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Endorsement Information

To be eligible for licensure by endorsement, you must have graduated from an approved PN/VN or RN program, taken the appropriate US exam and have either worked in nursing or have taken the US NCLEX® exam sometime in the previous four years prior to the application.

There are two methods by which a Nurse may apply for a license with the Texas Board of Nursing (BON): 1) Online or 2) Paper. Answers to some general question regarding the process can be located on our frequently asked questions page.

Note: If you have previously held a Texas nursing license, you are not eligible to apply by Endorsement. You should either renew or reactivate the Texas license you once held. Go to http://www.bon.texas.gov/olv/renewals.html for more information regarding this process.

Online Procedures

  1. Carefully review this information page and the Guidelines and Eligibility section. If you need to answer yes to any of the eligibility questions, you cannot apply online and must follow the instructions to apply by paper. For international licensees, you must have a US social security number to apply online. If not, please follow the procedures for a paper application below.
  2. Complete the online application at www.texas.gov/app/orig/index.jsp?AGENCY_NAME=bne&CONFIG_ID=BNE_END&LICENSE_ID=01.
    Remember to print a copy of the receipt page for your records.
  3. If all requirements are met, a one time, non-renewable 120 day temporary license will be issued within fifteen business days of receipt of the online application.
  4. The BON requires a criminal background check (CBC). The CBC is processed by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
    For applicants residing in Texas, MorphoTrust USA, www.morphotrust.com/, offers Live Scan locations in Texas. In order to be eligible for an electronic fingerprint submission, allow fifteen business days to elapse before scheduling an appointment with MorphoTrust USA. You may schedule an appointment online or by phone at 1-888-467-2080.
    For applicants residing outside Texas, submit one (1) completed FBI fingerprint card. A fingerprint card can be requested from our website at web-requests.asp. Fingerprinting should be conducted by a person who is appropriately trained to collect them. Your local law enforcement agency should be willing to assist you.
  5. All applicants by endorsement must pass the Texas nursing jurisprudence examination. You must pass this examination prior to being issued a permanent license. Instructions on taking the Texas nursing jurisprudence examination: Fifteen business days after you have filed an endorsement application with the Texas Board of Nursing, you will be eligible to take the online nursing jurisprudence exam at www.bon.texas.gov/olv/je.html. Follow the instructions to log on and complete the examination. The examination is based on the Texas Nursing Practice Act (NPA) and the Texas Board of Nursing Rules and Regulations. We recommend that you download a copy of the NPA and Board Rules and Regulations from our website by going to www.bon.texas.gov and click on "Nursing Law and Rules". An online jurisprudence prep course is available on the Board's web site http://www.bon.texas.gov/olv/je-course.html. This course is voluntary and contains information about the NPA and Rules and Regulations of the Texas BON. You may also purchase a hard copy of the NPA and Rules and Regulations by downloading the Publications Order Form from our website located under the link "Download Other Paper Applications and Forms". The books will be mailed within fifteen business days of the Board receiving the completed form and appropriate fee. The examination is a maximum of two hours in length. If you are not successful in passing the examination, you may take the examination again after seven days have elapsed from the previous attempt. The cost of the examination is included in the application fee. Again, you must pass the jurisprudence examination before the Texas Board of Nursing will issue the permanent license.
  6. The BON must receive a verification of licensure from ALL states, US territories, provinces and/or countries where you hold or have ever held a nursing license, even if the license was never used, is inactive, delinquent, or invalid. This is the responsibility of the applicant, not the BON. If you hold or have held a license in any state that is part of the national database NURSYS, then go to www.nursys.com and complete a verification request and pay the appropriate fee. Once you complete that process, the Texas BON will have access to the needed license verification report. (To view a list of the participating states go to www.nursys.com and click on “participating board of nursing”)

    If you hold or have held a nursing license from a state/nursing jurisdiction that does not participate in the NURSYS database, you must submit the BON Verification Licensure Form to that state and request a verification to be sent directly to Texas. This form can be found on our website at www.bon.texas.gov/olv/forms.html under "Licensed Nurses". You will need to contact the individual state/nursing jurisdiction for information regarding their exact procedure and required fee. Note: A copy of the nursing license is not considered to be an official verification.
  7. Upon receipt of your application, criminal background check, verification from all states, territories, countries and/or provinces and passing the nursing jurisprudence examination, your application will be reviewed for a permanent nursing license. Processing time for the review to take place is within fifteen business days of receipt of the last item that completed your application.

