The official board
Louisiana nursing licensure is regulated by the Louisiana State Board of Nursing. That is where applications, renewals, endorsement, and official forms live. Requirements and fees are board-set and change, so we point you to the official site rather than list figures that could go stale.
Official Louisiana licensure resources
- Verify a license: Nursys QuickConfirm (national) or the board — see our Louisiana verification guide.
- Apply by endorsement: through the Louisiana State Board of Nursing — see the Louisiana endorsement guide.
- Renew a license: through the board — see the Louisiana renewal guide.
- Compact status: is Louisiana a compact state? See the Louisiana compact status page.
The law that governs this in Louisiana
Licensing a nurse in Louisiana happens under Louisiana’s own nurse practice act — the same act that defines what practice means here — administered by the Louisiana State Board of Nursing. That act is Louisiana nursing licensure law (LSBN).
The compact itself is separate law. Louisiana adopted it at La. R.S. 37:1018 to 37:1020 (Title 37, ch. 11, pt. V) — Nurse Licensure Compact, which is what allows a multistate license issued elsewhere to reach Louisiana at all — the practice act still decides what you may do once it does.
What Louisiana runs itself
Beyond the national systems, Louisiana State Board of Nursing publishes its own primary-source lookup — Louisiana State Board of Nursing licensure verification. Where a board runs its own, that is the record the board itself works from, which can matter when a national system and a board disagree or lag. How Louisiana’s route actually behaves, including what an empty result means there, is on verifying a Louisiana license.
Official vs independent
The Louisiana State Board of Nursing and Nursys are the authorities — they make decisions and hold the records. CompactStates.com explains how Louisiana licensure works and gets you to those sources quickly. We never charge for or monetize official board or Nursys links.
What the Louisiana State Board of Nursing controls
Because Louisiana is in the compact, this board does two jobs at once: it licenses Louisiana residents — including issuing multistate licenses, which it has done since July 1, 2019 — and it regulates every nurse practicing in Louisiana on another state’s multistate license. A visiting compact nurse answers to this board while working here, even though it never issued them anything.
Its authority comes from Louisiana nursing licensure law (LSBN), and its compact role from La. R.S. 37:1018 to 37:1020 (Title 37, ch. 11, pt. V) — Nurse Licensure Compact. You can read the law rather than take our word for it.
The board runs its own license lookup — Louisiana State Board of Nursing licensure verification — separate from Nursys. Where the two disagree, the board’s record controls.