Georgia RN licensure 2026: $75 fee, 3–4 weeks

Georgia licensure at a glance

Apply and check current fees at sos.ga.gov/georgia-board-nursing.

Georgia renewal and licensing rows checked 2026-09-26 against rules.sos.ga.gov (1, 2).

Georgia RN license renewal: 2 years (biennial), expiring January 31. Continuing education for Georgia renewal: 30 CE hours, or certification, academic program, or 500 practice hours with employer verification.

Same in all 51: licensing · renewal · discipline · international · CEUs · defence.

Georgia required CE topics, and free courses for them

Can Georgia nurses finish CE for free? Georgia names no required CE topic for RN or LPN renewal, so any accredited free course counts toward what Georgia asks for.

Georgia renewal CE: 30 CE hours per 2-year period, or national certification, an accredited academic program, employer-verified competency plus 500 practice hours, or other Board-approved activity. Topics the Georgia board names, checked Sep 2026:

• Ordering and use of hydrocodone, oxycodone and compounds (APRNs with that authority in their protocol): 1 contact hour · every 2 years · APRN. Source
  No free course found for Georgia's version of this yet.

Every free course, with filters: free CEUs for Georgia nurses.

Compact status: Compact state

Georgia issues multistate licenses. With Georgia as your primary state of residence, one license covers every other NLC state; it follows your residence, not your job. Compact map.

For Georgia License Holders: Your Compact Privileges

Georgia joined the NLC on January 19, 2018 — among the first wave of the enhanced compact’s implementation, and the compact has been fully operational here for over eight years. If Georgia is your primary state of residence and you hold an active Georgia RN or LPN license, you hold a multistate compact license valid in all 40+ NLC member states. Verify at nursys.com — your license should show "Multistate" under privileges. If it shows "Single State," contact the Georgia Board of Nursing through sos.ga.gov to request a compact upgrade.

Georgia’s geographic position makes its compact privilege exceptionally broad. Every state bordering Georgia is a compact member: Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, and North Carolina. A Georgia compact license lets you rotate through the entire Southeast region — Atlanta to Nashville to Charlotte to Jacksonville — without a single endorsement application. This matters practically: Georgia nurses who pick up per-diem work in Chattanooga (Tennessee border), Asheville (North Carolina), or Jacksonville (Florida) do so immediately on their Georgia compact license. The compact privilege is tied to your primary state of residence: if you relocate outside Georgia, transfer your primary license to your new home state within 60 days to preserve multistate privileges.

For Travel Nurses Coming to Georgia: What Your Compact License Covers

Georgia’s travel nursing demand is concentrated in the Atlanta metro but extends meaningfully to Augusta, Savannah, Columbus, and Macon. A compact license from any NLC member state is valid in Georgia immediately — no Georgia Board of Nursing application, no $75 fee, no waiting period. Grady Health System, Emory, Piedmont, and Northside all process compact license verifications through Nursys as standard onboarding; Georgia has been compact for over eight years and there are no implementation gaps. For ICU travel nurses, Grady Memorial and Emory University Hospital are both Level I trauma centers with consistent high-acuity demand. Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) is one of the top pediatric systems in the country and runs a rigorous travel program for PICU and oncology specialties — confirm CHOA’s specific compact credentialing requirements when arranging your assignment. Verify your multistate status at nursys.com before your first Georgia shift.

Georgia Endorsement: Non-Compact State Nurses

If California, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington, Oregon, or another non-compact state is your primary state of residence, you need a standalone Georgia RN license before practicing. The process runs through the Georgia Professional Licensing Boards (Georgia Secretary of State’s office): apply online through the Georgia Business Licensing Portal, pay the $75 application fee (the portal typically adds an $8–10 processing charge, bringing the total to approximately $85), submit a certified license verification from your home state BON — Nursys electronic verification is accepted for participating states. A criminal history check through the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is required at approximately $25–40 depending on submission method. The Board processes complete applications within 15 business days (3–4 weeks). Total costs run approximately $130–$150. A temporary authorization may be available for qualifying applicants — check the current Georgia BON website. For status inquiries: sos.ga.gov or call the Georgia Professional Licensing Boards at (478) 207-2440.

Georgia’s Key Nursing Markets

The Atlanta metro is one of the top five travel nursing destinations in the southeast. Emory Healthcare (six hospitals, including Emory University Hospital Midtown) and Piedmont Healthcare (12 hospitals across Georgia) both run large travel programs and are consistently on major agency preferred-supplier lists. Northside Hospital — with campuses in Atlanta, Cherokee, Forsyth, and Gwinnett — is particularly active for L&D, Mother/Baby, and Women’s Health travel assignments. Grady Health System, the Level I trauma center serving Atlanta, uses travelers in critical care, ED, and telemetry with an accelerated credentialing process. Augusta University Health and Piedmont Augusta anchor the second-largest Georgia market, with WellStar Health System active across Marietta, Atlanta, and Austell. The Savannah market is anchored by St. Joseph’s/Candler and Memorial Health University Medical Center. Travel rates in Atlanta have historically been competitive: expect weekly gross packages of $2,000–$2,800 for medsurg and $2,600–$3,400 for ICU and ED, though rates shift seasonally. Georgia has no state income tax on wages above a small deduction (Georgia enacted a 5.49% flat tax effective 2024; for travel nurses, per-diem stipend calculations under GSA rates apply as usual).

Getting licensed in Georgia

Endorsing into Georgia runs through the Georgia Board of Nursing at $75, quoted at 3–4 weeks, with no second NCLEX. Because Georgia participates in the compact, a travel nurse holding a multistate license can start an assignment here without a separate application, which is why Georgia contracts often list short lead times.

Advanced practice in Georgia

Whether an NP may prescribe independently in Georgia is set by the Georgia Board of Nursing and moves by legislative session. Check it before accepting an APRN role there.

Practice environment

Staffing ratios: Georgia has no statutory nurse-to-patient ratio law. Staffing is governed by hospital policy and, where one exists, the collective bargaining agreement — so safe-staffing concerns are raised through the facility's chain of command and its staffing committee rather than through a state standard.

Right-to-work state with rapid Atlanta metro growth; projected meaningful RN shortage by 2030; restrictive NP scope-of-practice rules.

Licensure in states bordering Georgia

Florida · Alabama · Tennessee · North Carolina · South Carolina.

Related Georgia guides

Georgia RN salary data · travel nursing in Georgia · compact license map · national licensing guide.