South Carolina licenses registered nurses through the South Carolina Board of Nursing, part of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR). Everything below comes from the board's RN licensing, fee, examination and renewal pages, checked October 18, 2026. Fees change, so confirm on the linked pages before you pay.
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.
Application: online only, through LLR's eServices. Include a 2x2 photo, proof you are 18 or older (a birth certificate or passport; hospital copies are not accepted), legal name documents, your Social Security or permanent resident card, a notarized affidavit and passport-type photo form, verification of lawful presence and an affidavit of eligibility. The RN exam fee is $90, or $100 with a temporary license.
Education: South Carolina programs send a Certificate of Endorsement straight from the dean or director; out-of-state graduates have official transcripts sent by the school.
Background check: every applicant gets a criminal history check (S.C. Code 40-33-25). Wait for the board's fingerprint instructions after it receives your application; do not get printed before then.
Graduate nurse temporary license: a graduate of an accredited program who has never failed the NCLEX, is registered for it and has no felony convictions or pending charges may practice under RN supervision for 90 days while awaiting the exam. It ends if you fail or when your permanent license issues.
NCLEX-RN: register with Pearson VUE. The board does not give a time to the Authorization to Test; check with the board.
Retakes: no more than once every 45 days, for up to a year from your first attempt; after a year, board-approved remediation first. If you have not passed within three years of graduation, you must re-qualify through an approved nursing program. A re-exam is $65.
Renewal: every license expires April 30 of every even-numbered year; renewals open February 1 and the fee is $75. Show continued competency in the past two years by one of: 30 contact hours from a board-recognized provider, a national certification, an academic nursing program, or employer verification on the board's form. CE Broker is the board's tracking system.
South Carolina is a Nurse Licensure Compact state. If South Carolina 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 South Carolina 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.