Washington nursing license lookup

State profile

Washington nursing regulation at a glance

RN regulator

Washington State Board of Nursing

LPN regulator

Washington State Board of Nursing

APRN authority

Washington State Board of Nursing

Nurse aide record

Washington State Board of Nursing — Nursing Assistants

NLC position

Washington participates in the Nurse Licensure Compact

Sources checked

2026-08-13

The state-specific issue

Washington’s board name and scope have evolved

Current official pages use Washington State Board of Nursing branding and include nursing-assistant licensing alongside professional nursing. Older search results may use former agency language. Follow the current board domain, then match the exact credential and multistate designation shown.

Official record directory

Choose the credential before opening a portal

The correct link depends on what is being verified. The routes below identify the record owner and explain the most important state-specific boundary before sending you away from this site.

Basic licensing information

First license, endorsement and renewal are separate paths

Applying for a first Washington nurse license

First-time RN and practical-nurse applicants begin with the regulator shown above and follow its licensure-by-examination instructions. The board determines acceptable nursing education, application documentation, background review and authorization for the applicable NCLEX. Passing the examination is one requirement; the board must still issue the license before a public lookup can establish state authority.

Applying by endorsement

A nurse who already holds a U.S. license generally uses the board’s endorsement path rather than applying as a first-time examination candidate. Endorsement does not transfer or copy a license: Washington evaluates the application and issues its own authority when requirements are met. Follow the receiving board’s instructions for license verification; a free public result may not satisfy the required transmission.

For an RN or LPN whose primary state of residence is another active compact state, first determine whether the existing home-state license is actually multistate. If it is, a separate Washington license may not be the correct route for practice under compact privilege. A permanent move changes the home-state analysis.

Renewing or restoring a license

Renewal, late renewal and reinstatement are different administrative actions. Use the official Washington State Board of Nursing site to confirm the current cycle, continuing-competence requirements, fee and late-status rules for the exact credential. Do not use an old fee table or another state’s renewal date. After submitting, verify the public record again rather than assuming payment immediately changed the displayed status.

Open Washington State Board of Nursing licensing information ↗

Using the public record

Search carefully, then read every field

Use Nursys for the RN/LPN public record and compact field. Use the Washington Board’s verify-status page for state-specific direction and assistance.

1. Prefer a license or certificate number when the official portal accepts one; use a name to discover candidates, not as the only identity match.
2. Confirm the jurisdiction, profession and credential line before interpreting status or expiration.
3. Read single-state or multistate authority from the individual record. State compact membership is not individual proof.
4. Open linked orders and later documents in date order instead of relying on a short discipline flag.
5. Record the official source and access date if the check must be reproducible.

A public lookup is a point-in-time view. It does not create ongoing monitoring, complete a background investigation or automatically meet a receiving board’s formal-verification rule.

Advanced practice

An RN result is not the complete APRN check

Confirm Washington ARNP authority and prescribing information separately. The state’s advanced-practice terminology and requirements go beyond RN compact privilege.

Confirm the advanced-practice role and population focus displayed or documented by the regulator, then follow the state’s separate instructions for prescribing or controlled-substance authority when those facts matter. The RN license may be a prerequisite, but it is not a substitute for the advanced-practice record.

Nurse aide registry

CNA and nurse-aide status needs its own search

Search the nursing-assistant credential through the Washington Board route; its status is separate from any RN or LPN license held by the same person.

Nurse aide registries can publish eligibility and state-specific findings that do not appear on a professional nurse-license line. Match the aide record directly and use the registry owner—not the RN search—to resolve a missing entry or disputed notation.

Open the official Washington nurse aide route ↗

Official contacts

Who can correct a Washington source record

Only the agency that owns the record can correct it or determine its legal effect. Check the public result first, retain the search details, and contact the credential-specific regulator with the license or certificate number when available.

Common questions

Questions about Washington nursing records