How to get your RN license in North Dakota

North Dakota licenses registered nurses through the North Dakota Board of Nursing (NDBON). Everything below comes from the board's initial license by exam page for U.S.-educated nurses, its criminal history record check page, its CE requirements and its October 2026 renewal notice, 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.

North Dakota at a glance

BoardNorth Dakota Board of Nursing (NDBON)
ExamNCLEX-RN, registered with Pearson VUE: $200 to Pearson VUE ($350 for registrations completed on or after February 1, 2027)
Board fee$125 for licensure by exam (board fee schedule FY2025); the BCI background check is a separate check to the ND Attorney General (the board listed $43, with a new BCI form and fee from September 2026)
Background checkCriminal History Record Check through the Bureau of Criminal Investigation: FD-258 cards, forms SFN 60688 and 62550, mailed to the board
Nurse Licensure CompactCompact state: multistate license if you live here
RenewalEvery two years; the current group's licenses expire December 31, 2026; $140
Continuing education12 contact hours in the two years before renewal; none before your first renewal after licensure by exam
Authorization to TestEligible once all four steps are done; a 90-day graduate nurse authorization if done within 60 days of your degree
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.

North Dakota, step by step

North Dakota Board of Nursing (NDBON)

  1. Who can apply: you need a U.S. Social Security number (an ITIN does not count) and a North Dakota board-approved program, or an out-of-state approved program with lifespan clinical experience equivalent to North Dakota's.
  2. Four steps to an ATT: (1) the Initial RN License by Exam application in the Nurse Portal, $125 on the board's FY2025 fee schedule (paper is no longer accepted; request test accommodations here); (2) an official transcript with your degree posted, fastest through Parchment or the National Student Clearinghouse; (3) Pearson VUE registration; (4) a Criminal History Record Check.
  3. Background check: after you apply, get fingerprinted on FD-258 cards by law enforcement or a private agency (two inked cards, or one electronic printout), complete forms SFN 60688 and SFN 62550, and mail them to the board with a check or money order to the ND Attorney General. The board submits them to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation. BCI changed its form and fee in September 2026, so use the current form from the board's site.
  4. Graduate nurse authorization: if you meet every requirement to test within 60 days of your degree being awarded, you get a 90-day non-renewable graduate nurse work authorization when you are first made eligible.
  5. NCLEX-RN: the board has separate retesting instructions if you need to retake.
  6. Renewal: every two years in the Nurse Portal; the current group's licenses expire December 31, 2026. The RN renewal fee is $140 on the board's FY2025 fee schedule. If you move out of North Dakota you can no longer hold a North Dakota multistate license.
  7. Continuing education: 12 contact hours in the two years before renewal, with no carryover. Nurses licensed by exam need none before their first renewal.

Sources: North Dakota Board of Nursing initial license by exam, U.S. educated, criminal history record checks, CE renewal requirements , October 2026 renewal notice and fee schedule FY2025 (PDF). Checked October 18, 2026.

The compact: multistate or single-state?

North Dakota is a Nurse Licensure Compact state. If North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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