New York Board of Nursing: License Lookup, Renewal & Contact

The New York Board of Nursing is the State Board for Nursing inside the NYSED Office of the Professions, which licenses every RN and LPN in the state and certifies nurse practitioners. An RN or LPN license costs $143, registration renews every three years, and New York is not a compact state. Below: steps, fees, lookup and contacts.

Key Takeaways

• Licensing runs through the NYSED Office of the Professions in Albany. The State Board for Nursing advises on policy and discipline.
• RN and LPN licenses both cost $143 up front. Renewal is $73 for an RN but only $50 for an LPN, every three years.
• New York is not in the Nurse Licensure Compact. The 2025 bill to join has sat in committee since January 7, 2026.
• Every mandated reporter, RNs and NPs included, owes the updated child abuse training by November 17, 2026.
• RNs licensed after June 18, 2020 must earn a BSN within 10 years to keep their registration.
• New York holds 567,349 active RN licenses, second only to California.

New York is cheap to hold and slow to enter. Keeping an RN registration costs about $24 a year, one of the lowest carrying costs we see anywhere, and there is no general CE hour quota. The friction sits at the door: no compact, no standing temporary permit for nurses licensed elsewhere, and a review queue running about five weeks behind. Plan the start date around the queue, not around the job offer.

How do you get a New York nursing license?

You file Online Form 1 with NYSED and pay $143, finish the infection control course (plus child abuse training for RNs), have your school send Form 2 with a transcript, and then either pass the NCLEX or prove an existing license through Nursys. The RN license requirements also ask for good moral character and a minimum age of 18.

1. Take the mandated coursework first. Infection control is required for RNs and LPNs. Child abuse identification and reporting is required for RNs, not LPNs. Both come from NYSED-approved providers.
2. Submit Online Form 1 and pay the $143 license and first registration fee by credit card.
3. Have your school send Form 2 (Certification of Professional Education) with an official transcript. You fill Section I; the school completes Section II and mails it.
4. Prove you passed the exam. New graduates register for the NCLEX-RN or NCLEX-PN. Nurses licensed elsewhere verify through Nursys if their board participates, or send Form 3 if it does not.
5. Optional: apply for a limited permit ($35, Form 5) if you are a new graduate who has never taken the NCLEX and you have a job offer.

The limited permit is the new graduate’s bridge. It lasts up to one year, or until 10 days after you learn you failed the NCLEX, whichever comes first, and it ties you to one employer with an RN supervisor on the unit. Change jobs and you need a new permit. Anyone who has already sat the NCLEX is ineligible.

Watch out: there is no standing temporary permit for nurses already licensed in another state. The 2023 temporary practice route under Education Law §6907-a closed to new applicants, and the 2026 strike-era Executive Order 56 ran only through February 27, 2026.

What does a New York nursing license cost?

An RN or LPN license costs $143, which is a $70 application fee plus a $73 first registration. After that, RNs renew for $73 and LPNs for $50 every three years. A nurse practitioner certificate adds $85 per specialty, and a clinical nurse specialist certificate $80, both on top of the RN license.

Spread across the three-year cycle, an RN registration costs about $24 a year and an LPN about $17. The LPN figure is where most summaries slip: they quote $73 for both levels, but the NYSED fee chart sets LPN renewal at $50 in a footnote.

How long does NYSED take to issue a nursing license?

NYSED publishes no processing guarantee, but its RN processing page shows which documents are being reviewed. On October 1, 2026 staff were working on items received August 25, so a complete file waits roughly five weeks for first review. NYSED asks applicants to allow six weeks before requesting a status update.

That date moves, so check it the week you file. Applications with nursing education from outside the United States sit in a slower review, and NYSED will not give status by phone. Updates go through its online Contact Us form only.

In our experience helping nurses license across all 50 states, the five weeks are rarely the real delay. Form 2 is. NYSED accepts education verification only from the school itself, and a registrar who batches mail monthly can add a month on their own. Ask the registrar to send it the day you submit Form 1.

How do you verify a New York nursing license?

Use the NYSED Online Verification Search. Pick the profession, then search by last name or by the six-digit license number. It shows the nurse’s name, license number, location, date of original license and registration status with its expiration date. It is free.

• To check a New York RN or LPN license: the Online Verification Search, by name or license number. A license can be valid for life while the registration has lapsed, so read the registration line, not just the license line.
• To check discipline: NYSED publishes summaries of Board of Regents disciplinary actions going back to January 1994, searchable separately from the license record.
• To send your out-of-state license to NYSED: Nursys, which NCSBN prices at $30 per license type per receiving board. NYSED requires Nursys whenever your home board participates.
• To send your New York license to another state: order a written verification ($10) or certification ($20) online. NYSED mails it by first class within about three to four weeks, and only to you or the other state’s licensing authority.
• To look up a physician instead: the same search covers doctors, and our New York physician licensing guide walks through that side.

Pro tip: because New York is not a compact state, there is no multistate status to confirm. Every nurse working here needs a New York record in the Online Verification Search. If a new hire shows up only in Nursys with another state’s multistate license, that is not a New York authorization.

How do you renew a New York nursing license?

You renew the registration, not the license. Under Education Law §6502 the license lasts for life; the registration certificate runs three years. NYSED mails a renewal application about four months before expiry with a seven-character PIN, and you can renew online from five months before expiry until four months after. Online renewals take up to three business days.

The fee is $73 for an RN and $50 for an LPN. NYSED lists no general continuing education hour quota for either level. The recurring obligation is infection control coursework every four years. Not practicing in New York? You can switch your registration to inactive status free of charge.

