To renew your Texas RN license online, log into the Texas Nurse Portal on the Texas Board of Nursing website within the 60 days before your expiration date, complete the renewal application, attest to your continuing education, answer the disclosure questions, and pay the $68 fee by credit or debit card.1Texas Board of Nursing. Schedule of Fees The application itself takes about 15 minutes once your continuing education is in order.
When Your Renewal Window Opens
Texas RN licenses expire on the last day of your birth month every two years. The Board of Nursing (BON) opens your renewal application in the Texas Nurse Portal exactly 60 days before that expiration date, and you will not see the renewal option any earlier.2Texas Board of Nursing. Licensure – Renewal Information A nurse born in March with a 2026 expiration would first see the application on February 1, 2026.
The BON mails a written renewal notice at least 30 days before your expiration to the address on file, but that notice is a courtesy, not a safeguard.3Texas Public Law. Texas Occupations Code Section 301.301 – License Renewal If your address is outdated, you will not receive it, and that is not accepted as an excuse. Texas law requires you to notify the Board within 10 days of any address change.4Texas Board of Nursing. Continuing Nursing Education and Competency
What to Have Ready Before You Log In
Gathering everything before you start prevents a half-completed application from timing out. You will need:
- Your Texas nursing license number
- Your Social Security number
- Current contact and employment information
- CE completion records: course titles, providers, dates, and contact hours
- A credit or debit card for the $68 fee
You do not need a new fingerprint-based background check. Fingerprinting is for initial licensure by examination or endorsement, not for renewal.5Texas Board of Nursing. Fingerprint Card Request You also do not need to complete a human trafficking prevention training course; that requirement applies to most direct-patient-care practitioners but explicitly excludes physicians and nurses.6Cornell Law School. 26 Texas Admin Code 370.1 – Human Trafficking Prevention Training Requirements
The 20-Hour Continuing Education Requirement
You need 20 contact hours of continuing nursing education completed within the two-year licensing period before you renew. The hours must come from a provider recognized by the BON and relate to your current area of practice.7Texas Board of Nursing. Frequently Asked Questions – Continuing Education and Competency There is one alternative: achieving, maintaining, or renewing a national nursing certification in your practice area satisfies the continuing competency requirement in place of the 20 hours.
Every third renewal cycle, at least 2 of your 20 contact hours must cover nursing jurisprudence and nursing ethics. Those 2 hours count toward your 20-hour total, not on top of it.4Texas Board of Nursing. Continuing Nursing Education and Competency If you are unsure whether the current cycle is a jurisprudence cycle, the renewal application tells you.
Keep Your CE Certificates for Six Years
You will not upload certificates during the renewal itself; you attest that you completed the required hours. The BON conducts random audits, and if selected, you must produce documentation on demand. Keep your CE completion certificates for at least three consecutive renewal periods, which works out to six years.8Texas Board of Nursing. Frequently Asked Questions – Continuing Education and Competency Failing to produce records during an audit can result in disciplinary action.
Completing the Application in the Texas Nurse Portal
Log into the Texas Nurse Portal on the BON website. Once you are inside your 60-day window, the renewal application appears under your license management options.2Texas Board of Nursing. Licensure – Renewal Information The application walks you through several sections:
- Personal information: confirm or update your name, address, and contact details.
- Employment status: provide your current practice setting and employer information.
- Continuing education attestation: enter your CE details and certify that you completed the required hours in your area of practice.
- Eligibility and disclosure questions: answer a series of yes/no questions about criminal history, disciplinary actions, substance use treatment, and fitness to practice.
- Payment: submit the $68 renewal fee by credit or debit card.1Texas Board of Nursing. Schedule of Fees
After every section is complete and payment is confirmed, submit the application. Save the on-screen confirmation and the emailed receipt.
Answering the Disclosure Questions
The BON renewal application asks whether you have:9Texas Board of Nursing. Licensure Eligibility
- Had any disciplinary action taken against a nursing license or privilege to practice in any jurisdiction.
- Any pending investigation of your nursing license, or any grand jury or government agency investigation targeting you.
- Any arrest, conviction, plea of no contest, deferred adjudication, community supervision, pre-trial diversion, or military court action. You may exclude only Class C misdemeanor traffic violations or offenses you have already disclosed to the BON.
- Been treated for alcohol or drug use within the past five years.
- Had any non-nursing professional license disciplined, revoked, or surrendered.
- Any condition, not being appropriately treated, that could impair your judgment or ability to practice safely.
Answering “yes” does not automatically mean your renewal will be denied; the BON reviews the circumstances. Answering dishonestly is itself grounds for disciplinary action because you have falsified the application. If anything in your history has changed since your last renewal, disclose it.
After You Submit
The BON processes online renewals within several business days, though turnaround can stretch during peak periods when many licenses share the same expiration month. You can check your updated status through the Nursys Quick Confirm verification tool linked from the BON website.4Texas Board of Nursing. Continuing Nursing Education and Competency
If your renewal shows no update after a week, or if you receive a notice requesting additional information, contact the BON directly. Delays most commonly come from a “yes” answer on a disclosure question triggering manual review, or from a mismatch in the information you submitted.
If Your License Expires Before You Renew
The moment your license expires, it goes into delinquent status and you must stop working as a nurse until it is reinstated. There is no grace period. Practicing on an expired Texas license is treated as illegal practice, and consequences can include suspension or revocation.3Texas Public Law. Texas Occupations Code Section 301.301 – License Renewal
Late fees depend on how long the license has been expired:1Texas Board of Nursing. Schedule of Fees
- Less than 90 days delinquent: $60 late fee plus the $68 renewal fee, for $128 total.
- More than 90 days delinquent: $120 late fee plus the $68 renewal fee, for $188 total.
A nurse renewing a delinquent license must still show proof of 20 completed CE hours within the two years before the reactivation application, the same as any renewal.10Cornell Law School. 22 Texas Admin Code 217.6 – Failure to Renew License
Your Multistate Privilege Renews With You
Texas has been a member of the enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact since January 19, 2018. A Texas-issued multistate license lets you practice in person, electronically, or by phone in any other compact state without a separate license there, and your multistate privilege renews along with your Texas license as long as Texas remains your primary state of residence.11Texas Board of Nursing. Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact (eNLC)
Primary state of residence is determined by your driver’s license, voter registration, and the state on your federal tax return, not by property ownership.12NURSECOMPACT. How it Works If you have moved, keeping those three indicators consistent avoids complications at renewal.
Military and Military-Spouse Relief
If your license lapses while you are deployed during active military operations, you can reactivate without paying any late renewal fees. Apply either while still serving or within three months of discharge or return to inactive military status, and include a copy of your activation orders. Reactivation fees, fines, and continuing education requirements may also be waived for nurses who are spouses of active-duty military personnel.13Texas Board of Nursing. Military – Texas Board of Nursing