How to Become a Nurse in Ohio (RN, LPN or CNA)

Three nursing roles, two agencies

Ohio licenses registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) through the Ohio Board of Nursing. Nurse aides are a different track: the Board does not regulate them, the Ohio Department of Health licenses the training programs and keeps the Nurse Aide Registry, and an aide listed on that registry in good standing is a certified nurse aide (CNA), a title Ohio used to call state tested nurse aide (STNA). The three paths share a shape, school then exam then a state record, but the schools, exams, fees and agencies differ. Ohio has also been a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact since 1 January 2023, so an RN or LPN who lives in the state can choose between a single-state and a multistate license. This guide walks through each path as the Board and the Department describe it, then covers endorsement for nurses moving in, the compact, pay and renewal.

How to become a registered nurse in Ohio

1. Graduate from a Board-approved RN program

Ohio law lets you sit the licensing exam after a registered nursing education program approved by the Ohio Board of Nursing, or one approved by another state's board of nursing. The Board approves diploma, associate degree and bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) programs, publishes the full list with each program's approval status (full, conditional or provisional, the last of which can mean low exam pass rates), so check the list before you enroll. All three lead to the same license. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for registered nurses, and many hospital systems prefer or require it, but an associate degree or diploma from an approved program makes you eligible to test.

2. Apply through eLicense before you finish

The Board handles every application and renewal through the state's eLicense portal, where you create a one-time account with your Social Security number. The Board tells students to file the licensure-by-examination application before completing their program and to register for the NCLEX-RN with the exam vendor, Pearson VUE, at the same time. The fee is $75 for a single-state license, or $100 if Ohio is your primary state of residence and you want a multistate license from the start; the state adds a $3.50 transaction fee to every application, and nothing is refundable. The Board cannot declare you eligible to test until your program administrator sends it written notice that you have completed the program (an out-of-state graduate's program sends an official transcript instead). An application that is still incomplete, or whose requirements are not met, one year after the Board received it is void and the fee is forfeited.

3. Fingerprints for two background checks

Every applicant for an Ohio nursing license submits fingerprints for criminal record checks by both the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) and the FBI. In Ohio you use an electronic WebCheck location, which the Board recommends because results come back faster: bring a government photo ID, give the reason code ORC 4723.091, and ask the location to send a direct copy to the Ohio Board of Nursing. From outside Ohio you mail two ink fingerprint cards to BCI with a $47.25 check or money order that covers both checks. BCI sends the results to the Board; a record that needs an in-depth review can take four weeks or longer.

4. Register for the NCLEX-RN

The NCLEX registration fee is $200 in the United States; the National Council of State Boards of Nursing has announced that it rises to $350 on 1 February 2027. Once the Board has your application, fee, background check and program completion notice, it makes you eligible to test and Pearson VUE emails your Authorization to Test. The exam is national and can be taken at any test center.

5. Pass, and you are licensed

The Board grants the license once you pass the exam and the background check shows nothing that makes you ineligible. Unlike several neighboring states, Ohio issues no graduate-nurse or temporary permit to new graduates: its only temporary permit is for nurses already licensed in another state (see endorsement below), so a new graduate works as a nurse only once the license is issued. Open positions for new graduates and experienced nurses are listed by employer on our registered nurse jobs in Ohio hub.

How to become an LPN in Ohio

The practical nurse path runs on the same rails as the RN path, with a shorter school and a different exam:

1. Finish a Board-approved practical nursing program, or one approved by another state's board of nursing. Ohio law also accepts a practical nurse course offered or approved by the United States Army, and the Air Force's associate degree in practical nursing technology. The Board publishes its list of approved LPN programs, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes these programs typically take about one year.
2. Apply through eLicense before you finish, with the same fees as an RN: $75 for a single-state license, $100 for a multistate license, plus the $3.50 state transaction fee. Your program sends the Board written notice of completion.
3. Submit fingerprints for the BCI and FBI criminal record checks, exactly as an RN applicant does.
4. Register for the NCLEX-PN with Pearson VUE ($200, rising to $350 on 1 February 2027). The Board makes you eligible to test once your file is complete.
5. Pass, and the Board issues the license. There is no temporary permit for new graduates, and an application still incomplete after one year is void.

Many Ohio LPNs later bridge to RN through an LPN-to-associate or LPN-to-BSN program; the Board then treats the graduate as a new RN applicant by examination. Current openings are on our LPN jobs in Ohio hub.

