DC Board of Nursing License Requirements and Renewal

To get a nursing license in the District of Columbia, you need to meet the DC Board of Nursing’s license requirements: baseline eligibility, an approved nursing education, a passing NCLEX score (or verification of an active license in another state), a criminal background check, and the application fee submitted through the DC Health online portal. Once licensed, you renew every two years and complete 24 hours of continuing education. The District is not part of the Nurse Licensure Compact, so a license from another state does not let you practice here.

Baseline Eligibility

Before the Board looks at your education or exam results, you must clear a short list of threshold requirements that apply to every license type. You have to be at least 18 years old, with no conviction for an offense related to nursing practice, and no revoked or suspended license in another jurisdiction where the underlying conduct would produce a similar result in DC.¹ You also cannot have a disciplinary action pending against you in another state when you apply. A problem at this stage stops the rest of the process.

Which Application Path Fits You

Three paths lead to a DC nursing license, and which one you use depends on where you trained and whether you already hold a license somewhere else.

Licensure by Examination

This is the path for new graduates. Your nursing program must be approved by the DC Board of Nursing under DCMR Title 17, Chapter 56, or by a U.S. state or territorial board whose standards the DC Board considers substantially equivalent.² Canadian graduates from provincially approved programs also qualify. Programs operating inside the District cannot enroll students without Board approval.³

After your program, you register for the NCLEX through Pearson VUE: NCLEX-RN for RN candidates, NCLEX-PN for LPN candidates. The passing score is set nationally by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, and the Board applies that same threshold.² The NCLEX fee goes directly to Pearson VUE and is separate from the Board’s application fee. Once the Board approves your application, you receive an Authorization to Test and can schedule the exam.

Licensure by Endorsement

If you already hold an active nursing license in another state, you apply by endorsement rather than retaking the NCLEX. The Board verifies your original license through NURSYS, the NCSBN’s online verification system, which charges a $30 fee. Pennsylvania and Michigan do not participate in NURSYS, so if you are licensed in either, you request verification directly from that state’s board and have it emailed to verifications.bon@dc.gov.⁴

The combined application and criminal background check fee for endorsement is $280, payable by Visa or MasterCard only.⁵ After paying, you receive a link and code to schedule fingerprinting. The Board will not finalize your license until the background check and out-of-state verification are both in.

Internationally Educated Applicants

If you trained outside the United States or Canada, you need a credential evaluation. Applicants who have ever held a nursing license in another country must submit a Credential Evaluation Service (CES) Professional Report from CGFNS International. If you were never licensed abroad but completed a foreign nursing degree within the past three years, you can instead submit an official English-translated transcript or an academic evaluation from a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES).⁶

If your nursing education was not in English, the Board also requires an English proficiency exam: a TOEFL iBT overall score of at least 84 with a minimum 23 on Speaking, or an IELTS overall band of at least 6.5 with a minimum 7.0 on the Spoken Band.⁶ International applicants living outside the United States must also obtain a national criminal background check from their country of residence and submit the original report with the application.

Advanced Practice Add-On Requirements

Nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, nurse anesthetists, and clinical nurse specialists each fall under their own DCMR chapter (Chapters 57 through 60) layered on top of the RN requirements. You need a post-basic nursing education program in your specialty that is Board-approved or accredited by a nationally recognized body the Board accepts.⁷ You also need current national certification from an approved certifying body such as the American Nurses Credentialing Center, kept active through every renewal cycle.

Submitting the Application

Every application goes through the DC Health online licensing portal. You create a profile, upload supporting documents, and pay by Visa or MasterCard. Your electronic signature attests that everything you submitted is truthful and complete.

Have these ready before you start:

A U.S. government or state-issued photo ID such as a passport or driver’s license.
A 2×2 passport-style photo, front-facing, head and neck, plain white background.
Official transcripts sent directly from your school to the Board.
Name change documentation (marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order) if the name on your application differs from your supporting documents.
Your Social Security Number, or a completed SSN Affidavit if you don’t have one.

The portal tracks which items the Board has received and which are still outstanding. If something is missing, you get a notice through the portal or your registered email. Processing takes at least 30 days from the point the Board has every required item in hand, so check the portal regularly and respond quickly to any request.

Renewal and Continuing Education

RN and APRN licenses expire at midnight on June 30 of each even-numbered year. The next renewal deadline is June 30, 2026.² LPN licenses follow a separate biennial cycle. The 2026 renewal fee is $145 for RNs and $263 for APRNs.⁸

You must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education during the two years before your license expires. The hours are not entirely open:

At least 2 of the 24 hours must cover cultural competency or specialized clinical training focused on patients who identify as LGBTQ.
At least 10 percent of the total (effectively 2.4 hours) must cover topics the Director of DC Health designates as public health priorities, published every five years or as needed.

The rest can cover any clinical or professional development subject that meets Board standards.² If this is your first renewal after your initial license was issued, continuing education is waived for that cycle.

You also have to report any change of name, address, email, or phone number to the Board within 30 days of the change, or face a $100 fine.⁹ Updates go in by email or U.S. mail. The practical reason to stay current goes beyond the fine: if a renewal notice or audit request is sent to a stale address and you miss it, the responsibility is yours.

Reinstating an Expired License

If your license has been expired for five years or less, you can apply for reinstatement. The paperwork mirrors endorsement: a new application, the $280 fee, a criminal background check with fingerprinting, and verification from any other state where you hold a license. You must also show 24 contact hours of continuing education, with the same LGBTQ and public health priority requirements, completed within two years of your reinstatement application date.⁴

Past five years, reinstatement is off the table. You apply as a new candidate and must complete a Board-approved refresher course before the Board will consider the application.⁴ If your license is approaching that cutoff, act before you cross it.

The Compact License Does Not Cover DC

The District of Columbia is not a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact. A compact multistate license from another jurisdiction does not authorize you to practice in DC. You need a DC license by endorsement and must complete the full application described above. This is one of the most common misunderstandings among travel nurses and nurses relocating to the District.

1
D.C. Law Library. DC Code 3-1205.03 – General Qualifications of Applicants
2
DC Health. District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Title 17 Chapter 54 – Registered Nursing
3
DC Health. District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Title 17 Chapter 56 – Nursing Schools and Programs
4
DC Health. Registered Nurse Reinstatement and Reactivation Requirements
5
DC Health. Registered Nurse Endorsement Requirements
6
DC Health. Instructions for Internationally Educated Nurses and Foreign Educated Applicants
7
DC Health. District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Chapter 59 – Nurse-Practitioners
8
DC Health. 2026 RN/APRN Renewal Notice
9
DC Health. Reporting a Name, Address, Email, or Phone Number Change