Florida licenses registered nurses through the Florida Board of Nursing, part of the Department of Health. Everything below comes from the board's licensure-by-examination application (form DH-MQA 1094, revised June 2026) and its RN renewal page, checked October 18, 2026. Fees change, so confirm on the linked pages before you pay.
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.
Education: graduate from a Florida-approved nursing program, an ACEN- or CCNE-accredited program with an NCLEX code, a program approved in its own state with an NCLEX code, a military nursing program with an NCLEX code, or a generic master's entry program with an NCLEX code. Programs educated outside the U.S. need a credentials evaluation.
Board application: the licensure-by-examination application, form DH-MQA 1094. The fee is $110 (a $50 processing fee, a $50 initial licensure fee and two $5 fees), paid by cashier's check or money order to the Department of Health. If you are denied or withdraw, $60 is refundable. Active-duty members, veterans and their spouses may qualify for reduced fees.
Fingerprints: required for every applicant. Use a Livescan provider approved by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and give them the board's ORI number, EDOH4420Z; the board cannot accept paper cards. Results usually reach the board in 24 to 72 hours. A Livescan done at a Florida police or sheriff's office needs a fee paid in the FDLE payment system before results are released.
NCLEX-RN: register with Pearson VUE and pay its fee; the board says to register before it approves you (applicants educated outside the U.S. wait for approval), and not registering delays your Authorization to Test. You should get the ATT within 72 hours after the board makes you eligible or after you register, whichever is later. The board cannot extend an ATT.
Before you pass: apply within three months of graduating and you may be approved for Graduate Nurse status and work under the direct supervision of an RN. Fail your first attempt and the status ends.
Retakes: fail three times in a row, in any state, and Florida law requires a board-approved remedial course before you test again.
Renewal: every two years; RNs renew in three groups with different expiration dates. The fee is $75 on time, $130 after expiration. Each renewal needs 24 contact hours: 16 general hours plus 2 each of prevention of medical errors, Florida laws and rules, human trafficking and (every other renewal) recognizing impairment in the workplace, with 2 hours of domestic violence every third renewal on top. A one-time 1-hour HIV/AIDS course comes before your first renewal. Nurses licensed by exam during the current cycle skip the general hours at the first renewal and complete the 9 hours of required topics.
Florida is a Nurse Licensure Compact state. If Florida is your primary state of residence and you meet the compact's uniform licensure requirements (they include a fingerprint-based state and federal background check), the board issues a multistate license that also lets you practice in every other compact state. If you live in another state, or do not meet those requirements, you get a single-state license good in Florida only. Move your primary residence to another compact state and you must apply there for a new multistate license within 60 days.
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.
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.
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.
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.