Nursing license lookup by state

Ben Argeband, Founder & CEO of Heartbeat.ai — Directory-first, low-risk.

If you recruit nurses, the friction isn’t “how do I search?” It’s that every state portal behaves differently: different filters, different status labels, different update timing. That creates rework right when you’re trying to move a candidate from interest to submittal. This hub gives you an official starting-point directory plus a repeatable verification log so your team can confirm license status for RN, LPN, and APRN without guesswork.

Who this is for

Recruiters verifying nurses/APRNs before outreach or internal credentialing review. Use this when you need to confirm a candidate’s state license record quickly, document what you saw, and hand it off cleanly to ops or credentialing support.

• Agency recruiters moving fast and trying to avoid wrong-person errors.
• In-house TA teams validating eligibility before scheduling.
• Ops/credentialing support who need consistent notes and timestamps.

Quick Answer

Core Answer

Use the candidate’s state license verification portal, verify identity and license status, then log the same fields every time so the verification is reusable.

Key Insight

Nursing licenses are managed by state Boards of Nursing or designated licensing agencies; portals and status labels differ, so standardize your workflow and logging.

Best For

Recruiters verifying nurses/APRNs before outreach or internal credentialing review.

Compliance & Safety

This method is for legitimate recruiting outreach only. Always respect candidate privacy, opt-out requests, and local data laws. Heartbeat does not provide medical advice or legal counsel.

On this page:

• Framework
• Step-by-step method
• Directory
• Common pitfalls
• How to improve results
• Legal and ethical use
• Evidence and trust notes
• FAQs
• Next steps

Framework: The “Same Workflow, Different Board” Pattern: find board → verify → log

1. Find board: Start from an official source and land on the correct state license verification portal (Board of Nursing or designated licensing agency).
2. Verify: Match the person (not just the name) and confirm the board record (the public license verification entry shown by the state portal).
3. Log: Capture a consistent set of fields so anyone can reuse the verification without re-checking.

The trade-off is… you spend a little extra time logging cleanly, but you stop paying the “recheck tax” later when a manager asks for proof or a portal label is ambiguous.

Step-by-step method

Step 1: Confirm the state and license type you’re verifying

• State: where the license is issued (not just where the nurse lives today).
• License type: RN, LPN, or APRN (and specialty/role if the portal displays it).
• Name variants: maiden name, hyphenation, middle initial.

Step 2: Go to the official state license verification portal

Use the directory table below to get to the official state lookup. If you have a license number, use it. If you only have a name, narrow with whatever the portal supports (city, ZIP, credential type).

Quick official-site check:

• Prefer the state Board of Nursing site or the state’s licensing department site (as listed by the state).
• Avoid paywalled directories for verification; they can be stale or incomplete.
• Log the exact URL you used (BON_URL) so the verification is auditable.

Operational rule: “No results” is not a conclusion. It often means wrong state, wrong license type, or a name mismatch.

Step 3: Verify identity before you trust the record

Common names create wrong-person errors. Require at least two matching points (for example: full name + city, or full name + license type). If the portal shows multiple matches, open each record until you can confidently match.

Step 4: Capture license status exactly as the portal shows it

License status definition (required): license status is the board-reported standing of a license (for example, active, inactive, expired, lapsed, suspended, revoked) as displayed in the state record at the time you checked.

• Record the exact status label shown (don’t translate it into your own words).
• Capture effective/expiration dates if displayed.
• If the portal displays discipline/actions, log what is shown and escalate internally for review.

Step 5: Log the verification in a reusable format

Copy/paste this into your ATS note or CRM activity so the next person doesn’t have to redo the lookup:

• BON_STATE: [State]
• BON_URL: [Official record/lookup URL]
• SEARCH_INPUTS: [Name variant used, license # if used, filters]
• LICENSE_TYPE: [RN/LPN/APRN]
• MATCH_POINTS: [City/credential/other identifiers used to match]
• STATUS_LABEL: [Exact portal wording]
• STATUS_DATES: [Effective/expiration dates if shown]
• DISCIPLINE_FLAG: [Yes/No; portal wording if Yes]
• VERIFIED_AT: [Date/time]
• VERIFIED_BY: [Initials]

Step 6: Decide the next action in your recruiting workflow

• If the record is clear: proceed to outreach or submission and keep the verification note attached.
• If identity is unclear: request clarification from the candidate (don’t guess).
• If the record is ambiguous: escalate to ops/credentialing with your logged fields and the portal link.

Diagnostic Table:

Use this to troubleshoot failed lookups and prevent wrong-person verification.

Weighted Checklist:

Score your verification quality before you move a candidate forward. This keeps speed without sloppy documentation.

• 40% Identity match quality
  • At least two match points recorded (MATCH_POINTS)
  • Duplicates resolved and documented
• 35% License record captured
  • LICENSE_TYPE recorded (RN/LPN/APRN)
  • STATUS_LABEL captured exactly as shown
  • STATUS_DATES captured if shown
• 15% Audit trail
  • BON_URL saved
  • VERIFIED_AT and VERIFIED_BY filled
• 10% Handoff readiness
  • DISCIPLINE_FLAG noted (Yes/No)
  • One-line summary added for ops/credentialing

Outreach Templates:

Template 1: Candidate clarification (identity match)

Subject: Quick license verification question

Hi [First Name] — I’m verifying your state license record before we proceed. Which state is your current license in, and is it under any other last name (e.g., maiden name)?

