How to get your RN license in Alaska

Alaska licenses registered nurses through the Alaska Board of Nursing, in the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing. Everything below comes from the board's Registered Nurse License by Examination application instructions (revised July 21, 2025), its applications page and its 2026-2028 RN renewal application, checked October 18, 2026.

Study aid, not legal advice. Your state board of nursing has the final word on your license, and its rules and fees change. Built by an RN. Headed In LLC is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), Pearson VUE or any board of nursing; their names appear here only to point you to the real thing. NCLEX and NCLEX-RN are registered trademarks of NCSBN.

Alaska at a glance

BoardAlaska Board of Nursing (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing)
ExamNCLEX-RN, registered with Pearson VUE: $200 to Pearson VUE ($350 for registrations completed on or after February 1, 2027)
Board fee$375 total: $200 non-refundable application fee, $100 license fee and $75 fingerprint processing fee
Background checkOne FD-258 fingerprint card sent to the board, which has the Department of Public Safety run state and FBI checks
Nurse Licensure CompactNot in the compact: single-state license
RenewalEvery two years; all RN licenses expire November 30 of even-numbered years; $200 ($100 prorated for licenses issued after December 1, 2025)
Continuing educationOne of five continuing competency categories, such as two of: 320 work hours, 30 CE hours, 30 hours of professional activities; new licensees skip their first renewal
Authorization to TestAbout 48 hours after the board makes you eligible (once you are registered with Pearson VUE)
Practice for the NCLEX freeThe NCLEX shut-off simulator: real practice questions under the exam's published stopping rules, 85 to 150 questions. No sign-up.

Alaska, step by step

Alaska Board of Nursing (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing)

  1. Application: apply online through MY LICENSE (your myAlaska account) or on paper form 08-4112, signed and notarized. Fees, payable to the State of Alaska, are a $200 non-refundable application fee, a $100 license fee and a $75 fingerprint processing fee: $375 total.
  2. Fingerprints: one original FD-258 card on cardstock with the FBI privacy statement, sent to the Alaska Board of Nursing, which sends it to the Department of Public Safety for state and FBI checks. Badly rolled prints or missing information mean a new card and fee.
  3. School documents: a Nursing Program Verification form (08-4112b) and an official transcript showing your graduation date and degree, both sent directly by the school.
  4. Temporary permit: at the board's discretion, once items 1 to 5 are in, a non-renewable permit good for six months or until your NCLEX result arrives. Not available if you have failed or missed the NCLEX; it becomes invalid if you fail.
  5. NCLEX-RN: register with Pearson VUE any time during the application. When the board approves you, it notifies Pearson, and your Authorization to Test arrives about 48 hours later. You need a U.S. Social Security number (or an approved exemption) before a license issues.
  6. Renewal: licenses run two years and all expire November 30 of even-numbered years; licenses issued within 90 days of that date go to the next cycle. The 2026-2028 renewal fee is $200 ($100 prorated if first issued on or after December 1, 2025). There is no grace period.
  7. Continuing competency: choose one of five categories, most often two of three: 320 hours of paid nursing work, 30 contact hours of CE, or 30 hours of professional nursing activities in the two-year period. Nurses first licensed in the last year are exempt for that renewal only.

Sources: Alaska Board of Nursing RN license by examination application and instructions (PDF, rev. 07/21/2025), applications and forms and RN renewal application 2026-2028 (PDF). Checked October 18, 2026.

The compact: multistate or single-state?

Alaska is not in the Nurse Licensure Compact, and NCSBN shows no pending compact legislation. Your Alaska license is single-state, and a multistate license from another state does not let you practice in Alaska: you need a Alaska license, by exam or by endorsement.

Compact status from NCSBN, nursecompact.com, checked October 18, 2026.

The national steps, briefly

  1. An approved RN program

    An associate degree, bachelor's degree, diploma or entry-level master's program approved by a board of nursing, with an NCLEX program code. Your school confirms you graduated.

  2. Apply to the board

    The license comes from the state board, not the exam. Apply, pay the board fee and do the background check the board asks for.

  3. Register with Pearson VUE

    The NCLEX-RN registration fee is $200 to Pearson VUE ($350 for registrations completed on or after February 1, 2027), non-refundable. Your registration stays open 365 days while the board decides your eligibility.

  4. Get your Authorization to Test and sit the exam

    When the board makes you eligible, Pearson emails your Authorization to Test (ATT). Test within its dates: they cannot be extended. The NCLEX-RN runs 85 to 150 questions in up to five hours, and it stops when the computer is 95% sure you are above or below the passing standard.

The full national walk-through and every state: How to get your RN license. NCLEX facts from NCSBN, NCLEX fees and registration.

Practice for the NCLEX freeThe NCLEX shut-off simulator: real practice questions under the exam's published stopping rules, 85 to 150 questions. No sign-up.

Official pages