Question about expiration date on RN License

noahsmama · Aug 28, 2011

Do you live in California? Is your birthday in September?

In CA, the first renewal is not 2 years after the license is issued. If they did it that way, there would be a big cluster of licenses that would expire in July and August (for May/June nursing school grads), and a smaller cluster in Feb/March for December grads.

Instead, they have a system to stagger the renewal dates. They base the first renewal on your birthday. Your first renewal is two birthdays plus a month past the issuance date. So, for a September birthday, if your license is issued in August 2011, one birthday is Sept. 2011, the second birthday is September 2012, and the month after that is October 2012.

After the first renewal, each subsequent renewal is every two years, so you will always renew in October.

Hope that helps!

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Aug 28, 2011

In my state, your license expires either on odd years or even. So I graduated in 1996, and my license renewal is due on odd years, so my initial license was only good for a little over a year. Others, whose license expires on even years, got two years out of their first license. Once I renewed that first license, I have had two years between every renewal. Your state may do something similar.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Aug 28, 2011

In Illinois, it's even years. :) The end of May, all RNs do their renewals..

NurseKatie08, MSN · Aug 28, 2011

Must vary by states. In Massachusetts RNs renew on even years, LPNs on odd. I received my license in July 2008, renewed for the first time in January 2010 (birthday in January), so only about 1.5 years after I got it.

PolaskyRN · Aug 28, 2011

Hello,
I took my state board exam a few days ago and passed. Today, I received my nursing license but I noticed that the expiration date is october 2012. However, Most of my friends/classmates that took it this summer have an expiration date of 2013. I did find out that one of my friends who recently obtained her license, her expiration date is also 2012 like mines. I was under the impression that the RN license is valid for 2 years.
Do you know the reason that some people have 2year expiration period on their license? and some people like myself license expires next year?

I recently took my board exam and passed in June. My license says Exp: 11/12 and I wondered why too. Its because my bday is not until October. Unless your bday has passed the license will expire the month after your bday of the following year. Then it will be every 2 years after that. I thought I was getting jipped!

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Aug 28, 2011

I think that many states stagger the expiration dates of initial licenses so they spread the renewals more evenly. I don't know what criteria they use to determine the expiration date though. When my classmates and I got our licenses, some of us only had 1 year licenses while the rest had 2 year licenses. But after that initial license, every renewal is 2 years.

David13, MSN, RN · Aug 28, 2011

Many states stagger the dates for professional license renewals.

If your particular renewal is initially less than the normal extension period, they should be adjusting the licensing fee accordingly.

jerseysure · Aug 28, 2011

Hey everyone. I need some answers.

I passed the NCLEX RN 3 days ago and saw on the Maryland BON website :

My name, license number , issuance date : 8/26/2011 , exp date : 5/26/2012

Was wondering why they gave me a 9-month validity. Does anyone know why? Do they base it on my birthday (5/15). I emailed MD BON. Hope I get some opinons here too.

merlee · Aug 28, 2011

Every state has their own system. Contact you own BON for information. I am certain they have a website.

In Indiana, all RNs renew in odd years, by the end of October.

Isabelle49 · Aug 28, 2011

In Louisiana all RN licenses expire Jan 31, of the following year.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 28, 2011

In Texas, the year of your renewal is based on your birth month and year.

I was born in an odd-numbered year (1981), so my nursing licensure will always renew during odd-numbered years (2011, 2013, 2015, etc.). My friend was born during an even-numbered year (1976), so her license must be renewed during even-numbered years (2012, 2014, etc.).

Since I was born in February, my license always renews on the last day of February during all odd-numbered years. My friend was born in January, and her license renews on the last day of January in all even-numbered years.