How to get a single-state Registered Nurse (R.N.) license in North Dakota

North Dakota registered nurse licenses

North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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

Complete a Board-approved North Dakota RN education program, or an out-of-state program approved by that state's board of nursing that includes supervised clinical experience across the life span and is equivalent in amount and time to ND-approved programs. An official transcript with the degree posted must come directly from the school or a transcript service.⁹
Who may teach it: Program must be approved by the ND Board, or by the board of the jurisdiction where it is headquartered and meet NDAC article 54-03.2 education requirements with equivalent clinical education.²
Alternative: Foreign-educated: credentials evaluation by a Board-approved service, verified home-country program approval, and English proficiency evidence if not taught in English.²

Exam

NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses)²
Given by: Pearson VUE delivers the NCLEX for NCSBN; you register and pay the exam fee with Pearson, separately from the Board application.²
When you can take it: The Board makes you eligible (and Pearson e-mails an Authorization to Test, valid 90 days) once it has your online application and fee, an official transcript with the degree posted, and your Pearson registration. The background check is not needed to test, only to be licensed.¹⁰
Retakes: After a fail you may retest 45 days after the original test date. File the retest application in the Nurse Portal and re-register with Pearson. Within one year of first eligibility (or of your last reapplication fee) you pay the $50 retest fee; after a year you pay the full $125 license-by-exam fee again. No graduate work authorization is issued for retesting.¹⁰

Background check

Background check required¹
Fingerprints required⁴
NDBON runs the check through the ND Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the FBI; the packet (signed SFN 60688 form, SFN 62550 identity form, fingerprint cards, $43 payable to the ND Attorney General) is mailed to the Board. Results from other agencies, schools or employers are not accepted. The CHRC is not needed to test, only for license issue, and must be redone if more than 180 days old when retesting.⁹

Social Security number

A U.S. Social Security number is required (an ITIN or Canadian SIN is not accepted).⁹

Also required

Graduates who become eligible to test within 60 days of their degree date get a free 90-day nonrenewable Graduate Nurse Work Authorization (practice as "G.N." under RN supervision), which ends at the first failed result.⁹

Also required

Internationally educated applicants need a course-by-course evaluation from a Board-approved credentials evaluation service and, if not taught in English, proof of English proficiency.²

Also required

All applications are online in the Nurse Portal; paper applications are no longer accepted and payment is by Visa, MasterCard or Discover.⁹

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.

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

How to apply

1. Check your residence: a North Dakota multistate license needs ND as your primary state of residence; if you live in another compact state, license there instead; if you live in a non-compact state you get an ND-only license.⁹
2. Create a Nurse Portal (ORBS) account and submit the Initial License by Exam application with the $125 fee and $30 CHRC processing fee by card.⁹ ndbon.boardsofnursing.org⁹
3. Have your school send an official transcript with your degree posted (Parchment, National Student Clearinghouse, or by mail).⁹
4. Register and pay for the NCLEX-RN with Pearson; once eligible you get an Authorization to Test by e-mail (valid 90 days) and, if within 60 days of graduation, a 90-day Graduate Nurse Work Authorization.⁹
5. Mail the CHRC packet (signed SFN 60688, SFN 62550, FD-258 fingerprint cards, $43 check or money order to the ND Attorney General) to the Board.⁴
6. After the Board has your passing NCLEX result and CHRC result (allow 5-10 business days each), the license is issued and visible in the Nurse Portal and Nursys; no paper license is mailed.⁹

Apply online

ndbon.boardsofnursing.org⁹

Temporary or provisional license

Exam route: free 90-day Graduate Nurse Work Authorization if eligible to test within 60 days of graduation. Endorsement route: free 90-day nonrenewable single-state temporary permit.⁶

Processing time

Allow 5-10 business days for processing of each item (NCLEX result, CHRC); the BCI check itself takes 10-14 business days. Endorsement temporary permits typically issue in 3-5 working days.⁹

Renewal

How often

Every 2 years³

When it expires

Licenses expire 31 December of even years in a two-year cycle; a first license by exam or endorsement runs to 31 December of the following year. Online renewal for licenses expiring 12/31/2026 opened October 1, 2026; an unrenewed license expires automatically on January 1, 2027.³