Paper Procedures

  1. Access the Paper Endorsement application from the BON website at www.bon.texas.gov. Click on "Download Other Applications and Forms", then click on LVN or RN Endorsement Application, whichever is appropriate. Download and print the application which contains the instructions and procedures. At the same time you print the application, you may order a FBI fingerprint card. The fingerprint card is mailed within ten business days of the Board receiving the request. If you are unable to print the application from the agency website, please call the BON customer service team at (512) 305-7400 and request an application packet which will be mailed within ten business days of the date the request is made.
  2. Mail the paper application along with one (1) standard, FBI fingerprint card and the $200 fee to the Texas Board of Nursing, 333 Guadalupe, Suite 3-460, Austin, Texas 78701. Note: If you are in Texas, you may file your paper application and fee first and then after fifteen business days, contact MorphoTrust USA at (1-888-467-2080) or www.morphotrust.com/ and arrange for a fingerprint appointment. If you arrange for MorphoTrust USA to complete your fingerprint scan, they will electronically submit your fingerprints results directly to the BON. Note: If L-1 hands you the fingerprints on a card, then that means they did not submit them to us electronically. You will need to mail that card to our office.
  3. If all requirements are met, a one-time, non-renewable 120 day temporary license will be issued within fifteen business days.
  4. All applicants by endorsement must pass the Texas nursing jurisprudence examination. You must pass this examination prior to being issued a permanent license. Instructions on taking the Texas nursing jurisprudence examination: Fifteen business days after you have filed an endorsement application with the Texas Board of Nursing, you will be eligible to take the online nursing jurisprudence exam at www.bon.texas.gov/olv/je.html. Follow the instructions to log on and complete the examination. The examination is based on the Texas Nursing Practice Act (NPA) and the Texas Board of Nursing Rules and Regulations. We recommend that you download a copy of the NPA and Board Rules and Regulations from our website by going to www.bon.texas.gov and click on "Nursing Law and Rules". An online jurisprudence prep course is available on the Board's web site http://www.bon.texas.gov/olv/je-course.html. This course is voluntary and contains information about the NPA and Rules and Regulations of the Texas BON. You may also purchase a hard copy of the NPA and Rules and Regulations by downloading the Publications Order Form from our website located under the link "Download Other Paper Applications and Forms". The books will be mailed within ten business days of the Board receiving the completed form and appropriate fee. The examination is a maximum of two hours in length. If you are not successful in passing the examination, you may take the examination again after seven days have elapsed from the previous attempt. The cost of the examination is included in your application fee. Again, you must pass the jurisprudence examination before the Texas Board of Nursing will issue the permanent license.
  5. If you answer YES to any eligibility questions on the application, you will need to include a statement explaining the events of the incident(s) and official court documents that show the disposition of the incident(s). You will be notified if an additional review fee is required. Note: The eligibility review can not begin until the criminal history results come back from both DPS and FBI. This report comes to us based on the fingerprints that you submit to our office.
  6. The BON must receive a verification of licensure from ALL states, US territories, provinces and/or countries where you hold or have ever held a nursing license, even if the license was never used, is inactive, delinquent, or invalid. This is the responsibility of the applicant, not the BON. If you hold or have held a license in any state that is part of the national database NURSYS, then go to www.nursys.com and complete a verification request and pay the appropriate fee. Once you complete that process, the Texas BON will have access to the needed license verification report. (To view a list of the participating states go to www.nursys.com and click on “participating board of nursing”)

    If you hold or have held a nursing license from a state/nursing jurisdiction that does not participate in the NURSYS database, you must submit the BON Verification Licensure Form to that state and request a verification to be sent directly to Texas. This form can be found on our website at www.bon.texas.gov/olv/forms.html under "Licensed Nurses". You will need to contact the individual state/nursing jurisdiction for information regarding their exact procedure and required fee. Note: A copy of the nursing license is not considered to be an official verification.
  7. Upon receipt of your application, criminal background check, verification from all states, territories, countries and/or provinces and passing the nursing jurisprudence examination, your application will be reviewed for a permanent nursing license. Processing time for the review to take place is within fifteen business days of receipt of the last item that completed your application.