How to renew your Minnesota RN registration
Minnesota RN registrations expire on the last day of your birth month, in years matching the parity of your birth year. Continuing education is not a flat 24 hours — it is one contact hour for each month of registration, so a first period can require as many as 29. There is no late renewal in Minnesota: miss midnight and you must reregister, and you cannot work until it completes.
- Cycle
- 24 months after the first, expiring last day of your birth month in a parity-matching year
- CE
- 1 contact hour per month of registration — 24 standard, 6 to 29 for a first cycle
- Mandatory topics
- None
- Fee
- $85 renewal + $4 Nursing Workforce Survey fee = $89 on time
- Late renewal
- Does not exist. Reregistration is $105, plus a penalty if you practiced
- Inactive status
- Does not exist
- Portal
- MBN Online Services
- Work out your expiration dateMinnesota RN registrations expire on the last day of your birth month, in a year matching your birth year's parity. Born in an even year, your registration lands on even years; odd year, odd years.
- Count your required hoursOne contact hour for each month of your registration period. A standard 24-month cycle needs 24 hours; a first period can need as few as 6 or as many as 29.
- Complete them inside the periodHours must be earned within the 24 months before expiration, or, for a first cycle, from the date of licensure. Hours earned earlier don't count.
- Renew in MBN Online Services and complete the Nursing Workforce SurveyThe Board cannot renew you without the survey, and it's only available during the open renewal window.
- Short on hours? Defer, don't lapseIf you have no deferral already outstanding, you can renew on time and defer the shortfall to your next participation period.
- Keep certificates two years past the renewal — don't send themDocuments are required only if you're selected for an audit.
- Save the renewed registration to TrustStore your confirmation and CE records on-device so an audit request is a two-minute task.
A terminology note: Minnesota calls this registration renewal, not license renewal — the license is permanent, the registration expires. Restoring a lapsed one is reregistration, not reinstatement. This page uses Minnesota's words and notes the common ones people search.
Requirements
The parity rule. Minn. R. 6310.2600, subp. 15: the period ends "the last day of the licensee's month of birth in an even- or odd-numbered year according to the licensee's year of birth." Born March 1988 (even) → 3/31/2026, then 3/31/2028. Born March 1991 (odd) → 3/31/2027. Two nurses hired the same day on the same unit can have expiration dates a full year apart. There is no statewide deadline, and only about half the RN workforce renews in any given calendar year. 2026 is the even-birth-year cohort.
The CE ratio, not a total. Minn. R. 6310.2800, subp. 3: "A registered nurse shall participate in the ratio of at least one contact hour of acceptable continuing education for each month of registration." A standard 24-month cycle equals 24 hours. LPNs are one hour per two months. Hours must be earned inside the participation period — the 24 months immediately before expiration, or, for a first cycle, from the date of licensure.
Contact hours: 60 minutes; minimum single activity 0.25 hour; 1 quarter academic credit equals 10 contact hours, 1 semester credit equals 15.
Three routes count: CE from providers meeting the criteria; a current national specialty certification from an organization whose standards require periodic CE or competency certification, which can satisfy the requirement outright; and professional activities — peer-reviewed publication, delivering a professional paper, service on a national panel, or research as principal or co-investigator.
Provider rules are unusually permissive. Minnesota maintains no closed provider list and does not require ANCC accreditation. An activity qualifies if it enhances the ability to practice nursing, has written learning objectives, falls inside the participation period, is taught by a qualified instructor, runs at least 0.25 contact hour, and is approved by a health licensing board or association or carries provider-identified objectives. That final "or" is why almost any objectives-bearing course qualifies.
The deferral rule — the fix almost nobody knows. Minn. R. 6310.2800, subp. 6c lets you renew on time and defer the shortfall to the next participation period, provided you have no deferral already outstanding. Deferring is vastly cheaper than lapsing. But you cannot defer twice in a row, fractions round up to a whole hour, and there is no mechanism to carry surplus hours forward.
Audit and retention: do not send certificates with your renewal — "Continuing education documents are required if you are selected for an audit." Retain records two years after the renewal in which the hours were used. Hours you cannot substantiate are automatically deferred to the next period; failing to substantiate a second time is grounds for disciplinary action. If you were already carrying deferred hours when sampled, you must substantiate everything.
The Nursing Workforce Survey is mandatory and is the real extra step. The Board cannot renew you without it, it carries its own $4 fee, and it is only available during the open renewal window.
