Massachusetts licenses registered nurses through the Board of Registration in Nursing, in the Department of Public Health's Bureau of Health Professions Licensure; Professional Credential Services (PCS) processes applications for the board. Everything below comes from the board's apply-by-exam page and its rules in 244 CMR 8.00 (licensure and renewal) and 5.00 (continuing education), 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.
Eligibility: graduation from a board-approved nursing program, good moral character as defined by state law, and a passing NCLEX result. Applicants whose program was not taught in English also need a board-designated English test.
Application: online through the Health Professions Licensing Portal. The fee is $230, and a credit card is the only accepted payment. Professional Credential Services (PCS) processes applications for the board.
From your school: your program sends a certification of graduation and an original transcript with your graduation date and credential straight to the board (244 CMR 8.02).
Good moral character: the board must find you meet it before it processes the application. If you answer yes to any good moral character question, read the board's Licensure Policy 00-01 first. The board's exam page lists no fingerprint step.
Required training: domestic violence and sexual violence training from a board-identified program is a condition of licensure; once done, you do not repeat it at renewal (244 CMR 8.07).
NCLEX-RN and starting work: register with Pearson VUE. The board does not give a time to the Authorization to Test; check with the board. You can start working once your license number shows on the Massachusetts Health Professions License Verification site.
Renewal: every two years, on or before your birthday in even-numbered years, with 15 hours of continuing education completed in the two years before renewal (60 minutes is one contact hour).
Massachusetts enacted the compact, but NCSBN lists it as awaiting implementation. Until it takes effect, the board issues single-state licenses, and a multistate license from another state does not cover practice in Massachusetts: you need a Massachusetts license.
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.