Hawaii RN licensure 2026: $140 fee, 6–10 weeks
Last reviewed: by Jayson Minagawa, BSN, RN
Hawaii licensure at a glance
| Board of nursing | Hawaii Board of Nursing |
| Endorsement fee | $140 |
| Processing time quoted | 6–10 weeks |
| Renewal cycle | 2 years, expiring June 30 of odd-numbered years |
| Continuing education | One learning activity per biennium, e.g. 30 contact hours, national certification, or 120 preceptor hours |
| Fingerprinting | Required for all new license applicants, including endorsement |
Apply and check current fees at cca.hawaii.gov/pvl/boards/nursing.
Hawaii renewal and licensing rows checked 2026-09-26 against cca.hawaii.gov (1, 2, 3).
Hawaii RN license renewal: 2 years, expiring June 30 of odd-numbered years. Continuing education for Hawaii renewal: one learning activity per biennium, e.g. 30 contact hours, national certification, or 120 preceptor hours.
Same in all 51: licensing · renewal · discipline · international · CEUs · defence.
Hawaii required CE topics, and free courses for them
Can Hawaii nurses finish CE for free? Hawaii names no required CE topic for RN or LPN renewal, so any accredited free course counts toward what Hawaii asks for.
Hawaii renewal CE: One continuing-competency learning activity per 2-year cycle (e.g. 30 contact hours, national certification, or 120 preceptor hours); APRNs with prescriptive authority: 30 CE hours including 8 in pharmacology. Topics the Hawaii board names, checked Sep 2026:
- APRN prescriptive authority pharmacology: 8 contact hours · every renewal · APRN. Source
No free course found for Hawaii's version of this yet.
Every free course, with filters: free CEUs for Hawaii nurses.
Compact status: Not a compact state
Hawaii issues no multistate license. Whatever your compact license covers, Hawaii needs its own — apply before you agree a start date. Compact map.
Getting licensed in Hawaii
Endorsing into Hawaii runs through the Hawaii Board of Nursing at $140, quoted at 6–10 weeks, with no second NCLEX. Because Hawaii is outside the compact, travel assignments here need a Hawaii license in hand before you start — build the processing time into any contract start date you agree to.
Advanced practice in Hawaii
Whether an NP may prescribe independently in Hawaii is set by the Hawaii Board of Nursing and moves by legislative session. Check it before accepting an APRN role there.
Practice environment
Staffing ratios: Hawaii 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.
Among the highest cost-of-living states; isolated labor market drives heavy travel-nurse reliance.
Common questions
Does Hawaii accept a compact nursing license?
No — Hawaii is not a Nurse Licensure Compact state, so a multistate license does not reach it. You need a Hawaii license of its own.
Endorsing a license into Hawaii: cost and wait?
$140 to the Hawaii Board of Nursing, which quotes 6–10 weeks. Nursys verifies electronically.
Who regulates Hawaii nursing?
The Hawaii Board of Nursing, at cca.hawaii.gov/pvl/boards/nursing.
Licensure in states bordering Hawaii
California · Washington · Oregon · Alaska.
Related Hawaii guides
Hawaii RN salary data · travel nursing in Hawaii · compact license map · national licensing guide.