (November 9, 2026).³
• October 1, 2025: Implicit bias and structural racism training required for health-occupation renewals (attestation at first renewal after April 1, 2026).¹³
• July 1, 2025: RN fees increased: exam $187, endorsement $230, temporary $70, active renewal $165 Board fee (+ MHCC fee, $191 total).¹¹

Common questions

Registered nurse (RN) licenses in other states

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