Your nursing license is your key to a profession that is almost constantly in demand and that can provide you with regular and reliable employment for your entire working career. Many nurses, however, take significant breaks from the profession for various reasons. They may be exploring a different career path; taking time off to have and raise a family; going back to school; spending time caring for a loved one; or simply taking time off from nursing. Whatever the reason, if you're taking time away from working as a nurse it's important to understand what you can do if you want to keep your nursing license in place so that if you decide to return to work as a nurse you'll be able to.
The Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team understands the laws, rules, and regulations that apply to nursing licenses of all types in states all across the US. We are here to help protect your license and your ability to work as a licensed nurse if and when you decide to return to the profession. Call us at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation with one of our experienced professional licensing attorneys to learn more about how we can help.
Do I Have to Work as a Nurse to Keep My Nursing License?
Aside from any practice requirements you had to meet in order to earn your nursing license in the first place, there is generally no requirement that you actually be working as a nurse in order to keep your license once you have it. This makes sense, of course – nursing jobs, like any other job, can end for a number of reasons, many of which are out of the control of the individual nurse. Nurses, like employees in any other profession, get fired, are laid off due to business reasons that have nothing to do with the nurse's performance, and choose to leave their jobs. A requirement for nurses to work in order to keep their licenses would be impractical and would result in far fewer licensed nurses in a profession that has a constant demand for more.
The important thing to understand if you're not working as a nurse is that your obligation to maintain your license doesn't stop even though you may no longer be working as a nurse. You'll still need to renew your license when it comes up for renewal, and if your state has continuing education requirements for nurses, you'll need to meet those requirements – unless you place your license in an inactive status.
Can I Stop Working as a Nurse and Keep My License Forever?
You can stop working as a nurse without losing your license, but you'll still need to maintain your license if you want to keep it over the long term. That means you'll have to renew it when it comes up for renewal, which is typically every two years. If your state has a continuing education requirement, you will still have to complete your CE hours and be able to show your Board of Nursing (or your state's licensing entity if it's not the BON) that you've done so.
Even if your state does not require you to have continuing education credits to renew your license, you may still choose to take CE courses even if you're not working as a nurse. It can be helpful for your future employment should you decide to return to the profession to be able to show that you've been keeping current even while not working as a nurse.
What if I Don't Want to Take Continuing Education While I'm Not Working as a Nurse?
There is usually a way to keep your nursing license in reserve, so to speak, if your state requires continuing education for nurses, but you don't want to take the time or spend the money to meet the CE requirement. Most states will allow you to place your license in an “inactive” status. This frees you from having to take continuing education courses.
In New York, for example, you simply need to notify the Office of the Professions that you would like to place your nursing license in inactive status; there is no fee for this. (There is a fee to reactivate it.) In California, on the other hand, you need to renew an inactive nursing license if you want to maintain it so that you can later reactivate it. (But there is no fee to reactivate.) If you fail to pay the renewal fees, the license is considered “delinquent.”
Will I Need to Take Continuing Education if I Want to Reactivate an Inactive Nursing License?
If you place your license in an “inactive” status and later want to reactivate it, you will generally be required to take a certain number of continuing education classes and, in some cases, pass a nursing competency examination. In Connecticut, for example, if you wish to reinstate a “lapsed” or “inactive” license, you need to meet the state's reinstatement application requirements, which include a “refresher course” for nurses who have not been practicing for more than three years, and completion of the NCLEX-RN examination in addition to the refresher course if for nurses who have not been working for more than five years.
You should be prepared for what your state requires you to do to reactivate your nursing license. What you don't want to happen is to receive an attractive job offer that requires you to have an active nursing license, only to learn that you need 24 or more hours of expensive nursing continuing education or, worse, to re-take and re-pass the NCLEX examination before you can accept the offer. The Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team is here to help you with your questions about placing your nursing license in inactive status and what it will take to reactivate it if and when you decide to do so.
What Do I Need to Do to Reactivate an Inactive Nursing License?
