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How to look up and verify a nursing license in Georgia

Verifying a nursing license in Georgia (GA) takes two trusted sources: Nursys and the state board. Here is how, and what the result tells you.

How do I verify a nursing license in Georgia?

Look the license up on Nursys QuickConfirm, the national verification system, and confirm details with the Georgia Board of Nursing. Because Georgia is a compact state, a Georgia license can be single-state or multistate — Nursys shows which, and that difference decides whether you can practice in other states.

Last reviewed 2026-06-17

What Nursys shows

Nursys QuickConfirm reports the license type (single-state or multistate), current status, and expiration for participating boards. It is the fastest way to confirm whether a license carries compact privilege.

Checking with the Georgia Board of Nursing

For anything Nursys does not show — or to confirm official requirements — go to the Georgia Board of Nursing. The board is the authority on Georgia licensure; we do not make licensure determinations.

Could a Georgia license be multistate?

Only if it was issued or upgraded on or after January 19, 2018 — the date the Georgia Board of Nursing began issuing multistate licenses to Georgia residents. A license issued before then was single-state when granted, so a nurse holding an older Georgia license who has never upgraded will still verify as single-state no matter how long they have been licensed here.

Beyond Nursys, Georgia publishes its own primary-source lookup: Georgia Secretary of State license lookup. Where the two disagree, the issuing board controls.

What trips people up in Georgia: Georgia licenses nurses through the Secretary of State’s Licensing Division rather than a standalone board agency.

The compact statute in Georgia: Located at ARTICLE level from Georgia’s own signed legislation: SB 168 (2019) refers throughout to nurses "holding a multistate license pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 26 of Title 43". The section range inside that article is deliberately NOT claimed — the Secretary of State’s Nurse Practice Act PDF and its compact page both refuse automated access, and the General Assembly’s site did not resolve, so a section-level citation here would be inference rather than research. Note also that SB 168’s own caption states it repeals "a provision relating to the Nurse Licensure Compact"; which provision is not confirmed, so treat an older Georgia compact citation as suspect rather than authoritative — the same trap Arizona, Colorado and Utah set.

RN, LPN/LVN, and APRN

Verification works the same for RN and LPN/VN licenses. APRN authority is separate and verified per state — see APRN and the compact.

What your result means

Nursys and the Georgia Board of Nursing tell you what a license is. They do not tell you what it lets you do in another state — that is a compact question.

Covered by Nursys for participating boards.

2. What does the verification show?

Pick a result and two jurisdictions to see what it means.

This explains what a verification result means for practicing across state lines. It does not verify a license and does not decide eligibility — the board of nursing does both, and this tool points you at the right one.

Verifying a CNA in Georgia is a different system

Nursys carries RN and LPN/VN licenses only. A nurse aide searched there returns nothing, and that empty result means the wrong system rather than a missing record. Georgia nurse aide certifications are held by Georgia Medical Care Foundation — a contractor, not a Georgia agency, so the Georgia Board of Nursing cannot look them up either.

Georgia contracts its registry to a non-profit medical care foundation rather than running it in-house.

A CNA certification also carries no compact privilege — the Nurse Licensure Compact covers RN and LPN/VN only. Compare every state’s CNA registry. Operator from the Texas HHS — List of States' Nurse Aide Registries, revised 2024-04.

What usually comes next

Next-step checklist

  • Look the license up on Nursys QuickConfirm (nursys.com).
  • Note whether it reads single-state or multistate.
  • Confirm anything unclear with the Georgia Board of Nursing.
  • If it is multistate, use the checker to see where you can practice.

Frequently asked questions

Use Nursys QuickConfirm, which shows license status, type, and expiration for Georgia, or check directly with the Georgia Board of Nursing. We do not store or look up individual license records.

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