How to File a Complaint Against a Nurse in Texas

To file a complaint against a nurse in Texas, submit a written report to the Texas Board of Nursing (BON) online, by mail, by fax, or by email. The BON licenses and disciplines Registered Nurses, Licensed Vocational Nurses, and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses in the state. Your identity is kept confidential, and an investigation typically takes six to twelve months.¹

What the Board Can Act On

The BON’s authority comes from the Nursing Practice Act in Chapter 301 of the Texas Occupations Code.² The Act gives the Board power to investigate and discipline nurses whose conduct threatens patient safety or falls below professional standards. Four categories of conduct are reportable:³

Any action or failure to act that violates the Nursing Practice Act or Board rules and contributed to a patient’s death or serious harm.
Behavior suggesting the nurse’s ability to practice is impaired by chemical dependency or substance abuse.
Patient abuse, financial exploitation, fraudulent documentation, or violations of professional boundaries.
A pattern of behavior, or even a single incident, showing the nurse lacks the knowledge, skill, or judgment to practice safely in a way that could reasonably pose a risk of harm.

Practicing nursing without a valid license is also a reportable offense on its own.

The Board regularly dismisses complaints that lack enough information to identify the nurse, fall outside its authority, involve minor incidents, or describe conduct that would not violate the Nursing Practice Act even if proven true.⁴ The BON does not handle billing disputes, general customer-service grievances, or complaints about physicians and other non-nursing professionals. Complaints about a doctor go to the Texas Medical Board instead.

What to Gather Before You File

A well-documented complaint is far more likely to survive the Board’s initial screening. Pull your information together before you open the form.

Start with the basics: the full name of the nurse, or as much identifying information as you have, such as the facility where they work. Add the date, time, and location of the incident. Then write a clear, factual description of what you observed or experienced. Stick to what happened rather than why you think it happened. If a nurse gave the wrong medication, say which medication, when, and what effect it had. That kind of specificity matters more than general words like “negligence.”

Collect supporting evidence where you can. Medical records, discharge summaries, communication logs, and photographs all strengthen a complaint. If other people witnessed the incident, include their names and contact information. You are not required to have evidence beyond your own account, but documented complaints move faster and are harder to dismiss at screening.

You will need to provide your own contact information on the form, including name, address, phone number, and email. The BON uses this to follow up with you during the investigation.

How to Submit Your Complaint

The BON accepts complaints through four channels.⁵

Online, through the complaint portal at txbn.boardsofnursing.org/complaint, which lets you complete the form and upload supporting documents in one session.
By mail, using the printable form on the BON website, sent with any supporting documents to Texas Board of Nursing, Enforcement, 1801 Congress Avenue, Suite 10-200, Austin, TX 78701.
By fax to (512) 305-6870.
By email to complaints@bon.texas.gov.

The online portal is usually fastest. There is no postal delay, and the system confirms receipt. Whichever route you choose, keep a copy of everything you send.

Will the Nurse Know It Was You?

No. The BON keeps your identity confidential throughout the investigation. Even if the nurse is publicly disciplined, the Board will not reveal who filed the complaint.⁵

In some situations the nurse may still guess who complained from the facts described, especially where only one patient or family member was involved. The BON cannot prevent that kind of inference, but it will not confirm the nurse’s suspicion.

What Happens After You File

Once your complaint arrives, it goes through a multi-stage review.

Initial Screening

Staff check whether the complaint falls within the Board’s jurisdiction, identifies a specific nurse, and describes conduct that could violate the Nursing Practice Act. Complaints that fail any of these tests are dismissed early, and you will be notified.⁴

Formal Investigation

Complaints that pass screening are assigned to an investigator. The investigator interviews the people involved, reviews documents, and sometimes visits the facility where the incident occurred. The process typically takes six to twelve months depending on complexity.¹ You and the nurse both receive periodic status updates.

Possible Outcomes

After the investigation, the Board decides what action to take.

Dismissal, if the investigation finds no violation occurred.
An informal settlement, which may include additional education, practice restrictions, or a reprimand.
Formal disciplinary action, which can include fines, mandatory continuing education, supervised practice, license suspension, or license revocation.⁶

You will be notified of the final outcome. Formal disciplinary actions become part of the nurse’s public record, searchable through the BON’s license verification tool.

If You Work in Healthcare and Fear Retaliation

Texas law protects people who report in good faith. The Nursing Practice Act prohibits firing, suspending, disciplining, discriminating against, or retaliating against anyone who files a good-faith report with the Board.⁷ The same protection covers nurses who refuse to engage in conduct they believe violates the law, and anyone who advises a nurse of the right to report.

An employer or supervisor who retaliates can be reported to their own licensing agency and face an administrative penalty of up to $25,000. The person who was retaliated against can also sue and recover actual damages (with a floor of $5,000), exemplary damages, court costs, and attorney’s fees.⁷ If someone files a frivolous lawsuit against you for reporting, you can counterclaim for your defense costs and punitive damages.

When the BON Is Not the Right Place

The BON handles the conduct of individual nurses. Some problems belong elsewhere, either instead of or in addition to a BON complaint.

If your concern is about a hospital or healthcare facility rather than an individual nurse, consider the Joint Commission, which accredits many healthcare organizations. The Joint Commission accepts patient safety complaints online but does not accept walk-in visits, faxed submissions, or copies of medical records.⁸ The Texas Department of State Health Services also investigates facility-level concerns. For Medicare or Medicaid fraud, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General handles reports at the federal level.

Filing with one agency does not stop you from filing with another. If a nurse’s misconduct also points to a facility problem, reporting to both the BON and the Joint Commission lets each agency look at the piece it has authority over.

1
Texas Board of Nursing. Discipline FAQ
2
Justia. Texas Occupations Code Chapter 301 – Nurses
3
State of Texas. Texas Occupations Code 301.401 – Definitions
4
Texas Board of Nursing. What Happens When a Complaint Gets Filed
5
Texas Board of Nursing. Filing a Complaint Against a Nurse
6
State of Texas. Texas Occupations Code 301.452 – Grounds for Disciplinary Action
7
State of Texas. Texas Occupations Code 301.413 – Retaliatory Action
8
The Joint Commission. Report a Patient Safety Concern or File a Complaint