Fees
| Fee | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| RN registration renewal | Amount: $85 | When: On time |
| Nursing Workforce Survey fee | Amount: $4 | When: Every renewal, mandatory |
| On-time total | Amount: $89 | When: |
| Late / delinquent fee | Amount: Does not exist | When: There is no late renewal in Minnesota |
| Penalty for practicing without current registration | Amount: 2× the renewal fee ($170) for any part of the first calendar month, + $85 for each subsequent month, up to $2,125 | When: From the day after expiration, only if you actually practiced. Counts calendar months, not 30-day blocks |
| Reregistration (lapsed) | Amount: $105 | When: Any lapse |
| Criminal background check | Amount: $32 | When: When more than one year has elapsed since expiration |
| Inactive status | Amount: No inactive status exists | When: |
| Replacement license document | Amount: $20 | When: |
| Public Health Nurse registration | Amount: $30 | When: Rides on the RN license; no independent renewal |
| APRN | Amount: $85 RN + $85 APRN = $170 | When: Same date |
Continuing education
Minnesota's CE requirement is a ratio, not a topic list: one contact hour per month of registration, with no mandatory subject matter. A current national specialty certification can satisfy the entire requirement outright, and professional activities like publication or research as principal investigator count too.
Shortfalls are handled through deferral rather than penalty on a first miss — see the deferral rule above — and audits are document-on-request only, never submitted with the renewal itself.
What changed this cycle
Nothing changed in Minnesota's renewal requirements — no fee, CE or cycle change took effect in 2025 or 2026. The renewal fee has been $85 and reregistration $105 with no amendment; Minn. R. 6310.2800 was last amended in 2017–18.
The one live development, and it failed: HF 1925 (94th Legislature), "Nurse Licensure Compact created," was introduced March 5, 2025 and the House Health Finance and Policy committee's motion to advance it failed 11–11 on a party-line roll call on February 18, 2026. Senate companion SF 2608 likewise did not pass. Minnesota did not join the compact. Nurses should not plan around imminent compact access.
Your first renewal after licensure
Your first registration period is not two years. It runs 6 to 29 full calendar months, starting the day of licensure and ending the last day of your birth month in a parity-matching year. The 6-month floor is why the range doesn't start at one: if the next parity-matching birth month is under six months out, you skip it and land 24 months later — which is exactly how 29 months arises.
CE is prorated, not waived. There is no first-renewal exemption. A new graduate is not excused.
A first renewal can require MORE than 24 hours. A 29-month first period requires 29 contact hours. New grads reading a national chart that says "MN: 24 hours" end up short. 6 months → 6 hours; 12 → 12; 20 → 20; 29 → 29.
CE earned before your license was issued does not count — including hours taken during a bridge program or while awaiting NCLEX results. The first participation period begins on the date of licensure.
The fee is not prorated. $85 whether your first period was 6 months or 29. Deferral is available on a first renewal too.
How to renew, step by step
- 01Work out your expiration dateMinnesota RN registrations expire on the last day of your birth month, in a year matching your birth year's parity. Born in an even year, your registration lands on even years; odd year, odd years.
- 02Count your required hoursOne contact hour for each month of your registration period. A standard 24-month cycle needs 24 hours; a first period can need as few as 6 or as many as 29.
- 03Complete them inside the periodHours must be earned within the 24 months before expiration, or, for a first cycle, from the date of licensure. Hours earned earlier don't count.
- 04Renew in MBN Online Services and complete the Nursing Workforce SurveyThe Board cannot renew you without the survey, and it's only available during the open renewal window.
- 05Short on hours? Defer, don't lapseIf you have no deferral already outstanding, you can renew on time and defer the shortfall to your next participation period.
- 06Keep certificates two years past the renewal — don't send themDocuments are required only if you're selected for an audit.
- 07Save the renewed registration to TrustStore your confirmation and CE records on-device so an audit request is a two-minute task.
If you're late
You may not practice. Minn. Stat. 148.231, subd. 4: a nurse who fails to register "shall not be entitled to practice nursing in this state."
There is no grace period and no late renewal. At midnight on the expiration date the renewal path closes and you must file for reregistration. You cannot work until the Board completes it and your license shows active on its website.
This is the most expensive misconception in Minnesota. A nurse who works two weeks past expiration owes the $105 reregistration fee plus a $170 penalty for that first calendar month, and each additional calendar month adds $85 up to a $2,125 ceiling. Because the tier counts calendar months, practicing March 31 and April 1 is two months.
