Licensing
The Nurse Practice Act requires that any person practicing as a registered nurse, advanced practice nurse, registered nurse practitioner, practical nurse, or psychiatric technician nurse in this state shall be licensed by the Arkansas State Board of Nursing. The Nurse Practice Act requires biennial license renewal for practicing nurses. Nurses who allow their licenses to lapse and who have not practiced nursing during the preceding licensure period may be reinstated upon request, payment of the renewal fee, late penalty, and after meeting the continuing education requirements.Nurses who do not renew are in good standing as long as they do not practice nursing in Arkansas, but must meet all requirements when reactivating license.
Temporary permits may be issued to Arkansas licensed nurses who are graduates of a nursing program. This permit allows a nurse to practice between graduation and receipt of results of the first examination for which the licensee is eligible. Temporary permits may be issued to qualified RN and LPN endorsement applicants holding current licensure in other states.
RNs and LPNs holding an active license from a compact multistate which is their primary state of residence may practice nursing in Arkansas.
Resources
- License Verification Information
- e-Notify
- Fees
- Continuing Education Information
- Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC)
- Workforce Expansion Act of 2021
