Washington
- The applying board stated in the sources
- The regulator is the Washington State Board of Nursing, which publishes at its own address and abbreviates itself WABON — a name and a site the state has moved to recently enough that the Department of Health's older nursing-commission address still redirects there. One board handles both licenses: RN and LPN requirements sit on the same pages, with separate application routes described as "Apply by Exam (first RN license)", "Apply by Endorsement (already have an RN license in another state)", and a multistate track alongside them. The board is currently carrying an unusual load and says so on its own licensing pages: "Due to the nursing assistant regulatory authority transition, WABON is experiencing a high volume of calls and emails."
- Compact status in these sources
- Washington states its participation through the license types it offers rather than by naming a date. Its comparison table sets a Washington single-state license, which "Allows practice in Washington State only", against a Washington multistate license, which "Allows practice in Washington state and 40 other participating compact states". The board quotes the commission's rules directly for a nurse arriving from another compact state, and for the sixty-day rule, both quoted in section 02. The count of participating states in that table differs from the roster the commission itself publishes on the compact page; both stand, each on its publisher's own page, and the discrepancy is a numbered finding rather than a correction made here. This row carries the board's statement only.
- Offices in these sources
- "111 Israel Road SE", "PO Box 47864", "Olympia, WA 98504", "360-236-4703", nursing@doh.wa.gov. The board also publishes a separate line for the current backlog — Direct Phone Number: "(360) 236-4703" — which is the same number in a different format, and a licensing mailbox for documents, WABONlicensing@doh.wa.gov. Transcripts go to a different address from correspondence: "WABON Licensing", "111 Israel Road SE", "Mail Stop 47864", "Olympia, WA 98504". The email domain is the Department of Health's, though the board's website is not.
- Sources last checked
- Aug 26, 2026
Reproduced from the board's own pages and documents quoted below: potentially relevant official sources, not a determination of eligibility or of which pathway applies to any situation.
This page assembles what the Washington State Board of Nursing publishes for a nurse already licensed in another state: the routes in, what the board states about practising while an application is pending, about verification and about fingerprints, every fee its own comparison table states, and where the original documents live. The fullest single sources are the board's Licensure Requirements page, which carries the application process end to end, and its Registered Nurse (RN) License page, which carries the endorsement instructions; neither publishes a date. Washington vocabulary is worth carrying: the compact license is an MSL, and a Washington single-state licensee who wants one applies for an MSL upgrade; the bridge to practice while a file is pending is a temporary practice permit, abbreviated TPP; applications are filed through the HELMS Portal; and the board that regulates nursing is WABON. Board practice may add procedural detail this page does not carry. Confirm applicability with the board itself. All amounts on this page are quoted from the board's own table, not a total calculated for you.
The pathways, as the board describes them
Endorsement, with one condition stated at the top. The board's endorsement instructions open with the fact that disqualifies the largest group of applicants: "You need to have an active license in order to apply by endorsement." Where the license has lapsed, the route is not closed but it lengthens: "If you don't have an active license in another state or Canada, you must complete a board-approved refresher program. Please indicate on the application if you are enrolled in a refresher program." Canada is treated specifically: "If your U.S. license has expired and you have an active license in Canada, you will need to have verification of the active Canadian license sent to the WABON." (Registered Nurse (RN) License)
Single-state or multistate, decided at application. Washington does not make the nurse apply twice. The endorsement route is published as "Applying by Endorsement – Single State or Multistate License", and the multistate track is open to "Nurses moving and changing their PSOR to Washington state", "Nurses who are getting their first Washington state license", and "Nurses with a single-state Washington license". For that last group the board publishes the trap plainly: "If you already have a Washington single-state license, it won’t change automatically. If you want a multistate license, you must apply for an MSL upgrade."
The multistate license's own conditions. Beyond the ordinary requirements, the board's table states that an MSL applicant needs a "FBI fingerprint background check", a "Valid US Social Security Number", that "WA State must be primary state of residence (PSOR)", and that the applicant "Must not be a participant in an alternative to discipline program or have ever been convicted of a felony" and "Must meet all Uniform Multistate License Requirements."
A practice-hours condition that reaches only some applicants. Note: "this applies to non-traditional nursing education programs only" — and where it applies: "If you have completed a non-traditional nursing education program, you must submit work verification of at least 1,000 hours of active nursing practice in another state." The verification "must come directly from your current or previous employer on company letterhead" and must state "Dates Employed", "Verification of Hours", and "Verification that you practiced in the profession in which you are applying".
