How to get your RN license in Hawaii

Hawaii licenses registered nurses through the Hawaii Board of Nursing, in the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs' Professional and Vocational Licensing Division. Everything below comes from the board's application and publications page, its exam dates page, its criminal history record check page and its 2025-2027 renewal and continuing competency manual, 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.

Hawaii at a glance

BoardHawaii Board of Nursing (DCCA, Professional and Vocational Licensing)
ExamNCLEX-RN, registered with Pearson VUE: $200 to Pearson VUE ($350 for registrations completed on or after February 1, 2027)
Board fee$40 application fee plus the license fee ($30 in the first year of the biennium, $20 in the second) under HAR 16-53-27, plus the $60 Hawaii State Center for Nursing fee
Background checkFBI and Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center checks by electronic fingerprints through Fieldprint, code FPHIBrdNursing
Nurse Licensure CompactNot in the compact: single-state license
RenewalEvery two years; the current biennium ends June 30, 2027
Continuing educationOne continuing competency learning activity each biennium (new graduates within 12 months are exempt)
Authorization to TestThe board must approve your state application before you can test
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.

Hawaii, step by step

Hawaii Board of Nursing (DCCA, Professional and Vocational Licensing)

  1. Application: file the Hawaii RN license application; the board must approve it before you take the NCLEX. Use exactly the same first and last name with Pearson VUE. An application left incomplete for a year after the board's notice is abandoned (HRS 436B-9).
  2. Fees: under HAR 16-53-27, a $40 application fee plus the license fee: $30 if issued in the first year of the biennium, $20 in the second. Since July 1, 2022 every new RN license also pays the $60 Hawaii State Center for Nursing fee. The application shows the total due.
  3. Fingerprints: every new applicant submits electronic fingerprints for FBI and Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center checks. Book through Fieldprint (fieldprinthawaii.com) with code FPHIBrdNursing and pay Fieldprint; there are sites on the mainland too. File your license application within 30 days of fingerprinting, and do not reuse prints from another board or employer.
  4. NCLEX-RN: testing is year-round; Hawaii's test center is on Oahu. Results are mailed from the board within 10 business days after the exam.
  5. Renewal: RN licenses renew every two years; the current biennium runs July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2027. Miss it and the license is forfeited, with two more years to restore it.
  6. Continuing competency: complete one learning activity option from the board's manual each biennium (options cannot be combined). Holding a national certification counts, and nurses who graduated within the past 12 months are exempt.

Sources: Hawaii Board of Nursing application forms and publications, application deadlines and examination dates, criminal history record check requirement, continuing competency requirement , renewal and continuing competency manual 2025-2027 (PDF) and the fee rule HAR 16-53-27 on Cornell LII. Checked October 18, 2026.

The compact: multistate or single-state?

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