A Guide to Nursing Licenses and Renewals in Nevada

Career Resources / Nursing Licensure / Nevada

Nevada offers nurses plenty of opportunity, and when you adjust for cost of living, Nevada’s nurses are paid among the highest median salaries in the nation. Add in the wonderful outdoor activities, great food, and low crime rates throughout the state and there’s good reason for nurses to choose Nevada for licensure.

In this article, we will cover:

• How to get your Nevada nursing license by exam
• How to get your license by endorsement
• How to renew your Nevada nursing license
• Licensing fees
• Continuing education requirements
• How to contact the Nevada Board of Nursing

How to get your Nevada nursing license by examination

Step 1: Education

Nevada’s Board of Nursing provides a helpful list of all of the pre-licensure nursing programs that have their full approval, as well as those programs whose clinical programs they have approved. No matter whether you choose a two-year or four-year nursing degree, applicants who have been educated in any of these programs or from an accredited out-of-state program should be well prepared for the responsibilities of being a registered nurse.

• Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN)
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) 
• Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing for those who have achieved a bachelor’s degree and who take the additional classes necessary to become a registered nurse.

Step 2: Apply

Your application for a Nevada license by exam begins with registering for an account on the Nevada Nurse Portal. No other information or supporting documents should be sent to the Board of Nursing until that has been done. Once you have set up your account, you can complete and submit your application with the fee of $100.

You should also apply to take the NCLEX through Pearson VUE and pay the $200 registration fee. Pearson will notify the Board of your registration.

You can request an Interim Permit after your application and documentation of graduation from an approved nursing education program have been submitted. The Interim Permit is good for 90 days or when the Board receives notification of the NCLEX exam results, whichever comes first.

Step 3: Submit Transcripts

Contact your nursing program and ask them to send an official transcript directly to the Board of Nursing at:

Board of Nursing
5011 Meadowood Mall Way
Suite 300
Reno, NV 89502-6547

• If you graduated from a Nevada-based program, your school will send the Board an affidavit of graduation. This will make you eligible for an Interim Permit. You are still required to request your official transcript, which must reflect your degree and graduation date.
• If you graduated from an accredited nursing program outside of Nevada, you must request your official transcript reflecting your nursing degree and graduation date be sent directly to the Board by the school.

Step 4: Criminal Background Check (CBC)

A permanent license will not be issued until the Board receives fingerprint reports from the Nevada Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and any issues have been resolved. Due to various factors, it may take up to four months for the Board to receive the official fingerprint results from the Department of Public Safety and FBI, so arrange to do this as soon as possible.

You must complete either a fingerprint card or submit your fingerprints electronically. Electronic fingerprint submission is only available if you are in Nevada. The Board provides fingerprint capture by appointment in its Reno and Las Vegas offices, and there are other sites – both law enforcement sites and private fingerprinting sites – where electronic transmission is available.

If you choose fingerprint card submission, your fingerprinting may be done by either a law enforcement agency or a private fingerprinting service. Those agencies’ cards can be used as long as they use the standard FD-258 card. The cards are valid for one year from the date they are printed, and you can request those cards be mailed to you in your application or by sending a message through the nurse portal.

Completed fingerprint cards with  the submission form and fee should be sent to: 

5011 Meadowood Mall Way
Suite 300
Reno, NV 89502-6547

Step 5: Take the NCLEX

Once all of the above-listed items have been submitted and you’ve registered for the NCLEX-RN exam, you will receive an Authorization to Test for the NCLEX from Pearson VUE. The NCLEX is meant to gauge your understanding of the material covered by your nursing program and learned during your clinical placements. It will test you on the following topics:

• Safe and Effective Care Environment
• Management of Care  
• Safety and Infection Control 
• Health Promotion and Maintenance 
• Psychosocial Integrity 
• Physiological Integrity 
• Basic Care and Comfort 
• Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies 
• Physiological Adaptation

It takes approximately one week for the Board to process your exam results. Once processed, you will receive a message in your nurse portal account with the results. If you pass the exam, you will not be issued a hard card license. You may print out a paper copy from the Board of Nursing website. If you did not pass the exam, you can retake it, but no more than four times.

Licensing by endorsement (already have RN licensure)

If you are licensed in another state, to qualify for a license in Nevada you will need to apply for licensure by endorsement. This process starts with establishing an account on the Nevada Board of Nursing’s Nurse Portal, where your application and $105 fee can be submitted.

