How to Become a Registered Nurse (RN)

How to Become a Registered Nurse (RN)

Becoming a Registered Nurse means choosing between two main educational routes, passing a national licensing exam, and getting licensed in your state. Here’s how the process breaks down.

Requirements vary by state. Always confirm current details with your state’s board of nursing before enrolling in a program.

Step 1: Choose your education path

There are two main routes to becoming an RN:

• Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) -typically a two-year program at a community college. This is usually the fastest route to RN licensure.
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) -a four-year degree, increasingly preferred (and sometimes required) by hospitals, especially larger or more specialized ones.

There’s also a smaller, older category: hospital diploma programs, run directly by some hospital-affiliated nursing schools rather than a college.

If you already hold a bachelor’s degree in an unrelated field, an Accelerated BSN program can compress the nursing-specific coursework into about 12–18 months. See our Nursing Degree Types guide for a full breakdown of these options.

Step 2: Complete your program

Whichever path you choose, expect a combination of classroom coursework (anatomy, pharmacology, patient care principles) and supervised clinical hours in real healthcare settings, working with actual patients under the guidance of licensed nurses and faculty.

Step 3: Pass the NCLEX-RN

After graduating, you’ll need to pass the NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses), a standardized, computer-adaptive exam that tests your readiness to practice safely as an entry-level RN.

Step 4: Get licensed in your state

Passing the NCLEX-RN is necessary but not sufficient on its own; you also need to apply for and receive licensure from your specific state’s board of nursing, which may include a background check and other state-specific requirements.

Where RNs work

Hospitals are the most common setting, but RNs also work in outpatient clinics, schools, home health, long-term care, public health departments, and many other settings, across a wide range of specialties from emergency care to pediatrics to oncology.

What comes next

Many RNs go on to specialize, move into leadership roles, or pursue graduate education toward advanced practice roles like nurse practitioner or nurse anesthetist. If you started with an ADN, you might also consider an RN-to-BSN bridge program down the road.

This guide is for general informational purposes and doesn’t guarantee program admission, licensure, or employment. Confirm current requirements with your state’s board of nursing.