The Kentucky Board of Nursing protects the public by enacting and enforcing state rules overseeing the legal conduct of nurses, hemodialysis technicians, and certified professional midwives.
The last ten years or so of the nineteenth and early twentieth century, which historians refer to as the Progressive Era, saw a series of innovations that increased the standard of nursing services. Among these was the effort to establish nurse registration and examination boards. Governments established these autonomous institutions to protect the public and promote nurse training, and they were tasked with enforcing the rules governing nursing practice.
In Kentucky, participants of the Association Alumnae of Trained Nurses of the United States and Canada (preceding of the American Nurses’ Association) collaborated with participants of the Kentucky State Association of Registered Nurses (prior to the Kentucky Nurses’ Association) and government officials to develop legislation, and on March 13, 1914, the Kentucky General Assembly established the Kentucky State Board of Nurse Examiners for Trained Nurses (Kentucky Board of Nursing).
Two months later, Governor McCreary named five members to the newly established Board. Their objective was to convene on a regular basis to create bylaws controlling the registration criteria for trained or graduate nurses, as well as to carry out nursing regulations authorized by the legislature. Six weeks following the initial meeting, they began reviewing applications from “nurses desirous of registering under the waiver without an examination” as required by law. Seventy-two were authorized. The Board also developed guidelines for nurse training schools and decided on the curriculum and texts to be utilized. Copies of the rules were provided to all schools in Kentucky, along with nurse training.
Nursing practice in Kentucky underwent major alterations during the 1970s. One of the most significant was the 1978 change to the Kentucky Nursing Practice Act, which extended registered nurses’ duties. It recognized advanced registered nurse practitioners (ARNPs), such as nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners, who had completed post-basic training programs and received national certification in nursing specializations. This revision also established a Nurse Practice Council to provide guidance to the Board on problems concerning advanced nursing practice. To increase licensee proficiency, obligatory continuing education for license renewal was instituted in 1982. Throughout the 1980s, the Board concentrated most of its efforts on increasing standards.
Today, the Governor appoints board members to staggered four-year terms, and they are eligible for reappointment.
In the 1980s, Kentucky had 83 nurse practitioners, 44 midwives, and 87 nurse anesthetists. In fiscal year 22-23, Kentucky employed 83,191 nurses. There were 9,197 licensed LPNs, 793 out-of-state providers, and 2,093 reinstatement and new licenses, for a total of 12,083. There were 44,252 Kentucky-licensed registered nurses and 7,116 out-of-state providers, plus 9,537 reinstatements and new licenses, for a total of 60,905. Kentucky’s licensed APRNs were 8,531, with 2,173 out-of-state providers and 1,499 reinstatements and new licenses, for a total of 12,203.
| Kentucky Board of Nursing Email | [email protected] |
| Kentucky Board of Nursing Phone Number | (502) 429-7150 |
| Kentucky Board of Nursing Address | 310 Whittington Parkway, Suite 1B, Louisville, KY 40222 |
| Kentucky Board of Nursing Portal | https://kbn.ky.gov/Pages/index.aspx |
Kentucky law maintains that “registered nursing practice” comprises the execution of tasks that require specialized expertise, judgment, and skill KRS 314.011(6), which includes:
The RN’s scope of practice does not include independent practice, ordering supplies, or prescribing treatments.
Each nurse is accountable for their actions, depending on their education and experience.
According to Kentucky Revised Statute – KRS 314.011, the scopes of practice for registered nurses (RN) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) differ. The registered nurse works independently, whereas the licensed practical nurse works dependently.
| Nursing Practice Components | RN Scope of Practice Independent Role | LPN Scope of Practice Dependent Role |
|---|---|---|
| Accepting Assignments | Accepts assignments based on personal educational preparation and experience, and performs tasks with expertise and safety. | Accepts assignments based on practice setting characteristics, including availability of RN supervision and individual proficiency. |
| Assessment | Responsible for including the following in the initial, thorough, and continuing assessments to identify nursing care needs: • Collects, checks, analyzes, and interprets data on health status. |
Identifies learning requirements and potential learning hurdles.
In Kentucky, advanced practice registered nursing (APRN) is defined under KRS 314.011 (8) as registered nurses who are licensed to perform additional duties. The scope of their practice is based on:
The legal scope of practice for APRNs includes the authority to prescribe treatments, medications, medical devices, and order diagnostic tests.
Individual licensees can assess whether a specific action or the procedure is within the scope of practice for an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) by taking into account education, registration, personal competence, practice based on evidence, and specific circumstances including the patient and the practice environment:
To practice lawfully in Kentucky, nurses must complete several qualifications. Kentucky is a participant of the Nurse Compact. Licensees whose principal home is in Kentucky are issued a multistate license, allowing them to work in other compact states such as Virginia, Missouri, and Tennessee. Some surrounding states are not participants of the agreement, therefore working there requires a separate license.
LPN applicants must attend a board-approved school. The Kentucky Nursing Board does not accept service-related credentials unless the military-based school provides state-approved nursing training; nonetheless, individuals with military histories are encouraged to inquire about advanced placement chances with individual programs.