Thanks, [Your Name]

Template 2: Candidate confirmation (license type)

Subject: Confirming license type for next steps

Hi [First Name] — to line up the right roles, can you confirm your license type in [State]: RN, LPN, or APRN (and specialty if applicable)?

— [Your Name]

Template 3: Internal handoff to ops/credentialing

Subject: License verification logged — please review

Candidate: [Name]. BON_STATE: [State]. LICENSE_TYPE: [RN/LPN/APRN]. STATUS_LABEL: [Exact label]. VERIFIED_AT: [Date/Time]. BON_URL: [URL]. DISCIPLINE_FLAG: [Yes/No + portal wording if Yes].

Directory: official state license verification starting points

Uniqueness hook (DIRECTORY_TABLE): This table is your starting-point index. Paste the state link into your ATS note as BON_URL, then log the standard fields so the next verification is faster and consistent.

Fields to capture (short form): BON_STATE, BON_URL, SEARCH_INPUTS, LICENSE_TYPE (RN/LPN/APRN), MATCH_POINTS, STATUS_LABEL, STATUS_DATES, DISCIPLINE_FLAG, VERIFIED_AT, VERIFIED_BY.

Common pitfalls

• Landing on third-party directories. They can be stale or incomplete. Use official state portals and log the BON_URL you used.
• Wrong-person verification. If you can’t match identity with at least two points, don’t mark it verified.
• Overwriting portal wording. Your notes should preserve the exact STATUS_LABEL so ops can interpret it correctly.
• Missing timestamps. Without VERIFIED_AT, your verification note loses operational value.
• Mixing up agencies. Some states run verification through a broader licensing department portal (for example, Florida MQA, NYSED). Log the agency name shown.

How to improve results

Speed comes from fewer rechecks and fewer wrong-person errors. Improve inputs, logging, and re-verification discipline.

1) Standardize what you ask candidates for

• State(s) of licensure
• License type (RN/LPN/APRN)
• Any prior last names
• License number (if they have it handy)

2) Make verification notes reusable across the team

Use the short-form fields exactly as written (BON_STATE, BON_URL, SEARCH_INPUTS, etc.). Consistency is what makes the next check faster.

3) Measurement instructions (required)

Measure this by… tracking rework and ambiguity, not just “time spent.” Track these as ATS tags or a simple spreadsheet keyed by BON_STATE and VERIFIED_AT, with a recheck flag.

• Verification Recheck Rate = rechecks required / total verifications (per 100 verifications). Lower is better.
• Identity Ambiguity Rate = verifications needing candidate clarification / total verifications (per 100 verifications). Use it to decide when to request license numbers earlier.
• Time-to-Verified = time from “verification needed” to “verification logged” (median). Use it to spot portal bottlenecks and staffing gaps.

Legal and ethical use

Use this hub to verify publicly available board records for legitimate recruiting operations.

• Respect opt-out requests and do-not-contact preferences.
• Collect only what you need to match identity and document the board record.
• Do not treat this as a credentialing decision or a guarantee. Escalate unclear cases to your internal ops/credentialing process.

Evidence and trust notes

For an official directory starting point and board context, use NCSBN. The state Board of Nursing (or the state’s designated licensing agency) is the source of truth for the record you verify. For how Heartbeat evaluates data quality and sourcing practices, review our trust methodology.

FAQs

What is a Board of Nursing lookup?

A Board of Nursing lookup is the state-run search tool that shows a nurse’s public license verification entry, including license type (RN/LPN/APRN) and license status as published by that state.

What should I log from a nursing license verification?

Log BON_URL, SEARCH_INPUTS, MATCH_POINTS, LICENSE_TYPE, the exact STATUS_LABEL, any STATUS_DATES shown, DISCIPLINE_FLAG, and VERIFIED_AT/VERIFIED_BY.

Why do nursing license searches differ by state?

Each state Board of Nursing operates its own system (or uses a state licensing department portal) and chooses its own search fields, status labels, and publication rules.

Can I use this for RN, LPN, and APRN?

Yes. Always record which license type you verified (RN/LPN/APRN) and don’t assume one type implies another.

Next steps

• Adopt the short-form logging fields as an ATS note template for every verification.
• Use the broader hub for other professions: state license lookups directory.
• If you’re building nurse pipelines and need contact workflows that fit recruiting speed, see: nurse practitioner contact data for recruiting.
• When you’re ready to operationalize sourcing + verification together, start free search & preview data.

Required entities used: Heartbeat.ai, Board of Nursing, RN, LPN, APRN, license status.

About the Author

Ben Argeband is the Founder and CEO of Swordfish.ai and Heartbeat.ai. With deep expertise in data and SaaS, he has built two successful platforms trusted by over 50,000 sales and recruitment professionals. Ben’s mission is to help teams find direct contact information for hard-to-reach professionals and decision-makers, providing the shortest route to their next win. Connect with Ben on LinkedIn.