Nurse state crossing · Texas licensing · NLC status table · LPN/LVN list
RN work list: Texas
What an RN has to do to work in Texas. Pick where you live and the page shows your route.
Pick your home state to see which route applies. Both are listed below.
Texas: Nurse Licensure Compact state
State Board of Nursing · bon.texas.gov · checked 11 Sep 2026
Source quotation
allows registered nurses (RNs) and licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) to have one multistate license
bon.texas.gov · State Board of Nursing
Home and work in Texas
If you already hold a licence Texas issued, there is no state line to cross. Renewal and continuing-education rules are on the Texas 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 Texas are both compact states in force, holding a multistate licence.
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
Not established in the cited sources
Conditions & source context
Ruled 2026-09-11. The BON addresses privilege modes (physical, electronic, telephonic) and the NLC FAQ addresses multistate practice generally, but no primary source found in this pass addresses contract duration the way the EMS Commission's 'no time limit' statement does. The 60-day rule governs residence changes, not assignment length. See open question tx-traveler-duration.
State Board of Nursing · bon.texas.gov · checked 11 Sep 2026
Source quotation
with the privilege to practice in the home state and in other eNLC states physically, electronically, and/or telephonically
bon.texas.gov · State Board of Nursing
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 Texas licence by endorsement
For everyone else. Each step comes from Texas’s own licensing sources; tick it off as you go.
-
Approved education
- Detail
- Graduated from an approved LPN/LVN or RN program.
U.S. exam
- Detail
- Taken the appropriate U.S. exam.
Recent practice
- Detail
- Practiced nursing in another state within the previous four years of applying for that license type.
State Board of Nursing · bon.texas.gov · checked 11 Sep 2026
Source quotation
graduated from an approved licensed practical nurse/vocational nurse (LPN/LVN) or registered nurse (RN) program taken the appropriate US exam, and practiced nursing in another state within the previous four years of applying for that license type
bon.texas.gov · State Board of Nursing
-
Conditions & source context
The 'here' link target is the txapps URL in the value; verified by opening the endorsement page's link list.
State Board of Nursing · bon.texas.gov · checked 11 Sep 2026
Source quotation
A Nurse may apply for a license by Endorsement for Texas: Online Endorsement Application here
bon.texas.gov · State Board of Nursing
-
- Amount
- 150
- Per
- application
- Also payable
FBI/DPS criminal background check
- Note
- Varies per Chapter 223 fee schedule.
Conditions & source context
Quick-summary row: $150 includes the NJE fee. The Chapter 223 schedule itemises $125 endorsement + NJE not to exceed $25. Refundability of the endorsement fee is not given on this page.
State Board of Nursing · bon.texas.gov · checked 11 Sep 2026
-
- Required
- Yes
- State check
- Yes
- FBI check
- Yes
- Fingerprints
- Yes
Conditions & source context
Verified in all four current V5.2026 RN/LVN endorsement instructions. Applicants with a prior CBC submission for TXBON, including a student or previous application, do not resubmit fingerprints unless TXBON staff instructs them to do so. Applicant-supplied results and checks for another facility or agency are not accepted or transferred. The PDFs link separate instructions for applicants in Texas, outside Texas and without a U.S. Social Security number; Current vendor and exact fee are not given in these PDFs; the withdrawn MorphoTrust (IdentoGo) wording is not used as current proof.
State Board of Nursing · bon.texas.gov · checked 9 Oct 2026
Source quotation
Effective 2004, all applicants for Texas licensure are required to submit fingerprints for a Criminal Background Check (CBC). The CBC is completed through the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and are sent directly to the TXBON by each agency.
bon.texas.gov · State Board of Nursing
-
- Available
- Yes
- Type
- one-time 120-calendar-day temporary license
- Eligibility review
- Within fifteen (15) business days of application submission
- Eligibility
- Eligibility-dependent; issuance may be delayed or never occur. Valid 120 calendar days from issuance, issued once per lifetime, with no extension or renewal.
Conditions & source context
Verified in current V5.2026 RN and LVN domestic/international instructions. The fifteen-business-day period is review for temporary-license eligibility, not guaranteed issuance. Both licenses use the same endorsement application. Eligibility disclosures, a positive criminal-history report, license discipline or unresolved education documents can delay or prevent issuance. A six-month supervised refresher permit is a different permission; applicants requiring that route receive no temporary or permanent license until qualifying refresher/orientation/study requirements are completed. Puerto Rico graduates using the international route must provide proof of NCLEX or SBTPE before a temporary license is issued; a Puerto Rico BCE alone does not show eligibility. Exact temporary-license fee was not verified.
State Board of Nursing · bon.texas.gov · checked 9 Oct 2026
Source quotation
Board staff will review your application for eligibility of a temporary license within fifteen (15) business days* of your application submission. The temporary license will allow you to practice as an RN in Texas for a total of 120 calendar days from the date of issuance. This should allow you sufficient time to complete all other requirements to receive your permanent Texas license.
bon.texas.gov · State Board of Nursing
-
- Required
- Yes
- Exam
- Nursing Jurisprudence Examination (NJE)
Conditions & source context
Verified in the current V5.2026 RN and LVN domestic/international endorsement instructions. NJE is required before permanent licensure. If prior completion results are already on file with TXBON, the examination need not be repeated; staff reviews and credits the prior result. The two-hour exam duration is stated. No exact NJE fee was verified in these instruction PDFs.
State Board of Nursing · bon.texas.gov · checked 9 Oct 2026
Source quotation
Effective September 2008, all applicants for Texas licensure are required to complete the Nursing Jurisprudence Exam (NJE) prior to permanent licensure.
bon.texas.gov · State Board of Nursing
-
RN/LVN
- Hours
- 20
- Mandated topics
- targeted continuing education per Board Rule 216 — enumerated on the CE pages, not the renewal page
Conditions & source context
Renewal page states the 20-hour requirement and references targeted CE under Board Rule 216 without enumerating topics; the per-topic breakdown was not read in this pass.
State Board of Nursing · bon.texas.gov · checked 11 Sep 2026
Source quotation
completion of 20 contact hours of continuing education (CE) in the nurse's area of practice
bon.texas.gov · State Board of Nursing
-
Our Texas record has nothing sourced for RNs on: licence verification, other state-specific requirements, processing time. Get those from the board directly: bon.texas.gov.
State Board of Nursing · bon.texas.gov · checked 11 Sep 2026
Built from the Texas 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.