Overview
The Oklahoma Board of Nursing was established to safeguard the public health and welfare of the residents of Oklahoma by ensuring that any person who practices or offers to practice registered nursing, practical nursing, or advanced practice nursing in this state is competent to do so. The Board also ensures that any person who practices or offers to practice as an advanced unlicensed assistance person in this state is competent to do so. The Board accomplishes this purpose through the regulation of nursing licensure, unlicensed assistance certification, nursing practice and nursing education. The purpose, as defined in the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act, supersedes the interests of any individual, the nursing profession or any special interest group.
Registered Nursing (RN) & Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Licensure by Examination
Applicants Must Meet the Following Requirements:
- Applicants for licensure must be a minimum of eighteen years of age.
- Provide verification of legal citizenship. All applicants for licensure must complete the appropriate Evidence of Status form.
- Completed education in a nursing program approved by a member board jurisdiction in the United States or U.S. territory.
- Graduation from a government-approved program of registered or practical nursing.
- An official transcript from the nursing education program must be submitted directly from the nursing education program. The nursing education program you attended must have included theory and clinical experience in the following areas:
- Care of the adult
- Care of children
- Maternal-newborn nursing
- Psychiatric-mental health nursing (Exception: psychiatric clinical experience is not required for practical nurses applicants).
- Complete the application form using any of the following methods:
- Online. Note: An additional fee of $3.50 will be charged as an online processing fee.
- By mail – You may request a paper copy by submitting a written application to the Board. You need to include a $1.06 postage cost (postage-paid) 8 ½ x 11 inch envelope for the Board staff to return the application form.
- Each applicant must provide fingerprint images to be used for the purpose of permitting a state and national criminal history records search through the OSBI and FBI. The criminal history records search must be conducted through the Board’s vendor, L-1 (MorphoTrust) not more than ninety (90) days prior to receipt of the application in the Board office. See instructions for more information.
- Submit an appropriate fee of $85.00 in the form of electronic fund transfer – VISA or MasterCard (while applying online), or by money order, cashier’s check, or certified check (while using paper application) made payable to the “Oklahoma Board of Nursing”.
Note: Fees are not pro-rated and are non-refundable.
- 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 telephone (1-866-496-2539).
- 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.
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:
Nurses Educated in the United States:
- Applicants for licensure must be a minimum of eighteen years of age.
- Provide verification of legal citizenship. All applicants for licensure must complete the appropriate Evidence of Status form.
- Completed education in a nursing program approved by a member board jurisdiction in the United States or U.S. territory.
- Graduation from a government-approved program of registered or practical nursing.
- An official transcript from the nursing education program must be submitted directly from the nursing education program. The nursing education program you attended must have included theory and clinical experience in the following areas:
- Care of the adult
- Care of children
- Maternal-newborn nursing
- Psychiatric-mental health nursing (Exception: psychiatric clinical experience is not required for practical nurses applicants).
- Complete and submit the application form using any of the following methods:
- Online. Note: An additional fee of $3.50 will be charged as an online processing fee.
- By mail – You may request a paper copy by submitting a written application to the Board. You need to include a $1.06 postage cost (postage-paid) 8 ½ x 11 inch envelope for the Board staff to return the application form.
Note: You must provide a Social Security number on the application.
- Each applicant must provide fingerprint images to be used for the purpose of permitting a state and national criminal history records search through the OSBI and FBI. The criminal history records search must be conducted through the Board’s vendor, L-1 (MorphoTrust) not more than ninety (90) days prior to receipt of the application in the Board office. See instructions for more information.
- Submit an appropriate fee of $85.00 in the form of electronic fund transfer – VISA or MasterCard (while applying online), or by money order, cashier’s check, or certified check (while using paper application) made payable to the “Oklahoma Board of Nursing”.
Note: Fees are not pro-rated and are non-refundable.
