Illinois Nursing License Requirements: RN, LPN

Overview

The Division of Professional Regulation strives to serve, safeguard and promote the health, safety and welfare of the public by ensuring that licensure qualifications and standards for professional practice are properly evaluated, applied and enforced.

Registered Nursing (RN) & Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Licensure by Examination

Applicants Must Meet the Following Requirements:

• Pay the appropriate application fee in the form of money order or certified check which must be payable to the “Continental Testing Services, Inc.”

Note: Fees can be found inside the application packet.

• Submit a criminal background check as well as proof of fingerprint processing from the Illinois State Police, or from any of its designated agent.
• Complete the application process within 3 years from the date on which the Department receive your application. If you do not complete the process within the specified 3 years, your application will be denied automatically and fee will be forfeited. You will be required to meet the eligibility criteria all over again including the submission of proof verifying successful completion of a minimum of 2 additional years of professional nursing education.
• Submit application and all applicable documents and forms for licensure by examination to:

Continental Testing Services Inc.
P.O. Box 100
LaGrange, Illinois 60525-0100

• Register with the testing agency before or just after submitting the licensure application to take the licensure test, NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination). You may use any of the following ways to complete the registration:
  • Register online. The registration fee of $200 can be paid via American Express, Visa, or MasterCard. OR
  • By mail: You may request the Board of Nursing office to send an NCLEX registration form. Provide essential details in the form and include an appropriate fee of $200.0 in the form of a money order or cashier’s check made payable to the NCSBN (National Council of State Boards of Nursing). Mail it to the following address:

NCLEX Operations
Post Office Box 64950
St. Paul, Minnesota- 55164-0950

• When all your essential documents are approved, the Board will inform the testing agency, Pearson VUE, making you eligible to take the licensure exam.
• Pearson VUE will send you an ATT (Authorization to Test) via email or on the address provided by you during the registration process.
• Upon receiving the ATT, schedule the licensure exam.

 

• U.S Educated Applicants Must Submit:
  • CT-NUR Form (Verification of Licensing Agency/Board)–Submit a verification of licensure from the state of original licensure, current state of licensure, and any jurisdiction in which you have actively practiced within the last 5 years. Verification of licensure for an LPN license held in another jurisdiction within the last 5 years will only be required if you were not subsequently licensed in the same jurisdiction as an RN.
  • ED-NUR Form (Certificate of Education)–Form must be signed by the Dean or Director of your nursing education program with school seal affixed, indicating graduation from a professional nursing education program approved by the Department or have been granted a certificate of completion of pre-licensure requirements from another U.S. jurisdiction.
• Foreign Educated Applicants Must Submit:
  • Supporting Document CCA must be completed and submitted with each application. Your application will not be processed without completion of this form.
  • CT-NUR Form (Verification of Licensing Agency/Board)–Submit a verification of licensure from the state of original licensure, current state of licensure and any jurisdiction in which you have actively practiced within the last 5 years. Verification of licensure for an LPN license held in another jurisdiction within the last 5 years will only be required if you were not subsequently licensed in the same jurisdiction as an RN.
  • Submit the following evidence of education to the Department:
  • Provide a credentials evaluation report of your foreign nursing education from any credentialing service approved by the Department. The report must indicate evidence of licensure in that particular country of education. One such service is the CGFNS (Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools) Credentials Evaluation Service (CES). The requisite report is the Healthcare Profession & Science Course-by-Course Report. The Division will download the evaluation report directly from the website of CGFNS as soon as it becomes available.
  • In addition, ERES (Educational Records Evaluation Service), a nursing educational credentialing agency approved by the Division, also provides the required Course-by-Course and Nursing Evaluation Report.
  • Additionally, if your native language is other than English, you must submit certification of passage of the TOEFL exam (Test of English as a Foreign Language). The minimum scores required for passing the TOEFL exam are: The minimum passing score on the paper-based test is 560. The minimum passing score on the computer-based test is 220. The minimum passing score on the internet-based test is 83.

Registered Nursing (RN) & Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Licensure by Endorsement

Applicants Must Meet the Following Requirements:

• Submit application and all applicable documents and forms for licensure by endorsement to:

Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
ATTN: Division of Professional Regulation
P.O. Box 7007
Springfield, IL 62791

• Fee payment must be in the form of a check or money order made payable to Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
• U.S Educated Applicants Must Submit:
  • Supporting Document CCA must be completed and submitted with each application. Your application will not be processed without completion of this form.
  • CT-NUR Form (Verification of Licensing Agency/Board)–Submit a verification of licensure from the state of original licensure, current state of licensure, and any jurisdiction in which you have actively practiced within the last 5 years. Verification of licensure for an LPN license held in another jurisdiction within the last 5 years will only be required if you were not subsequently licensed in the same jurisdiction as an RN. Current registration in another state is required by the Illinois Nurse Practice Act. You must direct the licensing agency/board to return the completed form to you to be submitted with your application.
  • ED-NUR Form (Certificate of Education)–Form must be signed by the Dean or Director of your nursing education program with school seal affixed, indicating graduation from a professional nursing education program approved by the Department or have been granted a certificate of completion of pre-licensure requirements from another U.S. jurisdiction. The ED form must be signed by the director of the nursing education program with the school seal affixed.

• Foreign Educated Applicants Must Submit:
  • Supporting Document CCA must be completed and submitted with each application. Your application will not be processed without completion of this form.
  • CT-NUR Form (Verification of Licensing Agency/Board–Submit verification of licensure from the state of original licensure, current state of licensure and any jurisdiction in which you have actively practiced within the last 5 years. Verification of licensure for an LPN license held in another jurisdiction within the last 5 years will only be required if you were not subsequently licensed in the same jurisdiction as an RN. Current registration in another state is required by the Illinois Nursing and Advanced Practice Nursing Act. Verification of licensure for an LPN license held in another jurisdiction within the last 5 years will only be required if you were not subsequently licensed in the same jurisdiction as an RN.
  • Request the following proof of education to be prepared for and make available to the Department:
  • A credentials evaluation report of your foreign nursing education from a Department approved credentialing service. The credentials evaluation report must reflect proof of licensure in the country of education. One such service is the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) Credentials Evaluation Service (CES). The required report is the Healthcare Profession & Science Course-by-Course Report. The Division will download the credentials evaluation report from CGFNS’s website when it becomes available.
  • In addition, ERES (Educational Records Evaluation Service), a nursing educational credentialing agency approved by the Division, also provides the required Course-by-Course and Nursing Evaluation Report.
  • Additionally, if your native language is other than English, you must submit certification of passage of the TOEFL exam (Test of English as a Foreign Language). The minimum scores required for passing the TOEFL exam are: The minimum passing score on the paper-based test is 560. The minimum passing score on the computer-based test is 220. The minimum passing score on the internet-based test is 83.

For more information visit the official Illinois Board of Nursing website.

References:

http://www.idfpr.com/profs/info/nursing.asp