Nurse state crossing · Louisiana licensing · NLC status table · LPN/LVN list
RN work list: Louisiana
What an RN has to do to work in Louisiana. Pick where you live and the page shows your route.
Pick your home state to see which route applies. Both are listed below.
Louisiana: Nurse Licensure Compact state
State Board of Nursing · lsbn.state.la.us · checked 10 Oct 2026
Source quotation
Louisiana implemented the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) July 1, 2019.
lsbn.state.la.us · State Board of Nursing
Home and work in Louisiana
If you already hold a licence Louisiana issued, there is no state line to cross. Renewal and continuing-education rules are on the Louisiana licensing page.
Moved here from another compact state? NCSBN says “when your PSOR changes by permanently relocating to another compact state, apply for licensure by endorsement” and “You have 60 days from the time you move to apply for your license.” The endorsement steps are below.
NCSBN · nursecompact.com · checked 10 Nov 2026
Source quotation
when your PSOR changes by permanently relocating to another compact state, apply for licensure by endorsement
You have 60 days from the time you move to apply for your license.
nursecompact.com · NCSBN
Route A: practise on your multistate licence
For a nurse whose home state and Louisiana are both compact states in force, holding a multistate licence.
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Look yourself up on Nursys QuickConfirm. NCSBN: “If you already have a license and you are unsure if your license is single-state or multistate, use Quick Confirm at nursys.com at no cost.”
NCSBN · nursecompact.com · checked 10 Nov 2026
Source quotation
If you already have a license and you are unsure if your license is single-state or multistate, use Quick Confirm at nursys.com at no cost.
nursecompact.com · NCSBN
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Only the compact state you actually live in can issue your multistate licence. NCSBN: “If a nurse's PSOR is a compact state, that nurse may be eligible for a multistate license.”
NCSBN · nursecompact.com · checked 10 Nov 2026
Source quotation
If a nurse's PSOR is a compact state, that nurse may be eligible for a multistate license.
nursecompact.com · NCSBN
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NCSBN defines the privilege to practise as the authority “permitting the practice of nursing as either an RN or LPN/VN in a remote state”.
NCSBN · nursecompact.com · checked 10 Nov 2026
Source quotation
permitting the practice of nursing as either an RN or LPN/VN in a remote state
nursecompact.com · NCSBN
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Yes — a qualifying multistate license permits RN/LPN practice here
Conditions & source context
Louisiana has implemented the Nurse Licensure Compact, so an RN or LPN with an active multistate license from their primary state of residence may practice here without a Louisiana license. The facility and contract still set their own credentialing requirements.
NCSBN · nursecompact.com · checked 15 Oct 2026
If you move for good, not just for a contract: NCSBN says “when your PSOR changes by permanently relocating to another compact state, apply for licensure by endorsement” and “You have 60 days from the time you move to apply for your license.”
NCSBN · nursecompact.com · checked 10 Nov 2026
Source quotation
You have 60 days from the time you move to apply for your license.
nursecompact.com · NCSBN
Route B: get a Louisiana licence by endorsement
For everyone else. Each step comes from Louisiana’s own licensing sources; tick it off as you go.
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RN route
- Detail
- Current unrestricted RN license, nursing practice in the most recent four years, qualifying nursing education and NCLEX-RN or recognized predecessor; additional fitness and international education conditions apply.
LPN route
- Detail
- Prior NCLEX-PN and another-state LPN license; submit the separate Nurse Portal endorsement application and state/federal background-check results. Former Louisiana LPN licensees use reinstatement.
Conditions & source context
RN and LPN routes have separate Board requirements. This is an eligibility summary; full documentation appears in Sources.
