Rhode Island RN licensure 2026: $135 fee, 4–6 weeks
Last reviewed: by Jayson Minagawa, BSN, RN
Rhode Island licensure at a glance
| Board of nursing | Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration |
| Endorsement fee | $135 |
| Processing time quoted | 4–6 weeks |
| Renewal cycle | 2 years, expiring March 1 |
| Continuing education | 10 contact hours per 2-year cycle |
| Fingerprinting | Required for licensure by endorsement (national check via BCI, FBI fingerprints) |
Apply and check current fees at health.ri.gov/licenses.
Rhode Island renewal and licensing rows checked 2026-09-26 against rules.sos.ri.gov.
Rhode Island RN license renewal: 2 years, expiring March 1. Continuing education for Rhode Island renewal: 10 contact hours per 2-year cycle.
Same in all 51: licensing · renewal · discipline · international · CEUs · defence.
Rhode Island required CE topics, and free courses for them
Can Rhode Island nurses finish CE for free? Rhode Island names no required CE topic for RN or LPN renewal, so any accredited free course counts toward what Rhode Island asks for.
Rhode Island renewal CE: 10 contact hours every 2 years. Topics the Rhode Island board names, checked Sep 2026:
- Schedule II opioid prescriber training: 8 contact hours · one-time (before controlled substance registration renewal or within two years, whichever is longer) · APRN. Source
Category 1 continuing medical education, per the rule text
No free course found for Rhode Island's version of this yet.
Every free course, with filters: free CEUs for Rhode Island nurses.
Compact status: Not a compact state
Rhode Island issues no multistate license. Whatever your compact license covers, Rhode Island needs its own — apply before you agree a start date. Compact map.
Getting licensed in Rhode Island
Endorsing into Rhode Island runs through the Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration at $135, quoted at 4–6 weeks, with no second NCLEX. Because Rhode Island is outside the compact, travel assignments here need a Rhode Island license in hand before you start — build the processing time into any contract start date you agree to.
Advanced practice in Rhode Island
Whether an NP may prescribe independently in Rhode Island is set by the Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and moves by legislative session. Check it before accepting an APRN role there.
Practice environment
Staffing ratios: Rhode Island 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.
Lifespan and Care New England dominate a small market; mandated staffing committees and Brown-affiliated academic medicine. CRNA refreshed for 2026 — prior BLS small-sample undercount fixed.
Common questions
Does Rhode Island accept a compact nursing license?
No — Rhode Island is not a Nurse Licensure Compact state, so a multistate license does not reach it. You need a Rhode Island license of its own.
Endorsing a license into Rhode Island: cost and wait?
$135 to the Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration, which quotes 4–6 weeks. Nursys verifies electronically.
Who regulates Rhode Island nursing?
The Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration, at health.ri.gov/licenses/detail.php?id=231.
Licensure in states bordering Rhode Island
Related Rhode Island guides
Rhode Island RN salary data · travel nursing in Rhode Island · compact license map · national licensing guide.