How to get your RN license in Maryland

Maryland licenses registered nurses through the Maryland Board of Nursing (MBON), part of the Maryland Department of Health; applications now run through the MDH CHART system. Everything below comes from the board's licensure-by-exam page, its July 2025 fee schedule, its criminal history record check fact sheet and its renewal 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.

Maryland at a glance

BoardMaryland Board of Nursing (Maryland Department of Health)
ExamNCLEX-RN, registered with Pearson VUE: $200 to Pearson VUE ($350 for registrations completed on or after February 1, 2027)
Board fee$187 for the RN exam (and re-exam) application, effective July 1, 2025
Background checkState and FBI fingerprint check through Maryland CJIS; private background checks are not accepted
Nurse Licensure CompactCompact state: multistate license if you live here
RenewalEvery two years; $191 for an active RN (includes a $26 Maryland Health Care Commission fee); renew up to 90 days early
Continuing educationNo CE hours listed on the board's renewal page; implicit bias and structural racism training is required for renewal. Check with the board
Authorization to TestNot stated; the board lets you test once it has your fingerprint postcard
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.

Maryland, step by step

Maryland Board of Nursing (Maryland Department of Health)

  1. Residence rule: you can test in Maryland only if your primary state of residence is Maryland or a state outside the compact. If you live in another compact state, the board returns the application unprocessed; you test in your home state.
  2. Application: apply and pay in the MDH CHART licensing system. The RN exam fee is $187 (the same for a re-exam), effective July 1, 2025. The board accepts only original documents from primary sources.
  3. Background check: every new RN applicant needs a state and federal fingerprint check; private checks are not accepted. The board's fact sheet lists the cost, paid to Maryland's Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS), at $57.25, with about a week for electronic prints and 3 to 4 weeks for manual ones (it is an older page, so confirm the current fee). Once the board has your fingerprint postcard you may take the NCLEX, but no license issues until the check is reviewed.
  4. NCLEX-RN: register with Pearson VUE. If you do not pass, you can schedule a retake in 45 days; a reschedule application comes with your results.
  5. Graduates abroad or in Puerto Rico: meet the spoken English requirement with a valid score (the board notes TSE scores expire after two years).
  6. Renewal: every two years; the active RN fee is $191, which includes a $26 Maryland Health Care Commission fee. You can renew up to 90 days early, and processing takes 5 to 10 days. Renewal requires implicit bias and structural racism training. The board's renewal page lists no CE hour count for RNs; check with the board.

Sources: Maryland Board of Nursing, licensure by exam, 2025 nurse fee schedule, criminal history record check fact sheet and license renewal. Checked October 18, 2026.

The compact: multistate or single-state?

Maryland is a Nurse Licensure Compact state. If Maryland 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 Maryland 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