State Board of Nursing · lsbn.state.la.us · checked 10 Oct 2026
Source quotation
SECTION A: ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR RN LICENSURE BY ENDORSEMENT 1. Applicant must possess a current/valid, unrestricted RN license in another US state, territory, or country; 2. Applicant must have been actively engaged in practice as a Registered Nurse within the most recent four years; 3. Applicant must have successfully completed an accredited nursing education program approved by the Board or completed an accredited nursing program that meets or exceeds the educational standards for programs in Louisiana; 4. Applicant has successfully passed the NCLEX-RN Examination or recognized predecessor; 5. Applicant must have no grounds for or pending disciplinary action by any nursing or other health regulatory board in any US state or in a country outside the US; 6. Applicant must have no pending civil or criminal charges in any US state or in a country outside the US; 7. Applicant must evidence of proficiency in the English language if a graduate of a nursing program offered internationally; 8. Graduates from nontraditional programs that did not include a faculty supervised clinical component (such as Excelsior and Deaconess College), must also: a. Provide documentation supporting the equivalency of six (6) months to one (1) year full-time clinical experience as a RN in a staff position under RN supervision in another US state; AND b. Have three (3) letters of recommendation for licensure submitted to LSBN. Each letter should be typed, dated and signed by your current/previous RN supervisor/employer(s) attesting to your ‘satisfactory clinical performance’, provide verification of RN employment dates and supervisor’s contact information. 9. Applicant must have been issued a United States Social Security Number (SSN). Social insurance numbers from Canadian Provinces are not accepted. 10. In order to be eligible for a multistate license issued by Louisiana, the applicant must meet the criteria above and all of the following: a. Have no state or federal felony convictions; b. Have no misdemeanor convictions related to the practice of nursing (determined on a case-by-case basis); c. Not be currently a participant in an alternative program; d. Be required to self-disclose current participation in an alternative program and e. Declare Louisiana as your primary state of residence.
lsbn.state.la.us · State Board of Nursing
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Conditions & source context
Separate application portals for RN and LPN licenses.
State Board of Nursing · lsbn.state.la.us · checked 10 Oct 2026
Source quotation
Submit your applications online via the Nurse Portal.
lsbn.state.la.us · State Board of Nursing
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Application fee by license level
- RN endorsement
- $100.00 · nonrefundable
- LPN endorsement
- $185.00 + 1.8% state charge
Additional fees
RN temporary permit
- Amount
- 100
Conditions & source context
RN: $100, or $200 total with a temporary permit. LPN: $185 plus the published 1.8% state charge. Background-check charges are separate unless stated by the applicable Board.
State Board of Nursing · lsbn.state.la.us · checked 10 Oct 2026
Source quotation
SECTION D: FEES $100.00 – application for full licensure, without a 90 day temporary endorsement permit. $200.00 – application for full licensure with a 90 day temporary endorsement permit. This total includes: $100.00 application fee; $100.00 temporary permit fee. All fees are non-refundable and must be paid electronically through the Nurse Portal.
lsbn.state.la.us · State Board of Nursing
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- Required
- Yes
- State check
- Yes
- FBI check
- Yes
- Fingerprints
- Yes
- Vendor
- IdentoGO; Louisiana State Police and FBI checks
- From out of state
- Fingerprint at an IdentoGO location of your choice; the completed criminal background check packet and notarized affidavit go to LSBN by U.S. mail, not upload.
Conditions & source context
Authorized by La. R.S. 37:920.1; LSBN runs Louisiana State Police and FBI checks for RN endorsement.
State Board of Nursing · lsbn.state.la.us · checked 14 Oct 2026
Source quotation
All applicants are required to submit their fingerprints at an Indentogo location of your choice
lsbn.state.la.us · State Board of Nursing
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- Verification for endorsement
- Yes
- Scope
- RN endorsement
- Conditions
- Nursys verification from exam and current-license states, or a Board verification form if the jurisdiction does not use Nursys.
State Board of Nursing · lsbn.state.la.us · checked 10 Oct 2026
Source quotation
Applicant must request verification of RN License from exam and current / active states to be completed on the Nursys.com website. If the state BON does not participate in Nursys.com, utilize the form for Verification of Nursing License - RN
lsbn.state.la.us · State Board of Nursing
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- Available
- Yes
- Duration (days)
- 90
- Fee
- 100
- Scope
- RN temporary endorsement permit only
- Eligibility
- Applicants must meet the RN temporary-permit conditions, including Louisiana residence/work plans, current unencumbered U.S. RN license and qualifying U.S. nursing education. This permit authorizes Louisiana practice only.