You will also need to submit:

• Proof of graduation from your nursing program. This can be a copy of your diploma or a copy of an official transcript sent directly from the registrar to the student or to the Board. Your program must have been accredited by a nationally recognized association and the transcript of diploma must have your degree posted and graduation date. Official transcripts can be sent electronically to [email protected] or by mail to:

Nevada State Board of Nursing
5011 Meadowood Mall Way
Suite 300
Reno, NV 89502-6547

• Official verification or endorsement from your original state of licensure by examination. This can be sent via the NURSYS system if your state participates. If your original state of licensure does not participate in NURSYS, send the state’s board the NSBN Endorsement Form for completion and submission.

• Completed fingerprint card or electronic fingerprint submission. A permanent license will not be issued until the Board receives fingerprint reports from the Nevada Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and any issues have been resolved.
  • Electronic fingerprint submission is only available if you are in Nevada. The Board provides fingerprint capture by appointment in its Reno and Las Vegas offices, and there are other sites – both law enforcement sites and private fingerprinting sites – where electronic transmission is available.
  • If you are out of state, fingerprinting and fingerprint card submission may be done by either a law enforcement agency or a private fingerprinting service. Those agencies’ cards can be used as long as they are the standard FD-258 card. Otherwise you can request those cards be mailed to you in your application or by sending a message through the nurse portal. 
  • Completed fingerprint cards with  the submission form and fee should be sent to: 

5011 Meadowood Mall Way
Suite 300
Reno, NV, 89502-6547

How to renew your Nevada nursing license

Step 1: When to submit your renewal application

Nevada’s Board of Nursing will not send out notice of your licensure expiration date or licensure renewal date. You are responsible for knowing and tracking this information. Renewal applications should be submitted through the Nurse Portal within 60 days of the license expiration date. It is important to do so in a timely manner, as the renewal link on your account will disappear once the 60-day eligibility period has passed. There is no grace period for renewals submitted after their expiration date. The fee to renew your license is $100, and those submitted after expiration will pay an additional $100 fee.

Step 2: Fulfill continuing competency requirements

Nevada requires nurses to have practiced nursing or passed the NCLEX within the previous five years. After their first license renewal period after graduation, nurses are also required to complete 30 hours of nursing-related continuing education during every two-year renewal period, including at least two hours relating to cultural competency, diversity, equity, and inclusion. A one-time 4-hour bioterrorism course must also be completed.

The Nevada Board of Nursing conducts random audits of the continuing education requirements, but you will not be asked to submit that documentation at the time of renewal. Instead, you will be asked to affirm that you have completed your continuing education requirements and to maintain copies of all certificates of completion for at least four years (and your bioterrorism certificate indefinitely) in case they are requested.

Incredible Health wants to help you fulfill your state requirements and offers free fully accredited Nevada CEU classes to help. These are easy to access and include certification of completion.

Step 3: Submit your renewal application

Submit your renewal application and fee through the Nevada Board of Nursing’s Nurse Portal.

Nevada nursing licensing fees

Below are the fees for becoming a nurse in Nevada, whether you are a first-time nurse or are moving to Nevada from another state. For more information visit the Nevada licensing page.

Licensing fees by examination (first-time nurses)

• NCLEX fee: $200
• Application fee: $100 (RN); $90 (LPN)
• Fingerprint processing fee: $40

Licensing fees by endorsement (already have RN licensure)

• Application fee: $105 (RN); $95 (LPN); $200 (APRN)
• Fingerprint processing fee: $40

License renewal fees:

• Application fee: $100 (RN/LPN); $300 (APRN)

*Fees are subject to change.

Continuing education requirements

RN: 30 contact hours every 2 years (1-time requirement of 4 contact hours in bioterrorism class)

LPN: 30 contact hours every 2 years (1-time requirement of 4 contact hours in bioterrorism class)

APRN: 30 contact hours every 2 years (1-time requirement of 4 contact hours in bioterrorism class); and an additional 15 CEs directly related to their specialties to include a 2-hour suicide prevention course completed every 4 years, 2-hour substance use and abuse course completed every renewal cycle, and maintain a portfolio.

Incredible Health offers ANCC-accredited continuing education courses for nurses in all 50 states, 100% free and online. The Nevada State Board of Nursing accepts courses that are ANCC accredited.

How to contact the Nevada Board of Nursing

Nevada State Board of Nursing
Phone: (888) 590-6726

Email: [email protected]
Website: https://nevadanursingboard.org/

Las Vegas Office:
4220 South Maryland Pkwy., Building B, Suite 300
Las Vegas, NV 89119
Fax: (702) 486-5803

Reno Office: 
5011 Meadowood Mall Way Ste 300
Reno, NV 89502
Fax: (775) 687-7707

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