Maryland RN licensure 2026: $100 fee, 3–5 weeks

Maryland licensure at a glance

Apply and check current fees at mbon.maryland.gov.

Maryland renewal and licensing rows checked 2026-09-26 against regs.maryland.gov, health.maryland.gov.

Maryland RN license renewal: 2 years, due by the 28th of your birth month. Continuing education for Maryland renewal: 30 CEUs in 2 years, or 1,000 practice hours in prior 5 years.

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

Maryland required CE topics, and free courses for them

Can Maryland nurses finish CE for free? Partly: 1 of the 2 required topics Maryland names for RN or LPN renewal have a free course; Implicit bias training did not.

Maryland renewal CE: 30 CEUs in the 2 years before renewal, or 1,000 practice hours in the prior 5 years, or completion of a Board-approved nursing program in the prior 5 years. Topics the Maryland board names, checked Sep 2026:

• Implicit bias training: one-time (attest at the first renewal after April 1, 2026, unless completed for a prior renewal) · RN/LPN/APRN. Source
  Must be on the MDH Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities approved list (Health-General 20-1306)
  No free course found for Maryland's version of this yet.
• Structural racism training: one-time (attest at the first renewal after April 1, 2026) · RN/LPN/APRN. Source
  Must be on the MDH Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities approved list (Health-General 20-1306)
  Courses for Maryland nurses: Understanding Structural & Institutional Racism (3 h, completely free)

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

Compact status: Compact state

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

Getting licensed in Maryland

Endorsing into Maryland runs through the Maryland Board of Nursing at $100, quoted at 3–5 weeks, with no second NCLEX. Because Maryland participates in the compact, a travel nurse holding a multistate license can start an assignment here without a separate application, which is why Maryland contracts often list short lead times.

Advanced practice in Maryland

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

Practice environment

Staffing ratios: Maryland 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.

Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland anchor a major academic-medicine corridor. CRNA figure refreshed for 2026 — prior BLS $163K was small-sample volatility, true market rate is ~$238K-$250K.

Licensure in states bordering Maryland

Virginia · West Virginia · Pennsylvania · Delaware · District of Columbia.

Related Maryland guides

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