A denial ground published by name. Washington publishes a list of nursing schools whose graduates it will not license, and the reason: "In conjunction with an ongoing investigation into the legitimacy of multiple Florida-based nursing schools, the Washington Board of Nursing (WABON) takes action to rescind licenses or deny applicant licenses associated with certain Florida-based nursing schools." The board dates that notice — Updated: June 24, 2025 — and names the federal investigation behind it. A nurse whose education came from a school on that list will find the fact stated on the board's own licensing page rather than discovered after applying.
The published process
- Practice while the application is pending
- Washington publishes a bridge, and it is the clearest of the states built so far. The board's own process diagram states when it arrives: "Temporary Practice Permit is issued once all requirements have been met pending FBI Background check", with the full license following later — "Active license is issued by the final approval desk upon completion of all requirements including the FBI Background check". The permit's purpose is stated again in the fingerprint section: "We may issue you a temporary practice permit (TPP) while we wait for the FBI background check to complete." It carries an obligation: "If you are issued a TPP, you must complete the FBI background check at your earliest convenience to avoid closure of your application for licensure." Note what the permit does not wait for — everything except the FBI check must already be done, so the permit shortens the fingerprint wait and nothing else. For a nurse arriving on a compact license, the board quotes the commission's rule rather than paraphrasing it: "under the Interstate Commission of Nurse Licensure Compact Administrators rules section 403 (1), a nurse who changes his or her primary state of residence from one party state to another party state may continue to practice under the existing multistate license while the nurse's application is processed, and a multistate license is issued in the new primary state of residence." And the deadline attached to that move: "a multistate licensee who changes primary state of residence to another party state shall apply for a multistate license in the new party state within 60 days." The board adds a boundary the compact's own materials do not spell out: "a change in primary state of residency does not include travelers living in a state temporarily and plan to return to another state of residence."
- Verification of the existing license
- Washington verifies one license and names which: "To apply by endorsement, we need to verify your initial license in the United States" — the board glosses it as "the state where you got your first U.S. license", which is not necessarily the state a nurse currently practises in. The method is the national service, with the board's own steps: "Please use Nursys to request verification of your initial US license from your original state of licensure." "Look for the" Nurse License Verification for Endorsement "section and click" Request Verification "Request to have your" verification sent to Washington state "Pay the online" verification fee — an amount the board does not state. Transcripts are handled by exception rather than by default: "If you are applying by endorsement from another U.S. state, please do not send official transcripts unless we ask for them".
- Fingerprints and the background check
- Two checks run, and only one of them involves fingerprints. The board states the first as universal: "Criminal background checks are conducted on all applications". The fingerprint check is conditional, and the condition catches most people moving: "Applicants with out-of-state addresses or applying for a multistate license are emailed FBI fingerprint instructions". The board does not send materials — "The WA Board of Nursing doesn't send out fingerprint packets with cards." — and the applicant chooses the mechanism: "You must either complete this process through a Live Scan facility or obtain the fingerprint cards from the place you get the fingerprinting done". Processing runs through two agencies: "DOH completes the FBI background check through the Washington State Patrol and FBI". The board publishes a warning about its own instruction sheet: "you may not print these instructions to use as fingerprint cards. You must obtain fingerprint cards from your local facility."
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. From the board's single-state versus multistate comparison table, retrieved Aug 26, 2026. Washington publishes its fees as a comparison rather than as a schedule, so the choice of license type and the price of that choice appear in the same place.
Initial license. "Initial single-state license fee:" "RN": "$138", "LPN": "$93" — against "Initial multistate license fee:" "RN": "$203", "LPN": "$158".
Renewal, and a difference worth noticing. "Annual single-state renewal fee:" "RN": "$138", "LPN": "$93" — against "Annual multistate renewal fee:" "RN": "$158", "LPN": "$113". Washington renews annually rather than biennially, and the board publishes the figures on that basis.
Amounts the board names but does not state. The Nursys verification carries a fee the applicant pays directly — the instruction is to "Pay the online" verification fee — and no amount for it, or for fingerprinting, appears in the sources reviewed.
What the board's fee page holds. A separate License Fees page is linked from every licensing page and was not captured; anything it states beyond the comparison table is not represented here.
What any of this means for a particular application is for the board to determine.
Timelines, as stated in the sources
All quoted; none calculated.
