How to Become a Nurse in California: RN, APRN & NP Licensure Requirements

Average Nursing Salaries in California

^{Salaries above – state-wide and metro-area (Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, and San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad) – were retrieved from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 reference period. No May 2025 Nurse Anesthetist figure is published for the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom or San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro areas.}

There are many paths to becoming a nurse in California. The path you take will mostly depend upon the type of nurse you’d like to become and your current or prospective level of education. The higher your level of education, the more opportunities you’ll have to choose where and how you pursue your career in nursing.

In addition to nursing salaries in California, you’ll find information on acquiring and maintaining several types of California nursing licensure. We’re constantly making updates, but with the speed of change in the healthcare sphere it’s difficult to stay current. If you have any comments or suggestions for our information on nursing in California, please email us at info@nursinglicensemap.com!

Is California a Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) State?

California is not a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) and is listed as Currently No Action among current NLC jurisdictions, as of September 2026. Because California is not a compact state, a registered nurse licensed in another state — including one with a compact multistate license — must obtain California licensure by endorsement in order to practice in California.

Who Regulates Nursing in California?

California has three pathways for nurse practitioner practice, each with different physician-involvement requirements.

1. Under the traditional pathway, a nurse practitioner practices under standardized procedures developed with a physician.
2. Under the newer “103 NP” pathway, a qualified nurse practitioner may practice without standardized procedures in specified group settings that include at least one physician and surgeon.
3. Under the “104 NP” pathway, a qualified nurse practitioner may practice without standardized procedures outside a group setting, within their national-certification population focus.

^{This reflects the California Board of Registered Nursing’s current AB 890 guidance, as of September 2026.}

Nurse-midwives furnish and order drugs, including Schedule II-V drugs, under a separate statutory pathway with its own required policies and protocols.

California Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) Requirements

Education: Master’s degree in a clinical field related to nursing, per the California Board of Registered Nursing’s Clinical Nurse Specialist certification instructions, as of September 2026.

Fees: $500 Application Fee

Experience: Applicants must have a valid verifier — someone familiar with the CNS role who has observed the applicant's advanced nursing practice — complete a clinical nurse specialist clinical experience verification form, per the same CNS certification instructions.

Additional Information: An active registered nurse license is required for application.

Renewal: For CNSs, a renewal fee of $150 is required along with renewing your RN license that ensures your certificate as a CNS endorsement is also renewed.

Learn more on how to become a clinical nurse specialist.

California Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) Requirements

Education: Completion of a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) or Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP) from a nurse anesthesia program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA). Programs are doctoral-level, and applicants may enter directly from a bachelor's degree in nursing without first earning a master's, per the California Board of Registered Nursing's Nurse Anesthetist certification instructions and COA's current accreditation standards, effective January 2026.

Examination: The National Certification Examination (NCE), administered by the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA), per NBCRNA's certification handbook.

Fees:

• $500 Application Fee

$1,310 Certification Examination Fee (NBCRNA, effective January 1, 2026)

Additional Information: An active registered nurse license is required for application.

Certification Required: Certification as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) through the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA), based on passing the National Certification Examination (NCE), per NBCRNA's certification handbook.

Renewal: For CRNAs, a renewal fee of $150 is required along with renewing your RN license that ensures your certificate as a CRNA endorsement is also renewed.

Learn more on how to become a certified registered nurse anesthetist.

California Nurse-Midwife (CNM) Requirements

Education: Completion of a Board-approved nurse-midwifery education program — many of which are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME) — or qualification through the Board's equivalency/national-certification pathway, per the California Board of Registered Nursing’s Nurse-Midwife certification instructions, as of September 2026.

Examination: For applicants using the national-certification pathway, the Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) exam is administered by the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB); other qualifying methods are set out in the same Board instructions.

Fees:

• $500 Application Fee,

$425 Certification Examination Fee (AMCB, current 2026 fee schedule)

Additional Information: An active registered nurse license is required for application.

Experience: Applicants who completed a nurse-midwife program more than one year ago and who do not hold national certification must provide proof of clinical work in the past five years.

Certification Required: National certification as a Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) through the AMCB satisfies one qualifying pathway; applicants may also qualify through the Board's other approved methods, per the Board’s Nurse-Midwife certification instructions.

