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For registered nurses moving to Texas

How to Transfer Your Nursing License to Texas

Is Texas a nurse compact state? Yes. Texas is in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC): a nurse whose home state is a compact state and who holds its multistate license can work in Texas without another license, and a nurse who lives in Texas applies for the multistate license there. A nurse from a state outside the compact needs a Texas license from the Texas Board of Nursing, by endorsement for a nurse licensed in another state. (NCSBN, read 9 Nov 2026.)

Yes
Compact state
6,110
RN jobs in Texas
$46.51
Median posted RN pay

What the Texas Board of Nursing asks

Licensure by endorsement for a registered nurse licensed in another state, as the board's own page states it (read 9 Nov 2026).

Fee
The fee summary lists the RN endorsement fee at $150 with the Texas nursing jurisprudence exam (NJE) fee included; Nursys verification is paid to Nursys (no amount stated on the Board page) and all fees are non-refundable.
Temporary permit
Yes: a one-time 120-day temporary license, if eligible, issued within fifteen business days of receipt of the completed application and fee; no separate fee is stated.
Fingerprints
A fingerprint-based criminal background check is required.
State exam or course
A passing score on the Texas nursing jurisprudence exam (NJE) is required before a permanent license; it is taken online about fifteen business days after filing, its cost is included in the application fee, and the prep course is voluntary.
License verification
Verification of every license must come through Nursys (nursys.com) for Nursys-participating states, with the appropriate Nursys fee paid there.
How long it takes
Review for the permanent license takes place within fifteen business days of receipt of the last item that completed the application.
Requirements
A passing NCLEX-RN or SBTPE score, a current or prior RN license in another U.S. state, and RN practice or a passed RN exam within the last four years; anyone who has ever held a Texas nursing license is not eligible to apply by endorsement.
Renewal
Licenses renew every two years.
“You must pass the Texas nursing jurisprudence examination prior to being issued a permanent license.”

From the Texas Board of Nursing's own page, read 9 Nov 2026: bon.texas.gov (source: Texas Board of Nursing). Fees change: the board's page on the day you apply is the one that counts.

The steps

What every move takes; the board's page above says what it asks in each.

  1. Check whether your home state and the new state are both in the Nurse Licensure Compact: if both are and you keep living in your home state, your multistate license already lets you work there.
  2. If you are moving your home to the new state and it is a compact state, apply for its multistate license; if it is outside the compact, apply to its board of nursing for a license by endorsement.
  3. Have your current license verified to the new board, through Nursys where your state takes part in it.
  4. Complete the background check the board asks for (most ask for fingerprints) and any state exam or course it names.
  5. Pay the board's fee and, where the board offers one, ask for a temporary permit so you can start work while the application is processed.

What Texas law requires

  • Nurse staffing committee or plan (in effect from 2009)

    Texas hospitals must keep a nurse staffing committee, at least 60 percent direct care nurses, that recommends the nurse staffing plan.

    “A hospital shall establish a nurse staffing committee as a standing committee of the hospital.” Tex. Health & Safety Code § 257.004(a) (source: Tex. Health & Safety Code § 257.004(a))

  • Limits on mandatory overtime (in effect from 2009)

    Hospitals may not require nurses to work mandatory overtime or use on-call time as a substitute, with exceptions for disasters, declared emergencies, unforeseen events and procedures in progress (covers registered and vocational nurses in hospitals).

    “A hospital may not require a nurse to work mandatory overtime, and a nurse may refuse to work mandatory overtime.” Tex. Health & Safety Code § 258.003 (source: Tex. Health & Safety Code § 258.003)

From Texas's own code or health department, read 9 Nov 2026. What Texas's hospitals state for their units is on its nurse-to-patient ratio page, and every state's law is on the ratio hub.

Nurses alerts

Nurses in Texas: new openings every week

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Nursing jobs in Texas today

6,110 registered nurse and 1,104 LPN jobs are open in Texas on this board, read every night from each employer's own job board.

Transferring a nursing license to Texas: common questions

Is Texas a nurse compact state?

Yes. Texas is in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC): a nurse whose home state is a compact state and who holds its multistate license can work in Texas without another license, and a nurse who lives in Texas applies for the multistate license there. A nurse from a state outside the compact needs a Texas license from the Texas Board of Nursing, by endorsement for a nurse licensed in another state. (NCSBN, read 9 Nov 2026.)

How do I transfer my nursing license to Texas?

If your home state is another compact state and you keep living there, your multistate license already lets you work in Texas. If you move to Texas, apply to the Texas Board of Nursing for its multistate license. If your license is from a state outside the compact, apply to the Texas Board of Nursing for a license by endorsement ($150 by its own page): have your license verified through Nursys, complete the background check, and pay the fee.

How do I transfer an LPN or LVN license to Texas?

The same way: the compact covers LPN/VNs too, so a multistate LPN license from a compact home state works in Texas; otherwise apply for a license by endorsement to the Texas Board of Nursing. Its own page states the LPN fee, which differs from the RN fee above. LPN jobs in Texas.

Can I work in Texas while my license is processed?

By the Texas Board of Nursing's own page: Yes: a one-time 120-day temporary license, if eligible, issued within fifteen business days of receipt of the completed application and fee; no separate fee is stated.

How long does a Texas nursing license by endorsement take?

By the Texas Board of Nursing's own page: Review for the permanent license takes place within fifteen business days of receipt of the last item that completed the application.

How much do registered nurses make in Texas?

Open registered nurse jobs in Texas that post an hourly rate pay $41.50–$52.50 an hour in the middle half, median $46.51 (1,009 jobs from 90 employers on this board today).

Does Texas have a nurse-to-patient ratio law?

Not fixed ratios: Texas hospitals must keep a nurse staffing committee, at least 60 percent direct care nurses, that recommends the nurse staffing plan. (Tex. Health & Safety Code § 257.004(a)) The law's own words are on this page.

Can a hospital in Texas make nurses work mandatory overtime?

Texas law limits it: Hospitals may not require nurses to work mandatory overtime or use on-call time as a substitute, with exceptions for disasters, declared emergencies, unforeseen events and procedures in progress (covers registered and vocational nurses in hospitals). (Tex. Health & Safety Code § 258.003) The law's own words are on this page.

Do employers in Texas offer relocation assistance?

331 open healthcare jobs in Texas offer relocation help in their own posting today, each quoting the offer (a set amount, reimbursement or a package); ask for the terms in writing before you accept.

Who is hiring registered nurses in Texas?

By open jobs on this board today: Baylor Scott & White Health (410), CHRISTUS Health (404), Advantis Medical (357), HealthTrust Workforce Solutions (309), ARMStaffing (295), TRS Healthcare (290). Every RN job in Texas.

Sources and method

The compact status is NCSBN's map on the day read. The board's rules are its own page's words, shown only where the page states them; a sentence of it is checked against the page every week, and a change is read again. The jobs and pay are the registered nurse jobs open on this board in Texas.

  1. NCSBN Nurse Licensure Compact map (nursecompact.com), read 9 Nov 2026, published 9 Nov 2026
  2. Texas Board of Nursing: licensure by endorsement, read 9 Nov 2026; checked again every week for the sentence quoted, published 9 Nov 2026
  3. CareJobs.Now job board: open jobs read every night from each employer's own careers site

Cite this page

CareJobs.Now. (2026). How to Transfer Your Nursing License to Texas. Data as of 9 Nov 2026. https://carejobs.now/transfer-nursing-license/texas

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