On processing: "We start processing your application as soon as we get it. If your application is complete (with all documents and fees) it should take about 7 business days for us to process." The board names five reasons an application runs longer, among them "Applications missing information, supporting documents, or applicants waiting to pass the NCLEX examination" and "Higher number of applications than usual".
On the compact's sixty days: "a multistate licensee who changes primary state of residence to another party state shall apply for a multistate license in the new party state within 60 days."
On uploading documents after filing: "You have 14 days after you submit your application to upload your documents online" — and after that, "you won’t be able to access your application through SAW", with a mailbox given for later documents.
On applications that go quiet: "After 30 days of inactivity, all applications receive a 30–day closure warning letter", and separately, "The application closure process allows a total of 60 days from the last document received before an application is closed via automation."
On a rule that took effect this year: "Effective January 30, 2026, WAC 246-840-060(3) requires, “An applicant who fails to pass the examination after four attempts will not be eligible to retest until the applicant provides evidence of completing a relevant board-approved National Council Licensure Examination prep course.”" It reaches failures recorded elsewhere: "If you have already failed the NCLEX exam for any state or country four times, then you will be required to complete a WABON-approved NCLEX prep course."
What any of this means for a particular application is for the board to determine.
Source map
| Document | Location | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Licensure Requirements | nursing.wa.gov | no date published; retrieved Aug 26, 2026 |
| Registered Nurse (RN) License | nursing.wa.gov | no date published; retrieved Aug 26, 2026 |
| Older Department of Health address for the same content, which redirects | doh.wa.gov | redirect observed Aug 26, 2026 |
| License Fees | nursing.wa.gov | listed; capture pending |
| Upgrade to a Multistate License (MSL) | nursing.wa.gov | listed; capture pending |
| NLC information, including Uniform MSL Requirements | nursing.wa.gov | listed; capture pending |
| Fingerprint-based Federal Background Check instructions (PDF) | nursing.wa.gov | file path dated 2026-08-11; capture pending |
| Board-approved nurse refresher programs (PDF) | nursing.wa.gov | listed; capture pending |
| WA Single State PSOR Attestation (PDF) | nursing.wa.gov | listed; capture pending |
| HELMS Portal, where applications are filed | wahelms.my.site.com | named on the RN page; capture pending |
| NLC Final Rules, as the board links them | nursecompact.com | quoted on the compact page of this site |
| WAC 246-840 and the LPN license page | named on the board's pages | capture pending |
Change log
Aug 26, 2026 · Page created. Captured first-party and appended mechanically: the board's Licensure Requirements page and its Registered Nurse (RN) License page, both retrieved Aug 26, 2026. Findings recorded rather than smoothed: (1) the regulator publishes as the Washington State Board of Nursing at its own domain, and the Department of Health's older nursing-commission address redirects there, so both addresses are recorded and neither is treated as stale; (2) Washington publishes a real bridge to practice while a file is pending — the temporary practice permit, "issued once all requirements have been met pending FBI Background check" — and the wording matters, because the permit shortens only the fingerprint wait and requires everything else to be finished first; (3) the board's own comparison table states that a multistate license reaches "40 other participating compact states", while the commission's roster, quoted on this site's compact page, states a different count; both stand on their publishers' own pages and neither is corrected here; (4) endorsement verification runs against the nurse's initial U.S. license, "the state where you got your first U.S. license", which is not necessarily the state the nurse currently practises in, and a nurse who reads quickly may request the wrong verification; (5) an inactive license does not merely delay endorsement but redirects it into a board-approved refresher program; (6) Washington renews annually rather than biennially, so its published fees are not comparable at face value with biennial states'; (7) the board publishes a named list of nursing schools whose graduates it denies, dated June 24, 2025, tied to a federal investigation, which is a licensing fact stated on the licensing page rather than discovered after applying; (8) the published multistate section carries an editing artifact, "[AZ1]", left in the live text before a link to the commission's rules, and it is preserved verbatim in the packet; (9) the pages return their full accordion content on the plain text transport and only their section headings when rendered in a browser, and the transport used is recorded so a later reviewer does not read a thin capture as a thin source. Capture pending: the License Fees page, the MSL upgrade page, the NLC information pages including the uniform requirements, the fingerprint instruction sheet, the refresher program list, the PSOR attestation, the application portal, WAC 246-840, and the LPN license page. Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter, reviewed Aug 26, 2026. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.