- Submit evidence of continued qualifications for practice through completion of one of the following requirements within the last two years prior to receipt of the completed application in the Board office:
- Submission of an official transcript or certificate of completion verifying completion of a nurse refresher course approved by the Board; or
- Successfully passing the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered or Practical Nurses; or
- Submission of an official transcript verifying successful completion of at least six academic semester credit hours (or 105 contact hours) of nursing courses which include classroom and clinical instruction; or
- Present an Employment Verification Form and an accompanying job description that provides evidence of licensure in another state and employment in a position requiring nursing licensure with verification of at least 520 work hours during the past 2 years.
Note: This form must be submitted directly to the Board from the employer.
For more information about endorsement for U.S graduates, click here.
Nurses Educated Outside of the United States:
- Applicants for licensure must be a minimum of eighteen years of age.
- Provide verification of legal citizenship. All applicants for licensure must complete the appropriate Evidence of Status form.
- Graduation from a government-approved post-secondary program of registered or practical nursing, as verified by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS). A translated transcript from the nursing education program with certified proof of translation must be provided by CGFNS or directly from the nursing education program. The nursing education program you attended must have included theory and clinical experience in the following areas:
- Care of the adult
- Care of children
- Maternal-newborn nursing
- Psychiatric-mental health nursing (Exception: psychiatric clinical experience is not required for practical nurses applicants).
- Complete and submit the application form using any of the following methods:
- Online. Note: An additional fee of $3.50 will be charged as an online processing fee.
- By mail – You may request a paper copy by submitting a written application to the Board. You need to include a $1.06 postage cost (postage-paid) 8 ½ x 11 inch envelope for the Board staff to return the application form.
Note: You must provide a Social Security number on the application.
- Each applicant must provide fingerprint images to be used for the purpose of permitting a state and national criminal history records search through the OSBI and FBI. The criminal history records search must be conducted through the Board’s vendor, L-1 (MorphoTrust) not more than ninety (90) days prior to receipt of the application in the Board office. See instructions for more information.
- Submit application fee of $125.00. Payment can be made in the form of VISA, MasterCard or electronic fund transfer when completing the application online in the License Registration link. If a hard copy application is submitted, submit the complete application with the fee of $125.00 (cashier’s check, money order, or personal check).
Note: All fees are non-refundable. If the fee is not submitted with the application or if the fee is incorrect, the application will be immediately returned without review.
- Submit evidence of continued qualifications for practice through completion of one of the following requirements within the last two years prior to receipt of the completed application in the Board office:
- Submission of an official transcript or certificate of completion verifying completion of a nurse refresher course approved by the Board; or
- Successfully passing the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered or Practical Nurses; or
- Submission of an official transcript verifying successful completion of at least six academic semester credit hours (or 105 contact hours) of nursing courses which include classroom and clinical instruction; or
- Present an Employment Verification Form and an accompanying job description that provides evidence of licensure in another state and employment in a position requiring nursing licensure with verification of at least 520 work hours during the past 2 years.
Note: This form must be submitted directly to the Board from the employer.
- All foreign-educated applicants must submit verification of English language competence, with the exception of:
- Graduates of nursing education programs taught in English in Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, Trinidad, Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
- Applicants who are licensed in another U.S. state or territory and have successfully completed the licensure examination approved by the Board and have at least one year full-time equivalent work experience in a clinical setting at the same level of licensure for which you are applying in the state or territory of licensure.
- An original official copy of the scores must be received directly from the testing service or from CGFNS.
Note: Photocopies will not be accepted. If the testing entity indicates the scores are considered not valid and/or expired, the test scores will not be accepted.
- Verification of English language competence includes the following:
- Passing scores for Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL-iBT), offered by the Educational Testing Service; or
- Passing scores for Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC), to include the Listening and Reading Test and the Speaking and Writing Test, offered by the Educational Testing Service; or
- Passing scores for International English Language Testing System (IELTS); or
- Passing scores for the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB)
The passing scores established for English language competency testing can be viewed here.
For more information about endorsement for foreign graduates, click here.
For more information visit the official Oklahoma Board of Nursing website.