Montana Nursing License Requirements: RN, LPN

Overview

The Montana Board of Nursing is concerned with licensing and the regulatory effectiveness of Montana nursing professionals. The Board holds information regarding verifying and obtaining Montana Nursing licensure, and statutory and regulatory requirements of the Montana Board of Nursing.

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

Applicants Must Meet the Following Requirements:

• Complete a state approved nursing education program.
• Submit a completed application.
• Provide an application fee of $100 in the form of money order or cashier’s check made payable to the “Montana Board of Nursing”. If you are applying for a temporary permit, provide additional fee of $25.00.

Note: All application fees are NON-REFUNDABLE and must be received with your application to insure proper processing.

• Request your nursing school to send official transcripts (which include the degree awarded and date when it was conferred) directly from your nursing school to the Board.
• If applicable, provide verification of your licensure from another state.
• Submit the completed application, fees, and all the required documents to the following address:

MONTANA BOARD OF NURSING
PO Box 200513 (301 S Park, 4th Floor)
Helena, Montana- 59620-0513

• Register with the testing agency before or just after submitting the licensure application to take the licensure test, NCLEX (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 $200.00 in the form of a money order or cashiers 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.

FOREIGN NURSING SCHOOL GRADUATES:

• Complete all standard application requirements.
• Obtain an official course-by-course evaluation report from the board approved foreign education evaluation agency, CGFNS or IERF.
• Successful completion of an English proficiency examination recognized by the board approved foreign education evaluator, CGFNS. Graduates of nursing education programs in Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, Tobago, Trinidad and the United Kingdom are exempt from completing the English proficiency exam.
• RN applicants must also successfully complete a qualifying examination, which may be referred to as a NCLEX predictor exam or screening exam, certified by the board approved foreign educator evaluator, CGFNS.
• Have all certification documentation sent to the board office directly from the board approved foreign education evaluation agency.
• Visit the board website for a list of approved credentialing agencies.
• Refer to Board of Nursing rules 159.1029 (LPN) and 24.159.1229 (RN) to further clarify requirements.

For more information about the examination process, click here.

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

Applicants Must Meet the Following Requirements:

• Complete graduation from a state approved nursing program
• Submit completed application.
• Enclose an appropriate application fee of $200 via money order or cashier’s check, made payable to the “Montana Board of Nursing”. You may be required to pay an additional fee of $25.00, if you request a temporary license.
• The applicant is responsible for requesting official verification from their original state of nursing licensure and ALL professional licenses held within the last two years, regardless of status.
• If the state(s) in which you are licensed participate in the NURSYS database, complete the NURSYS verification application (via the NURSYS website and pay the required fees).
• For states that do not participate with the NURSYS database or for verifications of non- nursing licensure, you will need to request verification directly from the board that issued your license.

Note: Photocopies of licenses do not qualify as official verification and should not be included with your application.

• Submit the completed application, fees, and all the required documents to the following address:

MONTANA BOARD OF NURSING
PO Box 200513 (301 S Park, 4th Floor)
Helena, Montana- 59620-0513

FOREIGN NURSING SCHOOL GRADUATES:

• Complete all standard application requirements.
• Obtain an official course-by-course evaluation report from the board approved foreign education evaluation agency, CGFNS or IERF.
• Successful completion of an English proficiency examination recognized by the board approved foreign education evaluator, CGFNS. Graduates of nursing education programs in Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, Tobago, Trinidad and the United Kingdom are exempt from completing the English proficiency exam.
• Have all certification documentation sent to the board office directly from the board approved foreign education evaluation agency.
• Visit the board website for a list of approved credentialing agencies.
• Refer to Board of Nursing rules 159.1029 (LPN) and 24.159.1229 (RN) to further clarify requirements.

For more information about endorsement, click here.

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

References:

http://bsd.dli.mt.gov/license/bsd_boards/nur_board/board_page.asp