• Submit an application for licensure by examination and fees (cashier’s check or money order.) The application fee is $105.00 and the Criminal Background Check fee is $33.25. The fees are non-refundable. The application packet may be downloaded from the Minnesota Board of Nursing website or you can submit the application and fee online. https://mn.gov/boards/nursing/licensure/apply-for-a-license/apply-by-exam.jsp 

• Provide evidence you have not engaged in conduct warranting disciplinary action; if you answer yes to any questions in the Grounds for Denial section of the application, the Board will investigate prior to licensure.

• Watch for the Criminal Background Check program office to send you a fingerprint packet by email. Follow the instructions and submit your fingerprints as soon as possible.

• Submit a completed Confirmation of Program Completion from your nursing program. If you have completed a Minnesota nursing program, a school official can confirm completion on-line. Paper forms must be submitted to the Board directly from the Nursing Program.

• Register with Pearson Vue to take the NCLEX® (National Council Licensure Examination) and pay the required fee.
  • Register on the web at https://www.nclex.com/index.htm
  • Register by phone by calling NCLEX® Candidate Services at 1.866.496.2539

• Send notification to the Board office as soon as possible if any change occurs in your name, address, or other application information after you submit the application. Submit legal proof of change in name, such as a copy of a marriage certificate or court order.

• Watch for the test service to send your authorization to test (ATT) by e-mail. To gain access to the NCLEX, you will be required to present one form of acceptable identification. The first and last name on your identification must match exactly the name you provided when registering.

• Schedule the examination at one of the testing centers after you receive an authorization to test (ATT) from the test service. The ATT is valid for 90 days. If you do not take the examination within one year of receipt of your application, your application with the Board, will be nullified. If you do not take the examination within 90 days of receipt of your ATT, your registration with Pearson Vue will no longer be valid.

• Watch for your license. The Board will mail your license approximately 10 business days after you take the examination. If you do not pass the examination, you will receive an EXAMINATION RETAKE REQUEST packet and a diagnostic profile to help you understand your performance on the NCLEX® examination.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICANTS WHO COMPLETED A NURSING PROGRAM MORE THAN FIVE YEARS AGO

• Complete a Review Course. If it has been five years or more since you completed either a professional or practical nursing program, or if you have not successfully passed the NCLEX within 5 years of completing your professional or practical nursing program, you are required to complete a Review Course before taking the NCLEX©. The review course must be completed after you have applied for licensure to the Minnesota Board of Nursing. Information about this requirement is available on the Board’s website at: https://mn.gov/boards/nursing/licensure/rn-pn-review-course/.

REQUEST FOR SPECIAL TESTING ACCOMMODATIONS

• Indicate your request for special testing accommodations for the NCLEX® by completing the Request for Special Accommodations section on the LICENSURE BY EXAMINATION APPLICATION.
  
  
• Submit supporting documentation regarding your request for testing accommodations due to a disability. At a minimum the documentation must include:
  • a letter from an appropriate professional confirming the disability and providing information as to what accommodations are appropriate; and
  • a letter from the Disability Services department of your school indicating what modifications, if any, were granted by the program.

• List the specific accommodations you are requesting. Examples of modifications include:
  • separate room
  • recorder
  • reader
  • signer
  • extra time (state specific amount of extra time you are requesting.)

• Call NCLEX® Candidate Services at the telephone number listed in the ATT letter when you are approved for testing with special accommodations and have received your ATT.
  
  

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICANTS EDUCATED IN CANADA

• Submit verification of licensure from the original Canadian province in which you were first licensed and the U.S. jurisdiction in which you were most recently licensed as an RN. The verification must be sent directly from the licensing board to the Minnesota Board of Nursing.

• Submit an official transcript if you are not or have never been licensed in Canada, from your Canadian nursing education program or a Confirmation of Program Completion form. The transcript or confirmation of program completion form must be sent directly from the school of nursing to the Minnesota Board of Nursing.

• Pass an approved English proficiency test if you were educated in Quebec; schools approved for exemption of this requirement are: McGill University, Dawson College, Vanier College, John Abbott College, and Heritage College.