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Licensed Vocational/Practical Nurses - Requirements for Texas Licensure
- Required fee is $200.00. The fee is non-refundable.
- Graduation from high school or hold G.E.D. certificate.
- Completion of an approved school of vocational/practical nursing with a minimum grade of "C" in all nursing courses.
- Licensure in another jurisdiction which has requirements equivalent to Texas.
- A satisfactory score in one of the following examination:
- State Board Test Pool Examination (SBTPE)- with a minimum score of 350.
- National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PNŽ)
- Must have been employed as a licensed vocational/practical nurse during the past four (4) years (unless you have taken and passed the appropriate LVN examination within that time period).
- For applicants residing in Texas, schedule Livescan Fingerprinting to complete mandatory
Criminal Background check requirements (Online scheduling is optional). In order to be eligible for an electronic
fingerprint submission, allow three business days to elapse before scheduling an appointment with MorphoTrust USA.
(Note: MorphoTrust USA charges a separate fee for this service.) You may schedule an
appointment online, http://www.morphotrust.com/, or by phone at 1-888-467-2080.
For applicants residing outside Texas, attach one (1) completed FBI fingerprint card. A fingerprint card can be requested from our website at www.bon.texas.gov/olv/web-requests.asp. Fingerprinting should be conducted by a person who is appropriately trained to collect them. Your local law enforcement agency should be willing to assist you.
Registered Nurses - Requirements for Texas Licensure
- Required fee is $200.00. The fee is non-refundable.
- Graduation from an approved school of professional nursing (general).
- A satisfactory score in one of the following examination:
- State Board Test Pool Examination (SBTPE)- with a minimum score of 350.
- National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RNŽ)
- Licensure in another jurisdiction which has requirements equivalent to Texas.
- Must have been employed as a registered nurse during the past four (4) years (unless you have taken and passed the appropriate RN examination within that time period).
- For applicants residing in Texas, schedule Livescan Fingerprinting to complete mandatory
Criminal Background check requirements (Online scheduling is optional). In order to be eligible for an electronic
fingerprint submission, allow three business days to elapse before scheduling an appointment with MorphoTrust USA.
(Note: MorphoTrust USA charges a separate fee for this service.) You may schedule an
appointment online, www.morphotrust.com/, or by phone at 1-888-467-2080.
For applicants residing outside Texas, attach one (1) completed FBI fingerprint card. A fingerprint card can be requested from our website at www.bon.texas.gov/olv/web-requests.asp. Fingerprinting should be conducted by a person who is appropriately trained to collect them. Your local law enforcement agency should be willing to assist you.
If you do not meet the requirements for the application licensure type (LVN or RN), then you are Not Eligible for Licensure in the State of Texas.
Texas Nursing Jurisprudence Examination
All applicants by endorsement must pass the Texas nursing jurisprudence examination. You must pass this examination prior to being issued a permanent license. Instructions on taking the Texas nursing jurisprudence examination: Ten days after you have filed an endorsement application with the Texas Board of Nursing, you will be eligible to take the online nursing jurisprudence exam at www.bon.texas.gov/olv/je.html. Follow the instructions to log on and complete the examination. The examination is based on the Texas Nursing Practice Act (NPA) and the Texas Board of Nursing Rules and Regulations. We recommend that you download a copy of the NPA and Board Rules and Regulations from our website by going to www.bon.texas.gov and click on “Nursing Law and Rules”. You may also purchase a hard copy of the NPA and Rules and Regulations by contacting the Texas Board of Nursing. The examination is a maximum of two hours in length. If you are not successful in passing the examination, you may take the examination again after seven working days have elapsed from the previous attempt. The cost of the examination is included in your application fee. Again, you must pass the jurisprudence examination before the Texas Board of Nursing will issue the permanent license.
Nurse Licensure Compact
The Texas Board of Nursing entered into a Nurse Licensure Compact which allows nurses in Texas the privilege of practicing in participating Compact states. As part of this process of initiating multistate licensure, all applicants for licensure in Texas must declare their primary state of residence and all states where you are practicing or intend to practice. Applicants who declare a Compact state, other than Texas, as their primary state of residence may not become licensed in Texas since the Compact licenses can be used to work in Texas. For information on multistate licensure, please review the Boards Compact section. (www.bon.texas.gov/olv/MSR.html)
Eligibility Issues
Applicants must be able to answer "No" to the following questions in order to use the online application. All other applicants may download a complete application packet. Review of applicants with eligibility issues can take three (3) to six (6) month to complete.
- For any criminal offense, including those pending appeal, have you:
A. been convicted of a misdemeanor?
B. been convicted of a felony?
C. pled nolo contendere, no contest, or guilty?
D. received deferred adjudication?
E. been placed on community supervision or court-ordered probation, whether or not adjudicated guilty?
F. been sentenced to serve jail or prison time? court-ordered confinement?
G. been granted pre-trial diversion?
H. been arrested or have any pending criminal charges?
I. been cited or charged with any violation of the law?
J. been subject of a court-martial; Article 15 violation; or received any form of military judgment/punishment/action?
(You may only exclude Class C misdemeanor traffic violations.)
NOTE: Expunged and Sealed Offenses: While expunged or sealed offenses, arrests, tickets, or citations need not be disclosed, it is your responsibility to ensure the offense, arrest, ticket or citation has, in fact, been expunged or sealed. It is recommended that you submit a copy of the Court Order expunging or sealing the record in question to our office with your application. Failure to reveal an offense, arrest, ticket, or citation that is not in fact expunged or sealed, will at a minimum, subject your license to a disciplinary fine. Non-disclosure of relevant offenses raises questions related to truthfulness and character.
NOTE: Orders of Non-Disclosure: Pursuant to Tex. Gov’t Code § 552.142(b), if you have criminal matters that are the subject of an order of non-disclosure you are not required to reveal those criminal matters on this form. However, a criminal matter that is the subject of an order of non-disclosure may become a character and fitness issue. Pursuant to other sections of the Gov’t Code chapter 411, the Texas Nursing Board is entitled to access criminal history record information that is the subject of an order of non-disclosure. If the Board discovers a criminal matter that is the subject of an order of non-disclosure, even if you properly did not reveal that matter, the Board may require you to provide information about any conduct that raises issues of character.
- Are you currently the target or subject of a grand jury or governmental agency investigation?
- Has any licensing authority refused to issue you a license or ever revoked, annulled, cancelled, accepted surrender of, suspended, placed on probation, refused to renew a license, certificate or multi-state privilege held by you now or previously, or ever fined, censured, reprimanded or otherwise disciplined you?
- *Within the past five (5) years have you been addicted to and/or treated for the use of alcohol or any other drug?
- *Within the past five (5) years have you been diagnosed with, treated, or hospitalized for schizophrenia and/or psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, paranoid personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, or borderline personality disorder?
*Pursuant to the Occupations Code §301.207, information regarding a person’s diagnosis or treatment for a physical condition, mental condition, or chemical dependency is confidential to the same extent that information collected as part of an investigation is confidential under the Occupations Code §301.466.