Louisiana

The pathways, as the board describes them

Registered nurses: endorsement, and the rule that reaches before the first day. The board opens with the prohibition rather than the route: "Youmay not practiceasan RNor utilizeanyassociatedtitlesinLouisianawithout an active LouisianaRN License orRNmultistatelicense(MSL) issuedby the nursing board in your Primary State of Residence (PSOR)." The route runs through one channel: "Applicationsfor licensuremustbesubmitted through Louisiana's Nurse Portal at LARN NursePortal". RN endorsement instructions.

What the registered-nurse board requires. Its eligibility list opens with currency and recency: "Applicant must possess a current/valid, unrestricted RNlicense inanother US state, territory, or country;" and "Applicant must have been activelyengaged in practiceas a Registered Nurse within themost recent four years;". It requires no pending action: "Applicant must have no grounds for or pending disciplinary action by any nursingor other health regulatory board in any US state or in a country outside the US;" and "Applicant must have no pendingcivil or criminal charges in any US state or in a country outside theUS;". And it requires a federal identifier, closing a door some applicants will not expect: "Applicant must have been issued a United States Social Security Number (SSN). Social insurance numbers from Canadian Provinces are not accepted." RN endorsement instructions.

Which license a registered nurse ends up with. The board makes the multistate license turn on a declaration inside the application: "To be eligible for consideration for a Louisiana MultistateRNLicense,youmustdeclareLouisianaasyourPSORwithintheapplication. IfyoudonotdeclareLouisiana as your PSOR or a single-state RN License is issued, you are only authorized to practice in Louisiana." A nurse not moving their residence is told to stop and ask: "If you hold a multi-state RN Licensein your Primary State of Residence and are not changing your Primary State of Residence to Louisiana, please contact the Board prior to submitting an application." RN endorsement instructions.

Practical nurses: what endorsement means, and who it is closed to. The practical-nurse board defines the route — "Licensure by endorsement means that you have graduated from an approved nursing program (the nursing program must meet the same educational criteria as Louisiana), have successfully taken the NCLEX-PN ®, and have been granted a LPN license to practice in another state." — and publishes a bar with no equivalent on the registered-nurse side: "If you have EVER held a Louisiana lpn license, you do not qualify for endorsement. You must request reinstatement of your Louisiana license." It also states plainly what a license elsewhere does not settle: "Licensure as an lpn in another state does not guarantee that you will be granted a license to practice in Louisiana." LPN Licensure by Endorsement.

The practical-nurse board's own conditions. Its requirements list runs: "Hold a current, valid license in good standing in another state.", "Be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.", "Have graduated from an approved practical nursing program and have had instruction in IV therapy.", "Obtain a Louisiana State Police and FBI criminal background check.", and "A certified copy of your birth certificate." It states the IV-therapy condition's reason: "nurses applying for endorsement in Louisiana must provide proof of training and competency in IV therapy. This must be evaluated by LSBPNE as part of the determination for endorsement for licensure." One further instruction appears in the same list and nowhere in this collection's other jurisdictions: "Report in writing to the executive director of the Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners by certified or registered mail marked “personal and confidential” any diagnosis of HIV/HBV." LPN Licensure by Endorsement.

Arriving from a compact state, and from a non-compact one. The practical-nurse board separates the two cases. From a compact state: "When moving (changing primary state of legal residency) to a new NLC state, you must apply for licensure through endorsement. This should be completed upon moving. You may practice on your former home state license until the multistate license in Louisiana is issued." From a non-compact state: "You may apply before or after you move to Louisiana. If you meet all of the requirements, then you will be issued a multistate license. The multistate license will not interfere with the single state license that was issued by the non-compact state in which you previously resided. If you do not qualify for a multistate license in Louisiana, you may be issued a single state license provided that you meet those criteria." LPN Licensure by Endorsement.

Converting a license already held in Louisiana. Neither board converts a single-state license on its own. The registered-nurse board: "Your RN license will not automatically convert to a compact/multistate license." The practical-nurse board: "Your single state license does not automatically become a multistate license." and "It is not mandatory for you to apply for a multistate license." LSBN compact page; LSBPNE compact page.

The published process

Practice while the application is pending. The two boards answer this differently, and only one of them answers it at all.

The registered-nurse board publishes a real permit and prices it separately: "LSBNoffersa 90-daytemporaryendorsement permit,for an additional fee(see “FEES”below), that allowstheapplicant to practice nursing in Louisiana until full RN licensure can be issued. The permit does not authorizepracticein any other state or jurisdiction." Seven conditions are published for it, among them that the request and the money come with the application — "Submittherequestandsubmit thepayment withtheelectronicendorsementapplication;" — and that the nurse be here: "Resideinandplantoworkin thestateofLouisiana;", "Holda current/activeandunencumberedRN licensefrom anotherUS stateorjurisdiction;", "Havenocivil and/orcriminal chargespending;". The degree condition is narrower than the license condition it sits beside, naming programs "in theUnited States".