How to become a CNA in Ohio

Nurse aides are not licensed by the Board of Nursing. The Ohio Department of Health licenses nurse aide training programs through its Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation Program (NATCEP), keeps the Nurse Aide Registry that nursing homes check before hiring, and runs the state competency evaluation through a testing contractor, D&S Diversified Technologies. A nursing home may use an aide who is still in training for up to four months, but may not keep anyone on as a nurse aide beyond that unless the registry lists them.

1. Qualify to test. The usual route is a Department of Health licensed training program of at least 75 hours, combining classroom instruction (some of it may be online), skills-lab instruction and 16 hours of clinical experience in a skilled nursing facility; missed hours must be made up within 60 days. Programs run in nursing homes, high schools, community colleges, non-profits and private schools. Two groups may test without a program: a current nursing student who has completed courses in basic nursing skills, infection control, safety, emergency procedures and personal care, and anyone with at least 1,600 hours of bedside nurse aide work in a hospital within the last five years.
2. Pay the testing fees and schedule. The contractor charges $30 for the knowledge test and $90 for the skill test, paid online in its candidate system or by form; some training programs pre-pay for their graduates. An audio version of the knowledge test, read aloud through headphones, costs $10 more. Test dates are scheduled online, and a candidate who does not show forfeits the fee.
3. Pass both parts. The knowledge test is 79 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes, taken at a test site or remotely proctored from home. The skill test, observed by a registered nurse, assigns three or four tasks at random, one of five mandatory tasks with hand washing built in plus two or three others, to be performed on a resident actor in 35 minutes; you must complete every critical step and 80 percent of the other steps on each task. Full scrubs and closed-toe shoes are required, and you must bring a signed government photo ID and your original Social Security card.
4. Mind the attempt limit. You have three attempts to pass each part within two years of completing your training; after that you must complete a new training program before testing again.
5. Get listed and stay listed. The contractor sends passing results to the Department of Health, which places you on the Nurse Aide Registry and mails a certification card. The listing stays active only while you keep working: within every 24-month period you must provide, for pay, at least seven and a half consecutive hours (or eight hours within 48 hours) of nursing or nursing-related services, verified by your employer or by a nurse or physician who saw the work. An aide who lets 24 months pass without verified work must retrain and retest. A CNA certified in another state transfers in through the registry's reciprocity form, signed by the sending state.

Two money rules worth knowing: Ohio law forbids charging a nurse aide for a training program or competency evaluation, including textbooks, when the person is employed by or has an offer from a nursing home at the time they start, and federal rules require the state to reimburse training costs pro rata for anyone hired by a nursing home within 12 months of completing a program. Openings are on our CNA jobs in Ohio hub.

Licensed in another state? Endorsement and the compact

Ohio joined the Nurse Licensure Compact on 1 January 2023, and the Board reports that more than 53,000 Ohio RNs and LPNs now hold a multistate license. A multistate license requires that Ohio be your primary state of residence, proven with an Ohio driver's license or ID card, an Ohio voter registration, a federal tax return or W-2 with an Ohio address, or a military form 2058; you must also have graduated from a Board-approved program, passed the NCLEX, hold an active unencumbered license, have current BCI and FBI fingerprint checks on file, have no felony or nursing-related misdemeanor convictions, not be in an alternative-to-discipline program, and have a valid US Social Security number. The compact covers RNs and LPNs only. See our compact nursing states list for every member.

What that means for a nurse coming from elsewhere depends on where you live and what you hold:

• You hold a multistate license and still live in another compact state. You may practice in Ohio on that license, in person or by telehealth, and need nothing from the Ohio Board.
• You hold a multistate license and are moving to Ohio. Under the compact's rules you must apply for a new license in Ohio within 60 days of changing your primary state of residence; your old home state's multistate license is deactivated. The Board asks you to apply as soon as you move.
• You hold a single-state license, or want only an Ohio single-state license. Apply for licensure by endorsement (the Board calls it reciprocity) through eLicense: $75 plus the $3.50 transaction fee, the BCI and FBI fingerprint checks, verification of your original license by examination and of your current license sent directly from those boards or electronically through Nursys, evidence of your nursing program, and two contact hours of Ohio-approved Category A continuing education on the Ohio Nurse Practice Act and the Board's rules. An LPN licensed and practicing continuously for five years may qualify on an RN education instead of a practical nursing program. As with examination, an endorsement application still incomplete after one year is void.
• Working while the file is processed. A nurse currently licensed in another state may be issued a nonrenewable temporary permit once the Board has both license verifications. It expires 180 days after issue or when the Ohio license is issued, whichever comes first, and terminates automatically if the criminal records check shows the applicant is ineligible.
• Already licensed in Ohio and want the multistate version. Submit a conversion request from your eLicense dashboard. The one-time conversion fee is $100, current BCI and FBI checks are required, and during a renewal season you must renew your single-state license first.

