The renewal window for registered nurse (RN) and advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) licenses issued by the Ohio Board of Nursing (Board) opened on July 1, 2021.  The final deadline for renewal is Oct. 31, 2021. Renewal is completed online using the Ohio eLicense system.

If you do not file a complete renewal application and/or pay the required fee by Oct. 31, 2021, your license will lapse. An RN or APRN in Ohio whose license has lapsed is not authorized to work as a nurse until their nursing license is reinstated by the Board. It is a disciplinable offense to engage in the practice of nursing on a lapsed nursing license.

Additional information may be required. The renewal application includes but is not limited to questions concerning criminal, licensure, mental health and alcohol/drugs matters. All information provided in the renewal application is required to be true and accurate. Depending on the response given to certain questions in the renewal application, uploading an explanation and certified copies of certain specific documents may also be required. If you are required to provide any additional documentation as part of your renewal application, the documents must be uploaded through the online system. No hard copies of documents will be accepted.

In certain cases, the renewal application may be forwarded to the Board’s Compliance Unit for review and a Board investigator may contact the nurse to obtain additional information. In other cases, a Consent Agreement may be offered to the nurse to resolve a disciplinable offense instead of preceding to an administrative hearing.

If you do not understand a question in your renewal application or do not know what additional information to upload with your renewal application, it is recommended to obtain experienced legal counsel to assist you before submitting your renewal application, speaking with any Board investigator, or signing a Consent Agreement.

For additional information visit: https://nursing.ohio.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Website-renewal-2021-July.pdf

If you have questions about this post or the Ohio Board of Nursing, contact Todd Collis at (614) 628-6962, or Beth Collis at (614) 628-6945.