The official board
West Virginia nursing licensure is regulated by the West Virginia RN Board / LPN Board. 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 West Virginia licensure resources
- Verify a license: Nursys QuickConfirm (national) or the board — see our West Virginia verification guide.
- Apply by endorsement: through the West Virginia RN Board / LPN Board — see the West Virginia endorsement guide.
- Renew a license: through the board — see the West Virginia renewal guide.
- Compact status: is West Virginia a compact state? See the West Virginia compact status page.
The law that governs this in West Virginia
Licensing a nurse in West Virginia happens under West Virginia’s own nurse practice act — the same act that defines what practice means here — administered by the West Virginia RN Board / LPN Board. That act is W. Va. Code art. 30-7 (registered nurses); art. 30-7A (licensed practical nurses).
The compact itself is separate law. West Virginia adopted it at W. Va. Code art. 30-7F (Nurse Licensure Compact), which is what allows a multistate license issued elsewhere to reach West Virginia at all — the practice act still decides what you may do once it does.
What West Virginia runs itself
Beyond the national systems, West Virginia RN Board / LPN Board publishes its own primary-source lookup — WV RN Board (registered nurses). 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 West Virginia’s route actually behaves, including what an empty result means there, is on verifying a West Virginia license.
Official vs independent
The West Virginia RN Board / LPN Board and Nursys are the authorities — they make decisions and hold the records. CompactStates.com explains how West Virginia licensure works and gets you to those sources quickly. We never charge for or monetize official board or Nursys links.
What the West Virginia RN Board / LPN Board controls
Because West Virginia is in the compact, this board does two jobs at once: it licenses West Virginia residents — including issuing multistate licenses, which it has done since January 19, 2018 — and it regulates every nurse practicing in West Virginia 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 W. Va. Code art. 30-7 (registered nurses); art. 30-7A (licensed practical nurses), and its compact role from W. Va. Code art. 30-7F (Nurse Licensure Compact). You can read the law rather than take our word for it.
The board runs its own license lookup — WV RN Board (registered nurses) — separate from Nursys. Where the two disagree, the board’s record controls.