Reregistration: an application plus $105, a Confirmation of Nursing Employment form completed by your employer (or, for volunteer practice, by a patient, family member or volunteer supervisor), plus a CE form if the Board requires one. You must show acceptable nursing practice within the two years immediately preceding receipt of the application.
Thresholds: more than 1 year since expiration adds a $32 background check. No practice in the past 2 years (but 5 or fewer) means make-up CE — one contact hour per month not practicing, capped at 60 hours — earned in the 24 months immediately preceding board action, plus the hours you already owed. More than 5 years without acceptable practice requires a board-approved refresher course, with a temporary permit valid up to 90 days for the clinical component only. An application left idle one year is nullified.
NCLEX retake is not part of the Minnesota reregistration path at any lapse length, and there is no outer cutoff after which reregistration becomes impossible. The refresher course is the terminal requirement. Specialty certification cannot rescue deferred hours — "Certification to meet reregistration requirements for any previously deferred contact hours is not acceptable."
Frequently asked questions
- When does my Minnesota license expire?
- The last day of your birth month, in a year matching the parity of your birth year — not one year from when you renewed, and not a statewide date.
- How many CE hours do I need?
- One contact hour per month of registration. Twenty-four for a standard cycle, but 6 to 29 for a first cycle. A 29-month first period requires 29 hours.
- Do new grads get a CE pass?
- No. Minnesota prorates but never exempts. And hours earned before your license was issued — including during a bridge program or while awaiting NCLEX results — don't count.
- I'll just pay the late fee.
- There isn't one, because there's no late renewal. At midnight the path closes and reregistration is the only route — and you cannot legally work in the meantime. Working past expiration adds a penalty starting at $170 for the first calendar month and climbing $85 per month to $2,125.
- I'm short on CE — do I have to let it lapse?
- No. You can renew on time and defer the shortfall to the next period, provided you have no deferral already outstanding. You can't defer twice in a row, and you can't carry surplus hours forward.
- Can I go inactive while I'm home with a baby?
- Minnesota has no inactive status — "There is no formal process for going inactive." You either renew, paying $85 and meeting CE whether or not you're working, or you let it expire and reregister later.
- Does my ANCC-accredited course count? Is it the only kind that does?
- It counts, and it isn't the only kind. Minnesota has no closed provider list and no accreditation mandate — an activity qualifies on written learning objectives, a qualified instructor, and being inside the participation period. A current national specialty certification can satisfy the whole requirement, and publications, professional papers, national panel service and research as principal investigator all count.
- Should I mail in my certificates?
- No — "You should not submit any continuing education documents unless you were instructed to do so." Keep them two years past the renewal you used them for. Unsubstantiated hours are automatically deferred; a second failure is a disciplinary matter.
- Is Minnesota a compact state now?
- No. The 2026 bill, HF 1925, died 11–11 in committee on February 18, 2026, and Senate companion SF 2608 likewise did not pass. A multistate compact license is not valid in Minnesota.
- I'm licensed in Wisconsin and live there — can I work in Minnesota?
- Possibly, under the Border State Registry — for nurses licensed in and residing in Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota or Wisconsin who are directly employed by a Minnesota health care institution. $50 initial, $50 per employment-change notice, reported within 10 days. It excludes agency and travel nurses, nursing faculty, and all APRNs, and must be re-established at each border-state renewal.
- I'm an APRN — one renewal or two?
- Two fees on one date: $85 RN + $85 APRN. And the Board must receive verification of your certification status directly from the certifying body — a self-uploaded copy is not sufficient.
- I never got the postcard.
- Not a defense. Notice goes to your last address on file and "constitutes official notification." Registration cards were discontinued June 1, 2012, so there is no card to wait for either.
Last verified against Minnesota Board of Nursing sources:
Changelog
Every revision to this guide, newest first. Last updated .
- Reviewed and verified requirements, fees, and deadlines against Minnesota Board of Nursing sources.
Trust tracks this renewal for you.
Birth-month, birth-year parity, a 6-to-29-hour first cycle, and no grace period at all. Trust tracks your exact Minnesota expiration date and required hour count so a missed midnight never turns into a $2,125 penalty.
Keep exploring renewals
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Moving to Minnesota, or holding a license elsewhere? See where your license lets you work.