Compact status
Nurse Licensure Compact member
IN · Internationally educated nurses
Indiana RN license requirements
A researched starting point for applying to Indiana State Board of Nursing, including education review, English rules, identification requirements, background checks, and the NCLEX sequence.
Credential evaluation
The Board lists the TruMerit CGFNS exam, CES Professional Report, VisaScreen verification, or a satisfactory NACES-member assessment. Its current page should control over older Board letters that described narrower exam-path requirements.
English requirement
English competence is ordinarily evidenced within the accepted foreign credential/certification route; the current page does not publish a separate universal score table.
SSN requirement
Indiana offers a special 180-day provisional PN/RN examination license for an otherwise qualified applicant without an SSN who is seeking work authorization and has a qualifying Indiana job offer; it is not independent practice authority and must be upgraded with an SSN.
Background check
After PLA receives the application, use the emailed service code to complete the Indiana fingerprint-based criminal background check.
Education review
Foreign education must be shown comparable through an accepted route. Applicants must verify every nursing/health license held; Canadian rules are separate.
Application sequence
How to apply in Indiana
- 1
Submit the Indiana online application.
- 2
Send the accepted foreign credential evidence and all license verifications.
- 3
After PLA confirmation, complete fingerprints using the assigned service code.
- 4
Register with Pearson VUE (both state application and NCLEX registration are required).
- 5
If using the provisional no-SSN route, submit immigration number, job offer, and affidavit, then upgrade within 180 days.
Documents to prepare
- Accepted credential evidence
- All health-license verifications
- Criminal background check
- Legal name-change records
- For provisional route: A-number/USCIS evidence, Indiana offer letter, signed affidavit
Verify before paying
- • The provisional credential is not authority to practice independently or endorse elsewhere.
- • Older PDFs conflict with the broader options now displayed on the Board’s live licensing page; use the live page and confirm with PLA.
Apply through the official board
This guide helps you compare requirements; it is not the application. Check the current instructions from Indiana State Board of Nursing before ordering reports or submitting documents.
Official sources reviewed
Research checked 2026-07-22. Requirements can change.
General educational information only. The state board is the authority on licensure eligibility; immigration authorization is a separate process.