How to get your RN license in Tennessee

Tennessee licenses registered nurses through the Tennessee Board of Nursing, part of the Department of Health. Tennessee charges no board fee for an RN exam application. Everything below comes from the board's pages, its fee schedule, the Department's background check page and the board's continued competence requirements, 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.

Tennessee at a glance

BoardTennessee Board of Nursing (Department of Health)
ExamNCLEX-RN, registered with Pearson VUE: $200 to Pearson VUE ($350 for registrations completed on or after February 1, 2027)
Board feeNone: the board eliminated the RN exam and retake fee on August 5, 2019 (you still pay Pearson VUE and the fingerprint fee)
Background checkTennessee Bureau of Investigation and FBI check by fingerprints through IdentoGO; $37.15 processing fee
Nurse Licensure CompactCompact state: multistate license if you live here
RenewalEvery two years, online up to 60 days early; $100
Continuing educationTwo continued competence items from the board's list, one of which can be 10 contact hours of CE
Authorization to TestNot stated; check with the board
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.

Tennessee, step by step

Tennessee Board of Nursing (Department of Health)

  1. Education: only graduates of approved schools of nursing may take the NCLEX.
  2. Application: apply in the Department of Health's online licensing system (LARS). The board's fee schedule shows the RN exam and exam retake fee eliminated as of August 5, 2019, so there is no board application fee; endorsement is $115.
  3. Background check: every initial applicant gets a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and FBI check. Register with IdentoGO using the code the board gives you; in Tennessee, have your prints scanned within two weeks of registering or you re-register and pay the $37.15 processing fee again. If prints are rejected, the board writes to you and you book a reprint.
  4. Compact residency: the board has a Declaration of Primary State of Residence form; a multistate license needs Tennessee as your primary residence.
  5. NCLEX-RN: register with Pearson VUE. The board's pages do not give a time to the Authorization to Test; check with the board.
  6. Renewal: every two years; notices go out 45 days before expiration and you can renew online up to 60 days early. The RN renewal fee is $100.
  7. Continued competence: at each renewal, keep evidence of two items from the board's list, such as a satisfactory employer evaluation, a peer letter, a current national certification, 10 contact hours of CE or in-service education, a refresher or orientation program, or three hours of nursing college credit in the past five years. Keep the records four years; the board can ask for them within 30 days.

Sources: Tennessee Board of Nursing, fee schedule (PDF), Department of Health background checks and continued competence requirements (PDF), Rule 1000-01-.18. Checked October 18, 2026.

The compact: multistate or single-state?

Tennessee is a Nurse Licensure Compact state. If Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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