Graduates of Kentucky programs should expect their courses to cover specific required principles. Graduates from out-of-state programs must complete them later through continuing education.
The state of Kentucky needs a degree from an authorized registered nursing school certified by the Kentucky Board of Nursing. There are three types of registered nursing programs available:
The Kentucky Board recognizes that state approval and programming accreditation are not the same thing. Attending a program approved by CCNE or NLNAC may be useful for a nurse who wishes to pursue further levels of study in the future; nevertheless, this falls beyond the purview of the licensing commission.
The Kentucky Board also certifies applicants who have graduated from schools licensed by other state boards, including those that provide instruction online.
The Kentucky Board of Nursing authorizes competent registered nurses to serve as advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) through one of the four distinct recognized titles:
To submit an application for an APRN license, nurses must have current RN licensing in Kentucky or other compact state. Aside from having a current RN license, nurses must finish a post-basic nursing training program that results in a master’s degree or post-master’s certificate from an APRN-accredited college or university.
The Kentucky Board of Nursing additionally calls for all APRNs to get national certification in an appropriate demographic emphasis. To keep your APRN license in the state, you must maintain this certification. The Board-approved national certification organizations retain their own certification requirements, which require nurses to achieve certain educational qualifications and pass a national licensing examination.
The Kentucky Board of Nursing (KBN) has implemented the recently released Optimal Regulatory Board System, or “ORBS,” a restricted, cloud-based license management system, starting March 2023. The new online nurse portal will enable applicants, licenses, and certification owners to fill out a variety of applications. These applications may be found on the Kentucky Board of Nursing Nurse Portal Dashboard by selecting Apply for License.
All address and email changes will be made after the Kentucky Board of Nursing login under Manage Profile. Name changes, as well as new forms and services, will be available on the nurse portal’s Other Applications section.
The procedure of applying for licensure via testing is identical for LPNs and RNs.
Submit your application via the Kentucky Board of Nursing Nurse Portal then pay the $125 application fee.
Initial Exam Applications remain valid for one year; however, if you fail the NCLEX twice within that span, your application will be canceled. If the conditions are not satisfied within one year, the application will be voided meaning that you will have to begin the procedure again.
A provisional license lasts for six months, except the candidate fails the NCLEX exam twice during that time, in which case it is invalidated. In this scenario, the temporary licensee must immediately discontinue practicing in an authorized nursing position.
After completing the application, take the Jurisprudence Examination. The Jurisprudence Examination cannot be accessible without a current application on file with the KBN.
Complete the Pearson Vue NCLEX Registration and then pay the $200 fee.
If you attend a Kentucky nursing program, the school will file your program completion via an Affidavit of Graduation (AOG).
If you attend an out-of-state nursing program, you have to send a verified transcript to the board. An official transcript is one that is transmitted directly from the nursing program via a clearinghouse. Transcripts can be supplied digitally via a database such as Parchment or by the nursing program via the following email address: [email protected]
If you were previously licensed in another state or U.S. jurisdiction and have not held a Kentucky license, you can apply for licensing by endorsement.
Ask that the verification of licensing be provided to the Kentucky Board of Nursing by the state in which you successfully completed the NCLEX and got your license through examination. If the state where you live is a member board, please submit your request through Nursys. If your state is not included on NURSYS, you must submit a verification of license form to a different state board and approach that board to establish fees.
If you completed your education and were licensed in one of the subsequent states, you must ask that your nursing school give KBN a copy of your transcript with your degree and completion date included.
→ California (A provisional permit will not be provided to nurses who finished a nursing program and were first registered in California until the official transcript is received.)
If you have any past convictions, these must be mentioned on your application. The only exception is traffic offenses other than DUIs.
The licenses may be granted within fourteen working days after receiving and reviewing the required papers. However, if you reply “Yes” to any disciplinary or conviction questions, your application may take up to three months to process.
If you wish to endorse an APRN license from another state or apply for your first Kentucky APRN license, use your existing Kentucky RN license or multistate, compact RN license.
Nurses must take continuing education courses throughout the licensure/renewal cycle, November 1 to October 31 each year. Renewal costs are $65 for RNs and LPNs and $55 for APRNs (per designation). The KBN acknowledges continuing education courses from KBN-approved CE providers.
The KBN accepts professional continuing education courses by providers certified by different state boards of nursing or through one of the national nursing organizations specified in 201 KAR 20:220 Section 2(5)
Any pre-licensure courses in general education or activities meant to give information relevant to the workplace, such as job-related orientation, BLS/CPR, or gear demos, are not eligible for continuing education.
In addition to the usual processes of CE approval, APRNs are permitted to use Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits for pharmacology (as long as that the credits are pharmacology-related), if the educational institution offering the course is acknowledged by their national certifying entity (e.g., AANP, ANCC, etc…).
Each year, the KBN randomly chooses nurses to undergo the Continuing Education (CE) audit, which begins on February 1 and covers their most recent renewal/earning period. The process of assessing applications and collecting remaining items will continue through the last week of May. In June, if a nurse fails to finish the audit procedure and is non-compliant with CE regulations, they are sent to the Investigative Branch for legal compliance examination.