For a compact nurse the bridge is the former license rather than a permit: "You may practice on your former home state license until the multistate license in Louisiana is issued. Proof of residency, such as a driver’s license will be required. Upon issuance of the new multistate license, the former license is inactivated."

On the practical-nurse side no permit for endorsement applicants appears in the captured sources. The board refers to one in passing — "It is illegal to practice practical nursing in the state of Louisiana without a temporary work permit issued by our board or a current Louisiana lpn license." — but neither its endorsement page, its compact page, its verification page nor its contact page states any duration, condition, fee or application route for such a permit, and the only permit its staff directory names belongs to a different group, "new graduate temporary permits". The absence is recorded with the pages searched, not filled from the other board. RN endorsement instructions; LPN Licensure by Endorsement; LSBPNE Contact Us.

Verification of the existing license. The registered-nurse board names the national system and the license to be verified — the original one and the current one both: "Applicant must request verification of RN License from exam and current / active states to be completed on the Nursys.com website. If thestate BON does not participate in Nursys.com, utilize the form for Verification of Nursing License - RN". It adds a paper step with three channels expressly closed: "Applicant must submit an original,signed,notarizedAffidavit of Verification Form directlyto the LSBNoffice. The original form must bemailed or hand delivered. Faxed, emailed or uploaded forms are will not be accepted;" — the doubled verb is the board's own. It also requires an employer to attest to the practice-recency condition: "The applicant must have their most recent employer complete a Verification of Nursing Employment Form verifying active practice as a registered nurse within the most recent four years."

The practical-nurse board asks for the original license only: "Verification of original license by examination from the board of nursing in the state in which you were originally licensed. If you are licensed in a state that issues a compact license, please visit https://www.nursys.com/ and complete the verification process." Its verification page addresses the other direction, describing what it sends out about its own licensees rather than what an applicant must send in. RN endorsement instructions; LPN Licensure by Endorsement; LSBPNE Verification of Licensure.

Fingerprints and the background check. The registered-nurse board states the authority, the two agencies and the vendor: "Applicant must submit to a criminal background check (CBC). The criminal history record information check is authorized under the Nurse Practice Act, Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:920.1 and are required as part of the licensure process." and "All applicants are required to submit their fingerprints at an Indentogo location of your choice." The practical-nurse board requires the same two agencies for its own applicants: "Obtain a Louisiana State Police and FBI criminal background check." Neither board states an amount for the check inside its endorsement materials; the registered-nurse board's compact page prices it in the conversion context only. The registered-nurse board's own fingerprint instruction document and the practical-nurse board's criminal-background-check page are capture-pending. RN endorsement instructions; LPN Licensure by Endorsement.

The three rows above answer the questions an experienced adviser raises first, from the board's own published documents, or record that a question is not answered in them.

Fees, as stated in the sources

All quoted; none totaled.

Registered nurses, endorsement and the permit. The instructions state the amounts twice. In the opening: "The applicationfee is $100, the fee for a temporary permit is $100." In the fees section, with the board's own arithmetic, quoted as the board's and not repeated as this page's: "$100.00–applicationfor full licensure, without a90 day temporaryendorsement permit." and "$200.00–applicationforfulllicensurewith a90daytemporaryendorsement permit.Thistotalincludes:$100.00 application fee; $100.00 temporary permit fee." The payment channel and the refund rule: "All fees are non-refundable andmust be paid electronically throughthe Nurse Portal." RN endorsement instructions.

Practical nurses, endorsement. A different amount, and a surcharge stated as a percentage rather than a sum: "The fee for applying for endorsement is $185 plus 1.8% state charge." LPN Licensure by Endorsement.

Conversion, priced twice for the same act. The registered-nurse board states its conversion fee with its components and its own total: "The Conversion application requires an updated criminal background history and a fee of $89.25 (which includes the application fee of $50 and the background check fee of $39.25)." The practical-nurse board states a different figure for its own conversion, again with an unquantified surcharge: "The fee for the Multistate Conversion Application is $50 plus the state charge. This is due when submitting the application online and is non-refundable." Both are quoted; the difference between them is a finding, not reconciled here. LSBN compact page; LSBPNE compact page.

What is not stated. Neither board publishes a consolidated fee schedule in the captured sources, and no amount for the criminal background check appears in either board's endorsement materials. The "1.8% state charge" and the practical-nurse board's "state charge" are stated as such and are not converted into a sum here. LPN Licensure by Endorsement.

What any of it means for a particular application is for the board to determine.

Timelines, as stated in the sources

All quoted; none calculated.

The registered nurse's permit. Ninety days, in the board's own phrase, "a 90-daytemporaryendorsement permit". RN endorsement instructions.