Renewal fee

$140³ (Biennial RN renewal (single-state or multistate))

Continuing education

At least 12 hours each renewal period³

Required topics

No mandatory subjects for RNs (APRNs with prescriptive authority need 15 pharmacotherapy hours). BLS/CPR, short ACLS/PALS/NRP recertification, orientation/in-service and similar activities do not count.¹³

Approved courses

CE must come from the ND Board of Nursing, an accredited college or university, a health care regulatory board, or a nationally accredited professional organization approved to approve CE. 1 contact hour = 60 minutes; 15 contact hours = 1 semester hour.¹⁴

Exemptions

First renewal after licensure by examination: no CE required (met by academic coursework). Endorsement licensees must have the 12 hours even at the first renewal.¹⁵
Excess hours do not carry over, and the Board grants no CE extensions.³

Late renewal

Late renewal fee: $280¹² (renewal in January after the 31 December expiry, if no practice occurred after expiry)
Reinstatement fee: $220³ (reactivating a lapsed license (after 31 January))
Continuing education completed after December 31 in the year of renewal: $50¹⁵ (per contact hour of CE earned after 31 December of the renewal year)

If it expires

Practice requirement for renewal: at least 400 hours of nursing practice in the preceding four years, unless you completed a refresher course in the preceding year or graduated from a nursing program in the last four years.³
Late renewal is possible during January; after 31 January the license must be reactivated (application, criminal history record check, renewal fee + $50 reactivation fee, and the practice and CE requirements or other proof of competence).¹²
A nurse who has not practiced in North Dakota for four years or more must certify 400 practice hours in another jurisdiction in the last four years, a refresher course in the preceding year, a clinical nursing course, or other proof of competence.³

Renew online

ndbon.boardsofnursing.org¹⁵

From another state

Who needs a single-state Registered Nurse (R.N.) license

Work that does not need this license:

• Exempt from ND licensure: nursing students in an in-state approved program, nurses licensed elsewhere employed by the U.S. government in ND, nurses accompanying patients in transit, emergency/disaster care, and family care, among others.¹

Requirements for a single-state Registered Nurse (R.N.) license

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

Residency or citizenship

Single-state (North Dakota only) license for applicants whose primary state of residence is a non-NLC state, or who are ineligible for multistate status. Residents of another NLC state must license in their home state.⁹

Renewal and continuing education

Multistate Registered Nurse (R.N.) license

Requirements

Residency or citizenship

Multistate status requires that North Dakota be your primary state of residence, declared and evidenced; North Dakota also requires a U.S. Social Security number for any license.⁹

Also required

Multistate status is added automatically with no additional fee or application for ND-resident applicants who meet the NLC requirements.⁹

Also required

Multistate license conditions (NLC Article III): NCLEX passed, active unencumbered license, fingerprint-based check, no felony conviction, no nursing-related misdemeanour (case-by-case), not in an alternative program, valid U.S. SSN.¹⁶

How to apply

1. Multistate status is added automatically, at no extra fee, if you meet the residency rule and the NLC uniform licensure requirements.⁹

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

Look up a license

ndbon.boardsofnursing.org¹⁷

Laws and rules

The requirements above come from these laws and board rules.

• NDCC ch. 43-12.1 (Nurse Practices Act), incl. 43-12.1-03, -04, -09, -09.1, -10
• NDCC ch. 43-12.4 (Nurse Licensure Compact)
• NDCC 43-51-11.1 (military spouses and members)
• NDAC ch. 54-02-01 (licensure by examination)
• NDAC 54-02-05-03 and ch. 54-02-05
• NDAC ch. 54-02-06 (license by endorsement)
• NDAC 54-02-07-09 (practice without a license)

Rule changes since January 2024

• October 1, 2026: Online renewal opened for licenses expiring 12/31/2026; CE audits now run in the NDBON system (CE Broker optional).¹⁷
• September 18, 2026: BCI changed the CHRC form and fee: packets with the old form and fee were not accepted after September 18, 2026; new form SFN 60688 (08-2026); fee now $43 to the ND Attorney General.⁴

Common questions

Registered nurse (RN) licenses in other states

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