Read the result
How to read a nursing license record
A field-by-field method for status, dates, credential lines, compact authority and public orders.
Official links for all 50 states · Independent directory
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Choose a state and credential. We’ll point you to the official record.
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NLC activeTransitionSingle-state route
Geography: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundaries via us-atlas.
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ALAlabamaAKAlaskaAZArizonaARArkansasCACaliforniaCOColoradoCTConnecticutDEDelawareFLFloridaGAGeorgiaHIHawaiiIDIdahoILIllinoisINIndianaIAIowaKSKansasKYKentuckyLALouisianaMEMaineMDMarylandMAMassachusettsMIMichiganMNMinnesotaMSMississippiMOMissouriMTMontanaNENebraskaNVNevadaNHNew HampshireNJNew JerseyNMNew MexicoNYNew YorkNCNorth CarolinaNDNorth DakotaOHOhioOKOklahomaOROregonPAPennsylvaniaRIRhode IslandSCSouth CarolinaSDSouth DakotaTNTennesseeTXTexasUTUtahVTVermontVAVirginiaWAWashingtonWVWest VirginiaWIWisconsinWYWyoming
Why the distinction matters
A lookup answers only the question it was built for.
A result can be accurate and still be the wrong document for an employer, another board, or an endorsement application.
- Public lookup
- A current view of a source record, useful for an initial status check.
- Formal verification
- A board-to-board or authorized transmission for licensing and endorsement.
- Ongoing monitoring
- Alerts about later status changes; not a substitute for the required hiring process.
Research guides
The decisions behind a reliable lookup
Finding a name is only the mechanical part. These guides explain how to choose the source, interpret the result and stop before making a claim the record cannot support.
Browse the complete guide library →Print a verification checklist →Find orders
Finding and reading discipline records
Move from a summary flag to the controlling dated document and any later modification.
Choose the owner
CNA registry vs. board of nursing
Why professional nurse and nurse aide records often live in different agencies and systems.
Why state context matters
Some searches change before you type a single character.
Agency structure and state terminology determine where the search begins. These examples show why fifty identical state pages would be actively misleading.
California · CA
Three regulators divide California nursing lookups
The Board of Registered Nursing covers RNs and advanced-practice recognition. The Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians regulates LVNs. The Department of Public Health runs the CNA program. This split makes the credential title—not merely the word “nurse”—the most important fact to establish before searching.
Open the California guide →Louisiana · LA
The practical-nurse board is not the RN board
Louisiana’s State Board of Nursing regulates registered and advanced-practice nurses. Licensed practical nurses have their own Board of Practical Nurse Examiners. Certified nurse aides fall under the Department of Health. This is one of the states where choosing the wrong board can produce a convincing but incomplete result.
Open the Louisiana guide →Kentucky · KY
In Kentucky, look for SRNA as well as CNA
The Kentucky Board of Nursing regulates RN, LPN and APRN credentials and maintains State Registered Nurse Aide verification. Someone searching only for “Kentucky CNA” may miss the state’s official SRNA language. Shared oversight still does not make an SRNA entry equivalent to a nursing license.
Open the Kentucky guide →West Virginia · WV
Three West Virginia authorities may be relevant
The RN Board regulates registered and advanced-practice nurses. A separate LPN Board regulates practical nurses. The OHFLAC nurse-aide lookup covers CNAs. Nursys can simplify the initial RN/LPN search, but agency follow-up must go to the board responsible for that credential.
Open the West Virginia guide →Correct owner
Credential-aware routing
We separate professional nursing boards from nurse-aide registries and name the authority behind each record.
Better context
State-specific judgment
Different boards, local terminology and compact transitions lead each guide—not filler written for every state.
Visible evidence
Sources you can inspect
Every guide shows the primary sources, publisher and manual review date behind its routing.