How to Get Your West Virginia Nursing License

How West Virginia Issues Nursing Licenses: Two Separate Boards

West Virginia is one of a small number of states that splits nursing regulation between two completely separate boards. The West Virginia Board of Registered Nurses (WVRNB) at wvrnboard.wv.gov licenses RNs from offices in South Charleston. The West Virginia State Board of Examiners for Licensed Practical Nurses (WVLPN) at lpnboard.wv.gov licenses LPNs from a separate office in Charleston. The two boards have separate applications, separate fee schedules, separate nurse portals (wvrn.boardsofnursing.org for RN; wvpn.boardsofnursing.org for LPN), separate renewal cycles, and notably different CE rules. The first thing to confirm before paying any fee is which board your credential maps to.

West Virginia and the NLC

West Virginia is a fully participating Nurse Licensure Compact state. Both the RN and LPN boards joined the enhanced NLC on January 19, 2018 and operate under the updated NLC rule that took effect January 2, 2024. RNs and LPNs whose Primary State of Residence (PSOR) is West Virginia are eligible for a multistate license that authorizes practice in every other NLC state without separate licensure. PSOR is established by WV driver's license, voter registration, federal tax return, or military Form 2058. The PSOR rules apply identically to RNs and LPNs — a nurse cannot hold two compact-state multistate licenses simultaneously, and a move from one compact state to another deactivates the prior state's multistate privilege.

Where Most West Virginia Applications Get Stuck

Four West Virginia-specific issues drive most delays:

• Wrong board. RNs occasionally file with WVLPN (or LPNs with WVRNB) because both boards have similar names. The boards do not redirect or transfer applications to each other — filing with the wrong board means starting over and forfeiting fees.
• IdentoGO fingerprinting. Both boards use IdentoGO under WV-specific service codes (WVLPN: 228NQ7; WVRNB code published on the RN portal). Out-of-state fingerprint cards or other vendors will not be accepted. Neither board will issue a license — or, for RN endorsement, a temporary permit — until IdentoGO results are on file.
• Nursys verification. For endorsement applicants, license verification from every prior state of licensure must be routed through Nursys directly to the relevant WV board. Applicants who upload their own license copy in lieu of Nursys are routinely delayed.
• RN temporary-permit clock. WVRNB endorsement filings include a 90-day temporary permit that expires hard. RNs who have not cleared fingerprinting, Nursys, or any pending documentation within that window must stop practicing.

What You'll Pay

Application fees in West Virginia are modest by national standards — but they are not the same on the two boards. RN applicants pay $70 to WVRNB for licensure by examination ($200 to Pearson VUE for NCLEX-RN) or $125 to WVRNB for licensure by endorsement (which includes a 90-day temporary permit). LPN applicants pay $75 to WVLPN for licensure by examination ($200 to Pearson VUE for NCLEX-PN) — add $10 for a New Grad Permit — or $50 to WVLPN for licensure by endorsement. Add roughly $50 for IdentoGO fingerprinting on either side. Biennial renewal is $90 for RNs (WVRNB) and $40 for LPNs (WVLPN). Multistate conversion through WVRNB is $7. Verify all amounts on the relevant board portal at the time of filing — the WVLPN endorsement and reinstatement fees in particular are flagged for confirmation.

Realistic Timeline

Neither board publishes a hard service-level target. Endorsement applicants typically experience 4-8 weeks from a complete filing to issuance, with the bulk of the time consumed by IdentoGO fingerprint clearance and Nursys verification routing. WVRNB issues a 90-day temporary permit on endorsement filings, allowing RN practice to begin while the permanent license is finalized — but the temporary permit is non-renewable and expires hard at 90 days. Examination applicants are eligible to schedule the NCLEX only after the relevant board confirms eligibility — typically 2-4 weeks after a clean filing. Plan to submit at least 8-10 weeks before you need to practice.

Renewal and CE — Two Different Rules

Renewal cycles and CE rules differ sharply between the two boards. WVRNB (RNs) requires 12 contact hours of Board-approved CE per biennial cycle, tracked through CEBroker (the WVRNB official tracking partner). New RN licensees must complete a one-time 3-hour course on safe prescribing and drug diversion within the first year. WVLPN (LPNs) requires 24 contact hours per biennial cycle, including 2 hours on veterans or mental health for veterans and their families and 3 hours on substance abuse or drug diversion. New LPN licensees must complete a one-time 2-hour course on end-of-life care with pain management. WVLPN additionally requires 400 hours of nursing employment per two-year renewal cycle — a practice-hours minimum that does not exist on the RN side. RNs running on the WVLPN-style 24-hour assumption will over-prepare on volume; LPNs assuming the WVRNB 12-hour rule will under-prepare on both volume and targeted topics.

Renewal Windows

RN licenses expire June 30 of even-numbered years (renewal window May 1 - June 30) — a change implemented in 2026 from the prior October 31 deadline. LPN licenses expire June 30 of even-numbered years (renewal window March 1 - June 30). Both cycles are biennial. The RN renewal-date change in 2026 is a routine first-cycle trap for nurses who renewed under the prior October calendar.

Single State Versus NLC

If West Virginia is your Primary State of Residence, your WV RN or LPN license can be issued as a multistate license at no extra application-side fee, authorizing practice in every other NLC state. If your PSOR is a non-compact state (California, New York, Oregon, etc.), the WV license must be issued as a single-state license — same fees, but it only authorizes practice in West Virginia. RNs already holding a single-state WV RN license can convert to multistate through WVRNB for $7 once PSOR is established. PSOR rules are strict: nurses cannot hold two multistate licenses simultaneously, and a move from one compact state to another deactivates the prior state's multistate privilege.

How White Glove Helps

We confirm the correct board (WVRNB vs WVLPN) before any fee is paid, route the application through the right portal, and manage IdentoGO fingerprinting under the correct WV service code. We push originating-state license verification through Nursys to the relevant board, monitor the WVRNB 90-day temporary-permit clock so RNs do not lapse mid-onboarding, and pre-flight CE compliance against the very different RN and LPN rules — including the WVLPN 400-hour practice-hours minimum that catches part-time and recently-returned LPNs. For nurses establishing West Virginia as their PSOR, we coordinate the multistate conversion or fresh multistate filing and the deactivation of any prior compact-state multistate license so the WV multistate is clean from issuance.