How to get your RN license in Vermont

Vermont licenses registered nurses through the Vermont Board of Nursing, in the Secretary of State's Office of Professional Regulation (OPR). Everything below comes from the board's apply and renew page, its RN application instructions (February 2026) and its LPN and RN renewal instructions (April 2026), 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.

Vermont at a glance

BoardVermont Board of Nursing (Office of Professional Regulation)
ExamNCLEX-RN, registered with Pearson VUE: $200 to Pearson VUE ($350 for registrations completed on or after February 1, 2027)
Board fee$75 for an RN application by exam, plus $100 for the multistate specialty (OPR fee chart, July 2025); non-refundable
Background checkFBI background check for every first-time applicant: a Fingerprint Authorization Certificate, then prints sent to the Vermont Crime Information Center (VCIC)
Nurse Licensure CompactCompact state: multistate license if you live here
RenewalEvery two years; renewal opens six weeks before the expiration date on your license; $220
Continuing educationOne option: 400 practice hours in 2 years, 960 in 5 years, 20 CE hours in 2 years, a national certification, or a nursing program in the last 5 years
Authorization to TestNot stated; allow at least 5 business days for application processing
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.

Vermont, step by step

Vermont Board of Nursing (Office of Professional Regulation)

  1. Application: the online RN Application by Examination in OPR's Online Services, with a non-refundable fee: $75 by exam, plus $100 if you add the multistate specialty (OPR fee chart, updated July 1, 2025). Choose single-state or multistate in the application; you must be a Vermont resident for multistate.
  2. Transcripts: not required if you finished a Vermont nursing program. Graduates of programs elsewhere in the U.S. have official transcripts sent to the board (including any other school where you took required subjects). Programs abroad need a credentials evaluation.
  3. Background check: every first-time applicant gets an FBI check. After you answer the FBI release questions in the application, a Fingerprint Authorization Certificate arrives by email in 3 to 5 business days; bring it to your appointment at a Vermont Identification Center or a local police agency (outside Vermont, ink prints on an FD-258 card), and the prints and certificate go to the Vermont Crime Information Center.
  4. Provisional license: Vermont law (3 V.S.A. 130) allows a non-renewable 90-day provisional license for applicants who have met everything else and are waiting on a background check, once you upload proof that your prints and certificate were sent.
  5. NCLEX-RN: once you receive your Authorization to Test letter, register with Pearson VUE and pay the exam fee. OPR asks you to allow at least 5 business days for processing.
  6. Renewal: renewal opens six weeks before the expiration date on your license, online, and the RN renewal fee is $220. Meet one requirement: 400 hours of paid nursing work in the last 2 years or 960 hours in the last 5; 20 hours of CE in the last 2 years (certificates uploaded); a nationally recognized certification; or finishing a nursing or re-entry program in the last 5 years.

Sources: Vermont Board of Nursing apply and renew, RN application instructions (PDF, February 2026) , LPN and RN renewal instructions (PDF, April 2026) and OPR licensing fees and dates (PDF, updated July 1, 2025). Checked October 18, 2026.

The compact: multistate or single-state?

Vermont is a Nurse Licensure Compact state. If Vermont 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 Vermont 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