Renewal: For nurse-midwives, a renewal fee of $150 is required along with renewing your RN license that ensures your certificate as a nurse midwife endorsement is also renewed.

Learn more on how to become a nurse midwife.

California Nurse Practitioner (NP) Requirements

Education: An applicable master's or higher graduate nursing degree, combined with either a Board-approved nurse practitioner education program or qualifying national certification, per current California regulation and the California Board of Registered Nursing's Nurse Practitioner certification instructions, as of September 2026.

Examination: Varies for Different Certifications

Fees: $500 Application Fee

Additional Information: An active registered nurse license is required for application.

Experience: The education requirement may be waived if applicants prove clinical competency through experience, additional experience requirements may be needed for some certifications.

Certification Required: For applicants pursuing the national-certification pathway, Nurse Practitioner certification from AANPCB, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB), the National Certification Corporation (NCC), or AACN; applicants may also qualify through a Board-approved nurse practitioner education program without national certification, per the Board’s Nurse Practitioner certification instructions.

Renewal: For nurse practitioners, a renewal fee of $150 is required along with renewing your RN license that ensures your certificate as a nurse practitioner endorsement is also renewed.

Learn more on how to become a nurse practitioner.

California Public Health Nurse (PHN) Certification Requirements

Education: A bachelor's degree or higher from a nursing education program accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) or approved by the National League for Nursing (NLN), or qualification through one of the Board's other approved education methods (including a non-nursing bachelor's degree combined with a Board-approved public health nursing program) — which must include or be supplemented with child abuse training, per the California Board of Registered Nursing’s Public Health Nurse certification instructions, as of September 2026.

Fees: $300 Application Fee

Additional Information: An active registered nurse license is required for application.

Renewal: For public health nurses, a renewal fee of $125 is required along with renewing your RN license that ensures your certificate as a public health nurse endorsement is also renewed.

Learn more on how to become a public health nurse.

California Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Certification Requirements

Education: Master’s degree in psychiatric/mental health nursing, per the California Board of Registered Nursing’s P/MH Nurse certification instructions, as of September 2026.

Experience: Two years of supervised clinical experience in psychiatric/mental health nursing, verified either directly or through current ANCC certification as a Clinical Specialist in Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing (an alternative method of verifying the experience criterion, not a separate exam requirement).

^{These master’s-degree and experience requirements reflect the California Board of Registered Nursing’s current P/MH Nurse certification instructions, as of September 2026.}

Fees: $350 Application Fee

Additional Information: An active registered nurse license is required for application.

Renewal: PMH certificates are automatically renewed in conjunction with an RN license; there is no additional fee or continuing education required, per the Board's License/Certificate Renewal instructions.

Learn more on how to become a psychiatric and mental health nurse.

Registered Nurse (RN) Requirements in California

Education: Completion of an educational program meeting all California requirements, per the California Board of Registered Nursing’s Licensure by Examination instructions.

Examination: NCLEX-RN, per the same Board instructions.

Fees:

• $300 Application Fee by Examination – California Graduate
• $350 Application Fee by Examination – Out of State Graduate

Renewal: Registered nurses must complete 30 contact hours from board-approved continuing education providers per renewal period, per the Board’s License Renewal instructions. Renewal fees are $190.

Endorsement: Individuals licensed as registered nurses in other states may apply for licensure through endorsement. To qualify for endorsement, applicants must have completed an educational program meeting all California requirements, have passed the national council licensure examination (NCLEX-RN) or the state board test pool examination, and must pay an application fee and fingerprinting fee. Applicants may opt for on-site live scan fingerprinting, in which case fees will vary, per the California Board of Registered Nursing’s Licensure by Endorsement instructions, as of September 2026.

Learn more on how to become a registered nurse.

Information Disclosures:

^{Application, education, and scope-of-practice requirements above were retrieved from the California Board of Registered Nursing’s Applicants and Practice pages, as of September 2026.}

^{California Board of Registered Nursing fees (application, furnishing-number, and renewal fees, including the $400 nurse-midwife and nurse-practitioner furnishing-number fees and the $350 PMH application fee) were confirmed current against the Board's fee schedule as of September 2026.}

^{The CRNA and nurse-midwife national certification examination fees are set separately by NBCRNA and AMCB, respectively, not by the California Board of Registered Nursing, and were confirmed current against each certifying body’s own published fee schedule as of September 2026.}