How to get your RN license in Kentucky

Kentucky licenses registered nurses through the Kentucky Board of Nursing (KBN). Kentucky renews every year and adds a short open-book jurisprudence exam on state nursing law. Everything below comes from KBN's background check, jurisprudence exam, provisional license and renewal pages, and the board's regulations in 201 KAR 20:240 (fees) and 20:215 (continuing competency), 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.

Kentucky at a glance

BoardKentucky Board of Nursing (KBN)
ExamNCLEX-RN, registered with Pearson VUE: $200 to Pearson VUE ($350 for registrations completed on or after February 1, 2027)
Board fee$125 for RN licensure by examination (201 KAR 20:240), non-refundable; card payments add 2.75%
Background checkState and federal background check by IdentoGO live scan, KBN service code 27GKJR; $57 to IdentoGO
Nurse Licensure CompactCompact state: multistate license if you live here
RenewalEvery year, September 15 to October 31; $55 plus statutory add-on fees
Continuing education14 contact hours each year (November 1 to October 31), or another competency method in 201 KAR 20:215
Authorization to TestNot stated; a provisional license issues within 14 business days of meeting all KBN requirements
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.

Kentucky, step by step

Kentucky Board of Nursing (KBN)

  1. Application: apply in the KBN Nurse Portal. The RN exam application fee is $125 by regulation; all fees are non-refundable, and paying by card adds 2.75% (ACH adds $1).
  2. Background check: state and federal reports through IdentoGO live scan only. Register on UEnroll with KBN service code 27GKJR; IdentoGO charges $57 and reports usually reach KBN in three business days. Out of state you can use an IdentoGO center or the FD-258 hard-card scan, which takes 2 to 4 weeks.
  3. Jurisprudence exam: a 35-question, open-book online exam on Kentucky nursing law, given through NCSBN for $15. Apply to KBN first, then launch it from your application status in the Nurse Portal and enter your KBN application ID. You have three weeks after paying to finish it.
  4. Provisional license: once you meet every KBN requirement, a provisional license issues within 14 business days, and you can work as an RN Applicant (RNA) under direct supervision by an RN or APRN who is in the facility.
  5. NCLEX-RN: register with Pearson VUE. KBN has a separate page on how to retake the NCLEX.
  6. Renewal: every year, online from September 15 to 11:59 p.m. October 31; after that the license lapses. The regulation sets the renewal fee at $55, plus fees set by statute. You confirm your primary state of residence at each renewal.
  7. Continuing competency: each earning period runs November 1 to October 31. The usual method is 14 contact hours from an approved provider; others include a current national certification, a research project, publication or 120-hour preceptorship, or 7 hours plus a satisfactory employment evaluation. Keep records five years.

Sources: 201 KAR 20:240 (fees), 201 KAR 20:215 (continuing competency), and KBN pages on background checks, the jurisprudence exam, the provisional license and renewal. Checked October 18, 2026.

The compact: multistate or single-state?

Kentucky is a Nurse Licensure Compact state. If Kentucky 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 Kentucky only. Move your primary residence to another compact state and you must apply there for a new multistate license within 60 days.

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