The practice-recency window. "Applicant must have been activelyengaged in practiceas a Registered Nurse within themost recent four years;". RN endorsement instructions.

How long an application stays open. The registered-nurse board: "Applications not completed withinone year of submission will beclosed and canceled. Fees are non-refundable." The practical-nurse board: "Applications must be completed within one (1) year from the date of your initial request. Failure to complete this process within one (1) year will void this application." RN endorsement instructions; LPN Licensure by Endorsement.

Conversion processing, and a background check's shelf life. The registered-nurse board publishes both: "If you previously submitted a background check for which results were received more than 60 days prior to submission of the application, an additional background check is required. Please allow up to 60 days for processing once a complete application is submitted." The practical-nurse board publishes no number, only that its conversion "process will take several weeks to complete as the results of the FBI background check must be received before final approval of the Multistate Conversion application can be determined." LSBN compact page; LSBPNE compact page.

The first license year, which is not two years long. The registered-nurse board: "Louisiana nursing licenses initially issued are calendar-year licenses and require renewal before the end of the year." and "All licensesexpireonJanuary31stifnotsuccessfullyrenewedpriortotheexpirationdate. Subsequentrenewalsarebiennial." The two sentences sit in the same paragraph and state two different dates for the end of a first license; both are quoted and neither is reconciled. RN endorsement instructions.

Processing an endorsement application. No clock for reviewing an endorsement application appears in either board's captured sources.

What any of it means for a particular application is for the board to determine.

Source map

Change log

Aug 30, 2026 · Page created. Nine first-party sources captured mechanically through this jurisdiction's capture recipe, five from the registered-nurse board and four from the practical-nurse board. Findings: (1) the hazard this domain's charter warns about turned up here in its sharpest form — `lsbpne.com`, the address a search engine and a plausible guess both reach first, is not the practical-nurse board at all but a third-party Blogger site styling itself a practical-nurse examiners guidance centre, publishing advice posts under a generic writer byline; that site was not captured and is not a source here at any depth, and the board's own site is `lsbpne.la.gov`, which is what every practical-nurse capture reads; (2) Louisiana licenses registered nurses and practical nurses through two entirely separate boards on two separate sites with different addresses, different fees, and different conditions, and each board's statements are kept on its own side of this page; (3) the registered-nurse board publishes a real ninety-day temporary endorsement permit with seven conditions and a separate hundred-dollar fee, while the practical-nurse board's captured sources mention a temporary work permit only in a prohibition and state no duration, condition, fee or route for one, an absence recorded with the pages searched rather than filled from the other board; (4) the registered-nurse board requires active practice within the most recent four years and an employer's form attesting to it, a condition with no counterpart on the practical-nurse side; (5) the practical-nurse board requires instruction and demonstrated competency in IV therapy, a condition with no counterpart on the registered-nurse side, and bars from endorsement anyone who has ever held a Louisiana practical-nursing license; (6) the same act, converting a single-state license to a multistate one, is priced at $89.25 by one board and $50 plus an unquantified state charge by the other, and the endorsement fees likewise differ, $100 against $185 plus a 1.8% state charge; (7) the registered-nurse board dates its compact implementation to July 1, 2019 and the practical-nurse board states membership with no date at all; (8) the registered-nurse board's endorsement PDF has a badly damaged text layer that drops spaces between words at a high rate, and every quotation from it here preserves that damage as published, including the board's own doubled verb in "Faxed, emailed or uploaded forms are will not be accepted;"; (9) the registered-nurse board's own Licensure and Practice page, which is where its navigation sends a nurse looking for the route, is published carrying a developer's working note, a fragment of raw HTML markup, and the sentence "Waiting for LSBN clarification." and nothing else — captured for what a reader actually lands on; (10) the registered-nurse board's contacts page publishes eleven departments with direct numbers and mailboxes but no street address anywhere, while its endorsement PDF publishes an address, a different telephone number and a mailbox the contacts page does not list; both are shown as published and neither is corrected; (11) the practical-nurse board's mailbox is not retrievable from its own served page, an anti-spam plugin replacing it with an asterisk-masked placeholder decoded only by browser script, so the mask is what the packet holds and no address is supplied from elsewhere; (12) `www.lsbn.state.la.us` publishes a ten-second crawl delay in its robots.txt and disallows nothing under the paths read here, so the five sources on that host are captured on the curl-cffi transport purely to carry a ten-second pace, which is the only transport capture.py accepts a pace on. Automated or AI-assisted decision-making: none located; the terms artificial intelligence, automated decision, and algorithm return nothing across the nine captured sources, and that scope is recorded in `research/ai-disclosure.jsonl`. Capture pending: both boards' fingerprint and criminal-background-check instructions, the registered-nurse board's affidavit and employment-verification forms, the Nurse Practice Act provisions both boards cite, and Internet Archive captures. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter, reviewed Aug 30, 2026. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.