The requirements for reactivating an inactive nursing license vary from state to state. In addition to any continuing education or testing requirements you'll be expected to meet, it's important to understand what else you'll have to do to reactivate your license if you decide not to renew it or to place it in inactive status. Depending on the state, it may take some time to process your reactivation request, and you may have to provide your state's licensing agency with more information than you would if you were simply renewing your license.
Colorado, for example, requires nurses who are applying to reactivate their licenses to submit to fingerprint and background checks and to provide the state with a number of other types of information about any work they have been doing in the nursing profession in other states and any disciplinary proceedings against them in other states.
Your nursing license is an important personal asset. If you're thinking about taking inactive status and want to make sure you will be in a position to reactivate it in the future, if you want to return to work as a nurse, contact the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team for help. We can work with you to make sure you meet any requirements your state has for nurses who want to move their licenses to an “inactive” status and that you know what you need to do in the event you decide to reactivate your license in the future.
Can I Take an “Inactive” Status to Avoid Nursing Discipline?
If you are being investigated or are in the midst of a disciplinary proceeding for alleged nursing misconduct, it may seem like one way to make the situation go away is to inactivate your nursing license. Unfortunately, that's not going to work; you won't be allowed to avoid being disciplined for nursing misconduct by taking “inactive” status. Even if you do fail to renew or inactivate your license, the disciplinary decision will stay with your license. If you later decide to reactivate your license, you will have to disclose disciplinary actions taken against you, even if they occurred after you notified your Board of Nursing that your license was inactive.
The Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team regularly represents nurses who have been accused of misconduct and are facing disciplinary investigations and proceedings as a result. If you've been accused of nursing-related misconduct and your Board of Nursing is investigating you or in the process of disciplining you, contact us for help. Running away from the problem by trying to deactivate or even giving up your nursing license is not the answer; we can tell you what your options are and can step in and defend you against misconduct allegations.
Can I Keep My Nursing License if I Retire From Nursing?
Some states will allow nurses with active licenses to change the license to a “retired” status. Where this is allowed, the retired nurse will typically be able to work as a volunteer nurse, though the scope of what they are allowed to do will usually be more limited than what a nurse with an active license can do. This can be an attractive option if you're retiring from your job but still want to be able to use your nursing skills to help others.
For example, a “retired” nurse in California is exempt from continuing education requirements. They're allowed to “provide nursing services to the public free of charge in any public health program” if supervised by a licensed nurse. The services they can provide are limited to ones they were allowed to perform under their former active license, and that they're competent to perform. That said, they can't provide services that by law require an active license.
Not every state has a “retired” status for nursing licenses or allows retired nurses to practice in any capacity as nurses. If you have questions about whether your state has a “retired” nursing license category, contact the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team for help. We'll help you understand what your state's situation is and, if you want to continue to work as a nurse after you retire, will help you understand the best way to make that happen in your state.
The Lento Law Firm Can Help You With Your Nursing License Questions
If you are considering stepping away from nursing, whether for a short period of time or for the foreseeable future, and want to know what your options are when it comes to your nursing license, contact the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team for help. We'll go over not only what your state will allow you to do with your license if you're not practicing nursing but also what the requirements are if you later decide to return to work as a nurse. Planning ahead can help you avoid the expense and hassle of, for example, having to study for, retake, and pass the NCLEX exam if your license is inactive for a certain number of years when you seek to renew it.
We can also help you if you're in the midst of a disciplinary investigation or proceeding, whether or not your interest in securing inactive status for your license has anything to do with that situation. It's important to protect yourself if you've been accused of misconduct, especially because nursing disciplinary decisions are often public and can damage your reputation even if you're no longer working as a nurse. At the Lento Law Firm, our experienced professional license defense attorneys represent nurses all across the country who are facing disciplinary investigations and proceedings, and we will fight for your rights and defend you against the misconduct allegations you're facing.
If you have questions about your nursing license or a nursing disciplinary proceeding you're facing, contact the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team today at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation with one of our experienced attorneys. Your nursing license is a valuable personal asset – let us help you protect it!