Iowa licenses registered nurses through the Iowa Board of Nursing, housed in the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL). Iowa renews every three years. Everything below comes from the board's exam application steps, fee and fee waiver page, renewal page and continuing education page, 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.
Iowa Board of Nursing (Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing)
Application: new graduates who have never been licensed apply through the board's online portal and pay $143, which covers the $93 application fee and the $50 background check. It is non-refundable. Use your full name and current address and email, and match them exactly on your NCLEX registration.
Fee waiver: first-time applicants whose household adjusted gross income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level can ask for the application and background check fees to be waived, with the prior year's federal tax return. The NCLEX fee is not covered.
NCLEX registration: register and pay the NCLEX fee with Pearson VUE. Accommodation requests go to the board before graduation, and you should not schedule until you have the approval letter.
Background check: fingerprints through Fieldprint, which can take them in any U.S. state and send them straight to the board. If you are outside the U.S. or cannot use Fieldprint, email the board for a paper packet.
Transcript: your school sends an official transcript with the degree and date conferred; electronic transcripts only through the National Student Clearinghouse.
Authorization to Test: once every step is complete, Pearson VUE emails your ATT.
Renewal: every three years; licenses expire on the 15th of your birth month, and your first period runs two years plus the months to your birth month. Renew up to 60 days early for $99 (plus $50 if late, within a 30-day grace period).
Continuing education:36 contact hours each renewal period. Since June 4, 2025, the board no longer approves CE providers; you choose CE that fits your practice and keep documentation four years. A current national certification counts as 36 hours.
Iowa is a Nurse Licensure Compact state. If Iowa 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 Iowa 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.