How to Get Your Louisiana Nursing License

How Louisiana Issues Nursing Licenses: Two Boards, Not One

Louisiana is one of very few US states that regulates RNs and LPNs through two entirely separate boards. The Louisiana State Board of Nursing (LSBN) in Baton Rouge licenses Registered Nurses and APRNs. The Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners (LSBPNE) in Metairie licenses Licensed Practical Nurses. Each board has its own application portal, its own fee schedule, and — critically — its own renewal cycle. There is no shared intake. Applicants who file on the wrong board's portal must withdraw and refile on the correct board, which is a uniquely Louisiana delay.

Both boards charge the same $100 application fee for licensure by examination or endorsement. NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN each cost an additional $200 paid directly to Pearson VUE. Every initial applicant — RN or LPN, by examination or endorsement — must complete a state and FBI fingerprint-based criminal background check through IdentoGO/IDEMIA before a license is issued. RN applicants use IdentoGO Service Code 27N3YH; LPN applicants follow the separate LSBPNE Criminal Background Check forms.

Louisiana and the NLC

Louisiana joined the enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact (eNLC) when Governor John Bel Edwards signed Senate Bill 202 on May 31, 2018, making Louisiana the 31st eNLC state. LSBN and LSBPNE coordinated on a joint implementation date of July 1, 2019, so RN and LPN multistate licensure went live on the same day — there was no staggered or partial rollout between the two boards. RNs and LPNs whose Primary State of Residence (PSOR) is Louisiana are eligible for a multistate license that authorizes practice in every other NLC state. PSOR is established by Louisiana driver's license, voter registration, federal tax return, or military Form 2058. If you move to Louisiana from another compact state, you must apply for a Louisiana multistate license and the prior state's multistate license is deactivated — holding two compact licenses simultaneously is not permitted.

Where Most Louisiana Applications Get Stuck

Four Louisiana-specific issues drive most delays:

• The two-board structure. RN applicants who accidentally file with LSBPNE, or LPN applicants who file with LSBN, must withdraw and refile on the correct board. There is no transfer mechanism. Confirming the correct board before filing is the single highest-leverage step in a Louisiana application.
• The Affidavit of Verification. The single most common stalled-file cause for Louisiana endorsement applicants is forgetting to mail the physical, notarized original of the Affidavit of Verification after submitting the online application. Uploading a scan is not sufficient. The board does not error or notify — the file simply waits.
• IdentoGO fingerprinting. Both boards require IDEMIA/IdentoGO fingerprints. Fingerprints from other state agencies or non-IDEMIA vendors will not be accepted. Out-of-state applicants may use a mail-in fingerprint card, but the card type and routing must match the board's requirements.
• Mismatched renewal cycles. RN renewal is biennial (October 1 – December 31, expires January 31). LPN renewal is annual (November 1 – January 31, expires January 31). Candidates who hold both licenses, or households with both an RN and an LPN, miss this regularly.

What You'll Pay

Louisiana application fees are modest by national standards. Both boards charge $100 for licensure by examination or endorsement. NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN each cost an additional $200 paid to Pearson VUE. Add roughly $55-$60 for IdentoGO fingerprinting (in-state LiveScan or mail-in card). RN endorsement applicants can request a $100 90-day temporary permit within the online application. RN biennial renewal is $100, with a $50 late fee for renewals after December 31. LPN annual renewal is $61.08; a lapsed LPN license costs $162.88 to reinstate.

Realistic Timeline

Both LSBN and LSBPNE target a 4-6 week processing window from receipt of a complete file. End-to-end timing for endorsement applicants matches that window when the Affidavit of Verification arrives on time, fingerprint clearance is current, and originating-state Nursys verification is routed correctly. Examination applicants are eligible to schedule the NCLEX only after the board confirms eligibility. Plan to submit at least 6-8 weeks before you need to practice; longer if you have any criminal history, out-of-country training, or prior board action requiring additional Board review.

Renewal and CE

RN renewal is biennial. The renewal window is October 1 through December 31, with licenses expiring January 31. The renewal fee is $100, with a $50 late fee for renewals after December 31. RNs satisfy CE by completing one of four alternatives during the two-year cycle:

• 30 contact hours of board-approved continuing education, OR
• 900 nursing practice hours verified by your employer on a board-provided form, OR
• Initial RN licensure obtained during the previous calendar year, OR
• Current specialty nursing certification approved by the Board.

Only one path needs to be satisfied per cycle. Most working RNs default to the 900 practice-hour route because it is auto-satisfied by full-time clinical work. Travelers and per-diem nurses typically use the 30 contact-hour route.

LPN renewal is annual. The renewal window is November 1 through January 31, with licenses expiring January 31. The renewal fee is $61.08; reinstatement after lapse is $162.88. LSBPNE does not impose an annual contact-hour CE requirement, but LPNs are advised to retain CE records for at least five years in case of audit.

Single State Versus NLC

If Louisiana is your Primary State of Residence, your Louisiana RN or LPN license can be issued as a multistate license at no extra fee, authorizing practice in every other NLC state. If your PSOR is a non-compact state (California, New York, Oregon, etc.), the Louisiana license must be issued as a single-state license — same fee, same fingerprint and verification requirements, but it only authorizes practice in Louisiana. PSOR rules are strict: you cannot hold two multistate licenses simultaneously, and a move from one compact state to another deactivates the prior state's multistate privilege. Both LSBN and LSBPNE follow the same eNLC PSOR rules.

How White Glove Helps

We manage Louisiana RN and LPN applications end-to-end, with particular focus on the two issues that ruin Louisiana timelines: filing on the correct board (LSBN for RN/APRN, LSBPNE for LPN) and getting the notarized Affidavit of Verification mailed at the same moment the online application is submitted, not afterward. We schedule IdentoGO fingerprinting under the right service code, route originating-state verification through Nursys, and pre-screen for criminal history or prior board action that would trigger additional Board review. For nurses establishing Louisiana as their Primary State of Residence, we coordinate the PSOR documentation and the deactivation of any prior compact-state multistate license so the Louisiana multistate is clean from issuance. We track the mismatched RN biennial / LPN annual renewal cycles so dual-licensed households never miss either deadline.