What nurses earn, and the outlook

The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook puts the national median annual wage for May 2025 at $97,550 for registered nurses, $64,400 for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses and $42,260 for nursing assistants. For posted pay by city and employer in Ohio, from Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati to Toledo, Akron and Dayton, see nurse jobs and pay in Ohio; for how states compare, see the highest-paying states for nurses.

Nationally, the Bureau projects employment of registered nurses to grow 6 percent from 2025 to 2035, faster than the average for all occupations, with about 180,800 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted. Licensed practical and vocational nurses are projected to grow 3 percent with about 51,800 openings a year, and nursing assistants and orderlies 3 percent with about 203,300 openings a year. Ohio's large hospital systems and its nursing home sector are among the most active employers on our board; see where hospitals are hiring nurses now.

Keeping your Ohio license or listing

• RNs renew every two years in odd-numbered years through eLicense. The window runs 1 July to 15 September ($65 for a single-state license, $75 for a multistate license); from 16 September to 31 October a $50 late fee applies, so $115 or $125, plus the $3.50 transaction fee. A nurse licensed between seasons still renews when the next season opens. Each renewal requires 24 contact hours of continuing education, at least one of them Category A (the Ohio Nurse Practice Act and the Board's rules); no CE is required for the first renewal after licensure by examination, and a nurse licensed by endorsement for a year or less at the first renewal needs 12 hours including the Category A hour. Keep CE records for six years. Details by state are in our nurse CE requirements by state guide.
• LPNs renew on the same calendar and fees in even-numbered years, with the same 24-hour CE requirement and first-renewal exemption.
• Lapsed licenses are reinstated through eLicense for $100 outside a renewal season (more during one), with the CE owed at the time of application and, after five years lapsed or inactive, a new criminal records check.
• CNAs keep their registry listing active by working at least seven and a half consecutive hours, or eight hours within 48 hours, of paid nursing-related services in every 24-month period.

Sources

• Ohio Board of Nursing, Registered Nurse and Licensed Practical Nurses, current requirements, read 7 October 2026.
• Ohio Board of Nursing, Fees, Apply Online, Criminal Records Check Required for Licensure or Certification and Renewal Schedule, read 7 October 2026.
• Ohio Board of Nursing, Multistate Licensure, MSL Licensing Requirements and RN and LPN Information, read 7 October 2026.
• Ohio Board of Nursing, CE Requirements for Renewal, Continuing Education FAQs, Registered Nursing Education Programs and NCLEX Fee Adjustment Begins February of 2027, read 7 October 2026.
• Ohio Revised Code, section 4723.09, License application (effective 29 December 2023), and Ohio Administrative Code, rule 4723-7-02, Requirements and application for licensure by examination, rule 4723-7-05, Registered nurse licensure by endorsement and rule 4723-7-06, Practical nurse licensure by endorsement, read 7 October 2026.
• Ohio Department of Health, Nurse Aide Training (14 February 2025) and Nurse Aide Registry Requirements (24 October 2024), read 7 October 2026.
• Ohio Revised Code, section 3721.30, Competency evaluation program contents, and Ohio Administrative Code, rule 3701-18-22, The state-administered test and rule 3701-17-07.1, Required training and competency evaluation for nurse aides, read 7 October 2026.
• D&S Diversified Technologies, Ohio CNA Testing and Certification, Ohio Nurse Aide Candidate Handbook, version 27 (effective 1 December 2025) and Candidate Payment Form 1402 (September 2025), read 7 October 2026.
• National Council of State Boards of Nursing, NCLEX Fees and Payment and Nurse Licensure Compact, read 7 October 2026.
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 pay and 2025-35 projections: Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses and Nursing Assistants and Orderlies, read 7 October 2026.