- LPN
- Available
- Yes
- Eligibility
- Detailed LPN temporary-permit conditions are unverified.
Conditions & source context
The $100 temporary-permit fee is additional to the $100 RN endorsement fee.
State Board of Nursing · lsbn.state.la.us · checked 10 Oct 2026
Source quotation
SECTION C: RN TEMPORARY PERMITS LSBN offers a 90-day temporary endorsement permit, for an additional fee (see “FEES” below), that allows the applicant to practice nursing in Louisiana until full RN licensure can be issued. The permit does not authorize practice in any other state or jurisdiction. A 90-day temporary endorsement permit may be requested by individuals who: a. Submit the request and submit the payment with the electronic endorsement application; b. Reside in and plan to work in the state of Louisiana; c. Hold a current/active and unencumbered RN license from another US state or jurisdiction; d. Obtained an RN nursing degree from an accredited diploma, associate degree, baccalaureate, and/or masters nursing education program in the United States; e. Successfully passed the NCLEX-RN Examination or recognized predecessor; f. Have no civil and/or criminal charges pending; g. Have no cause for denial of licensure as defined in R.S. 37:921 and L.A.C.XLVII. §3331, or allegations of acts or omissions which constitute grounds for disciplinary action as defined in R.S. 37:921 and §3403 and §3405.
lsbn.state.la.us · State Board of Nursing
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RN
- CE option (hours)
- 30
- Period years
- 2
- Alternatives
- 900 practice hours, initial RN licensure in the previous calendar year, or qualifying specialty certification.
- Exception
- Initial Louisiana RN licenses issued during the current year are exempt.
Conditions & source context
RN requirements only. Thirty CE hours is one option, not a universal CE requirement;
State Board of Nursing · lsbn.state.la.us · checked 10 Oct 2026
Source quotation
All Louisiana licensed Registered Nurses (RNs), except those issued their initial Louisiana RN license during the current year, must be in compliance with LSBN nursing CE requirements. For RN license renewal, at least one of options below must have been completed during the two-year licensure period: a. a minimum of 30 board-approved contact hours of continuing education during the two-year licensure period; or b. a minimum of 900 practice hours during the two-year licensure period as verified by the employer on a form provided by the board; or c. initial RN licensure by examination or by endorsement during the previous calendar year; or d. current certification in a specialty area of nursing by a certifying body whose requirements have been approved by the board as being equivalent to or exceeding the above requirements.
lsbn.state.la.us · State Board of Nursing
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RN
- Detail
- Meet one listed competency option within the two-year period; current-year initial license exemption applies.
LPN
- Detail
- Online renewal November 1–January 31 through the separate LPN Nurse Portal.
Conditions & source context
RN requirements only. Thirty CE hours is one option, not a universal CE requirement;
State Board of Nursing · lsbn.state.la.us · checked 10 Oct 2026
Source quotation
All Louisiana licensed Registered Nurses (RNs), except those issued their initial Louisiana RN license during the current year, must be in compliance with LSBN nursing CE requirements. For RN license renewal, at least one of options below must have been completed during the two-year licensure period: a. a minimum of 30 board-approved contact hours of continuing education during the two-year licensure period; or b. a minimum of 900 practice hours during the two-year licensure period as verified by the employer on a form provided by the board; or c. initial RN licensure by examination or by endorsement during the previous calendar year; or d. current certification in a specialty area of nursing by a certifying body whose requirements have been approved by the board as being equivalent to or exceeding the above requirements.
lsbn.state.la.us · State Board of Nursing
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Our Louisiana record has nothing sourced for RNs on: any jurisprudence exam, processing time. Get those from the board directly: lsbn.state.la.us.
State Board of Nursing · lsbn.state.la.us · checked 10 Oct 2026
Built from the Louisiana nursing licensing record and the compact status table. A step appears only when the record has a sourced answer for it; anything else points to the board. Informational only: confirm with the board of nursing before you apply.