Watch out: Chapter 25 of the Laws of 2024 added training on children with intellectual or developmental disabilities, and every mandated reporter, including RNs and NPs already licensed, must complete it by November 17, 2026. If your original course fell between November 1, 2022 and August 31, 2025, a 15-minute addendum counts instead. Older guides limit the update to recent trainees, but NYSED applies it to every mandated reporter.

The bigger long-term rule is BSN in 10. Under Education Law §6905 and Commissioner’s Regulations Part 64, an RN licensed after June 18, 2020 must earn a baccalaureate or higher degree in nursing within 10 years to keep registering. Nurses licensed, NCLEX-eligible, enrolled in a BSN program or with an application pending by that date are exempt. The first deadlines arrive in 2030, and a one-year conditional registration is available, extendable for good cause.

Is New York a Nurse Licensure Compact state?

No. NYSED says plainly that New York is not a compact state, and the Nurse Licensure Compact map kept by NCSBN, the independent non-profit of state nursing boards, does not list it. Senate Bill S3916 and its Assembly twin A4524 would adopt the compact, but both were referred to the Higher Education committees on January 7, 2026.

So a multistate license from any other state does not authorize practice here. You need a New York license by endorsement first. The same bill would also adopt the separate APRN compact as Part B.

How does New York compare with its neighbors?

New York is the compact holdout of its region and the largest nursing workforce in it by far. New Jersey implemented the compact on November 15, 2021 and Vermont on February 1, 2022. NCSBN lists Pennsylvania and Connecticut with 2025 implementation dates, while Massachusetts has enacted it with no date set. Our guides to the New Jersey Board of Nursing, Pennsylvania’s nursing board and nurse licensing in Massachusetts cover each one.

Real scenario: an ER nurse living in Jersey City holds a New Jersey multistate license that covers her shifts at home and a travel contract in Delaware. A per diem shift in Manhattan, a short PATH ride away, needs a separate New York license by endorsement.

For travel nurses weighing a New York contract, our breakdown of license rules for compact and non-compact states shows where else the same endorsement step applies.

What does NYSED require for RN, LPN and NP licenses?

Each level has its own rules. RNs and LPNs share the $143 fee and the NCLEX route but differ on renewal fees and mandated training. Nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists are not separate licenses at all: they are certificates layered on a New York RN license, which has to stay registered for the certificate to count.

• RN. A licensure-qualifying nursing program, NCLEX-RN or an earlier RN license with NCLEX or SBTPE, infection control and child abuse coursework, $143. BSN in 10 applies if licensed after June 18, 2020.
• LPN. An approved practical nursing program, NCLEX-PN or an earlier LPN or LVN license, infection control coursework, $143. No child abuse course is required at the LPN level. Renewal is $50.
• Nurse practitioner. A current New York RN license and registration, an NYSED-registered NP program or accepted national certification, coursework on prescription law and recordkeeping, and $85 per specialty. The certificate renews with the RN registration for $35.
• Clinical nurse specialist. A certificate on top of the RN license, $80, renewing for $30.

By the numbers: New York carries 567,349 active RN licenses, more than Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New Jersey combined and about 1 in 11 nationally, per the NCSBN National Nursing Database updated October 1, 2026.

How do you contact the New York Board of Nursing?

For licensing and registration questions, call NYSED customer service at 518-474-3817, press 1, then extension 570, weekdays 8:30 am to 4:45 pm Eastern, or use the online Contact Us form. For practice questions, the State Board for Nursing answers at extension 120 and [email protected]. Mail goes to 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234.

Pick the right line. Extension 120 is the board office for scope of practice questions, and it cannot tell you where your application stands. Status requests go through the Contact Us form only, and NYSED asks you to wait six weeks after your file is complete before sending one.

From the files we handle, a New York endorsement rarely fails on eligibility. It stalls on paperwork outside NYSED’s control: a school that has not mailed Form 2, a home board outside Nursys that still needs Form 3, or a child abuse certificate from a provider NYSED does not recognize. Our nurse licensing team chases those three in week one.

Frequently asked questions

This article provides general guidance only. Nursing licensing requirements change frequently and vary by state. Always verify current requirements with the NYSED Office of the Professions at op.nysed.gov before submitting your application. Last fact-checked: October 1, 2026.

Written by Medicallicensing Team · Reviewed by David Ivaniuk, CEO Medicallicensing · Last updated: October 1, 2026 · Last fact-checked: October 1, 2026

About the reviewer

David Ivaniuk is the CEO of Medicallicensing, a licensing services company that has helped physicians, PAs, nurses, and other healthcare professionals navigate state licensing, DEA registration, and payer enrollment across all 50 U.S. states.

References

1. NYSED Office of the Professions. “RN License Requirements.” Retrieved October 1, 2026. op.nysed.gov.
2. NYSED Office of the Professions. “LPN License Requirements.” Retrieved October 1, 2026. op.nysed.gov.
3. NYSED Office of the Professions. “Fees.” Retrieved October 1, 2026. op.nysed.gov.
4. NYSED Office of the Professions. “Mandated Training Related to Child Abuse.” Retrieved October 1, 2026. op.nysed.gov.
5. NYSED Office of the Professions. “New York State’s BSN in 10 Law.” Retrieved October 1, 2026. op.nysed.gov.
6. NYSED Office of the Professions. “Online Verification Searches.” Retrieved October 1, 2026. op.nysed.gov.
7. NCSBN. “NLC Map: jurisdictions and implementation status.” Retrieved October 1, 2026. nursecompact.com.
8. NCSBN National Nursing Database. “Active RN Licenses by State.” Retrieved October 1, 2026. ncsbn.org.
9. New York State Senate. “Senate Bill S3916, 2025 to 2026 session.” Retrieved October 1, 2026. nysenate.gov.