Minnesota RN licensure 2026: $105 fee, TBD

Minnesota licensure at a glance

Apply and check current fees at mn.gov/boards/nursing.

Minnesota renewal and licensing rows checked 2026-09-26 against revisor.mn.gov (1, 2, 3).

Minnesota RN license renewal: 2 years, ending last day of birth month. Continuing education for Minnesota renewal: 24 contact hours per 24-month cycle (1 per month).

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

Minnesota required CE topics, and free courses for them

Minnesota names no specific CE topic for RN renewal that we could confirm from the board. Minnesota renewal CE: RN: 24 contact hours per 24-month registration period (1 per month); LPN: 12 contact hours (1 per two months). Any accredited course in the free CEU directory counts.

Compact status: Not a compact state

Minnesota issues no multistate license. Whatever your compact license covers, Minnesota needs its own — apply before you agree a start date. Compact map.

Minnesota and the Nurse Licensure Compact

Minnesota has not enacted the Nurse Licensure Compact. Compact bills have been introduced in the Minnesota legislature, but none has passed as of September 2026. Joining takes two steps: the legislature passes the compact, then the Board of Nursing completes NCSBN implementation, which has taken a year or more in recently joined states. Until both happen, compact privileges do not apply in either direction: an out-of-state multistate license does not let you practice in Minnesota, and a Minnesota license carries no multistate privilege. Of the states outside the compact, only Massachusetts has enacted it and is working through implementation; Michigan and New York, like Minnesota, have bills but no law. Watch the NCSBN member states page and the Minnesota Board of Nursing website for official activation announcements.

Minnesota Endorsement: What to Do Right Now

Because Minnesota is not a compact state, every nurse who wants to practice in Minnesota needs a standalone Minnesota RN license — regardless of whether they hold a compact license from another state. The Minnesota Board of Nursing endorsement process: apply online at mn.gov/boards/nursing ($105 fee), complete the required criminal background check (fingerprint-based, approximately $44–$60 additional), submit license verification from your home state through Nursys or paper verification, and allow 4–8 weeks for processing. Online applications are processed faster than paper submissions. Submit all documentation simultaneously to avoid queue delays. The MN BON phone line is (612) 317-3000. Budget $150–$170 total including background check. The $105 fee is among the lower endorsement costs in the Midwest, and Minnesota endorsement is typically worth obtaining for nurses planning any Upper Midwest travel run — the Mayo Clinic, M Health Fairview, Allina Health, and HealthPartners all run travel contracts year-round and pay competitive rates.

Travel Nursing in Minnesota Without a Compact License

Minnesota is home to one of the most significant healthcare ecosystems in the United States. Mayo Clinic in Rochester is the world's largest integrated non-profit medical group practice, drawing patients from every state and country. The Twin Cities (Minneapolis–Saint Paul) anchor M Health Fairview, Allina Health, HealthPartners, and Children's Minnesota — a dense market of academic, community, and specialty hospitals. The University of Minnesota Medical Center is a major academic employer with Level I trauma, transplant, and specialized oncology programs. Travel demand in Minnesota is driven by a combination of the state's aging population (one of the country's fastest-growing over-65 demographics), limited local nursing pipeline relative to patient volume, and the geographic remoteness of the Iron Range and northern communities. ICU, OR, and specialty contracts in the Twin Cities run $2,000–$2,800/week total compensation. Mayo Clinic specialty contracts — particularly in cardiac, transplant, and oncology — frequently run higher. If Minnesota ever joins the compact, it would become a tier-one travel market for compact-state nurses who could start without a 4–8 week wait. Until then, the endorsement queue is felt most at smaller regional hospitals outside the Twin Cities, which struggle to license travel staff quickly.

Getting licensed in Minnesota

Endorsing into Minnesota runs through the Minnesota Board of Nursing at $105, quoted at TBD, with no second NCLEX. Because Minnesota is outside the compact, travel assignments here need a Minnesota license in hand before you start — build the processing time into any contract start date you agree to.

Advanced practice in Minnesota

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

Practice environment

Staffing ratios: Minnesota 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.

Strong MNA union (large 2022 strike); Mayo Clinic anchor. 2025 update: MNA ratified 10% over 3 years (Twin Cities), 9.75% (Duluth). Allina, M Health Fairview, Essentia, Aspirus all settled July 2025.

Licensure in states bordering Minnesota

Wisconsin · Iowa · South Dakota · North Dakota.

Related Minnesota guides

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