CE Broker is the Kentucky Board of Nursing’s official CE monitoring system, and each nurse gets a Free Basic Account to digitally record, upload, and track their educational hours and documentation.
Those chosen for an audit get an email from CE Broker requesting that they report and provide documentation to demonstrate accomplishment of their continuing education obligations. As things are submitted, the paperwork is checked to ensure that they comply with KBN regulations. If approved, the audit is completed. If additional data or documentation is required, an additional email is issued asking these details.
During the 2021 audit, 78% of the nurses chosen were deemed to be in compliance with CE criteria, while 72% of those chosen for the 2022 audit passed. The 2022 CE Audit violations rate was 6% more than in 2021, with twice as many nurses failing to answer.
Kentucky Board of Nursing license renewal non-compliance with regulatory CE standards includes the following:
These nurses have to finish the necessary steps immediately and submit paperwork along with a letter explaining why the number of hours weren’t carried out during the earning period. If the evidence is approved, the KBN will send out a decree of consent for a non-willful violation, which the nurse must sign, notarize, and deliver to the KBN along with a civil penalty. Once received, the case is closed.
According to Kentucky Administrative Regulation 201 KAR 20:215, the validation of CE must contain one of the following:
Completion certificates must include the nurse’s name, program title, date of completion, contact hours granted, provider information, and who is allowed to deliver nursing CE.
Nurses must submit completion certificates and a signed Continuing Education Nursing Employment Evaluation Form from their supervisor. The form should include the employer’s name, address, and phone number, indicating satisfactory employment for at least six months.
Must be related to nursing practice. A semester or trimester hour of academic credit equals 15 contact hours, whereas a quarter hour of academic credit equals 12 contact hours. Transcripts are necessary.
Must be at least 120 hours long and have one-on-one contact with a student or employee over the earning time.
A copy of the article is required.
The amount of contact hours obtained equals double the amount of contact hours provided to presentation attendees.
Must be qualitative or quantitative in character; use research techniques to gain knowledge, resulting in improved results or behavioral changes. The submission has to incorporate a project summary.
An APRN’s certification meets the fourteen contact hours needed for RN license renewal as long as it was achieved during the licensure time, has been in force during the licensure term, or was renewed throughout the licensure period. If the above steps are completed, APRNs are not required to complete 14 contact hours of continuing education to renew their RN licensure.
All APRNs are required to complete at least five contact hours of approved pharmacology CE every licensure/earning cycle. CE certificates should show the particular pharmacological contact hours granted. To be classified as pharmacology, material must include drug-specific information, safe prescription practices, safe medication administration, prescribing methodology, new regulations, or related subjects.
Nurses who have been licensed for more than 5 years but have not practiced as nurses for 500 hours in the last 5 years must submit 120 hours of continuing education. These must be acquired within one year of the application date. (This is not applicable to fresh grads.)
In addition, within three years of acquiring a Kentucky license, the following four CEs are required:
Annual Report Data from the Investigative Branch in FY2022-23, reveals:
During the fiscal year 2022-2023, KBN received 1,671 new complaints, reinstatement petitions, and voluntary license surrender requests. Of the 1,671 cases, 496 involved licensees or applicants who had previously been convicted or disciplined in another state. During fiscal year 2022-2023, 1,409 cases were settled, including those that were unfounded and went unaddressed, as well as 15 instances handled by admission to the KARE Program.
Reprimand: Reprimands are disciplinary actions, however they may not impair the licensee’s ability to practice. They often levy a civil penalty and mandate extra ongoing education.
The Board may impose civil penalties totaling up to $10,000.
Limitation/Probation: In other circumstances, the right to practice is restricted or suspended. The licensee will continue to practice under KBN-determined conditions. Licensees may face restrictions such as limited practice areas, monitoring, and access to drugs or prescription. Probation may involve meetings with KBN officials, random drug/alcohol screenings, substance abuse treatment, and employer reports.
Voluntary Surrender: A licensee can resign their license temporarily, but it can be regained if specific requirements are satisfied, unless they sign a permanent voluntary surrender.
Suspension: The licensed nurse loses their ability to practice nursing for a set period of time. The Board’s ruling may require certain criteria for license reinstatement, such as a substance use problem, mental health, cognitive, and/or physical examination, counseling reports, random drug/alcohol screenings, and letters of reference.
Revocation: The licensee loses the right to work in the state of Kentucky. Licensees can reapply for a license following the time frame provided in the Board’s Order, unless their license is permanently revoked. Nurses must retake and pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX).
Failure to adhere with license requirements may result in suspension or denial of reinstatement. If the Board and licensee cannot resolve the complaints, a hearing may be initiated.
All KBN licenses, credentials, and certificates will now be accessible for verification via the Kentucky Board of Nursing License Verification Portal.
The Kentucky Board of Nursing license lookup for original licensure is $50. This service verifies both the legitimacy and authenticity of a person’s original license. Certificates for nursing and other disciplines cost $30. These certificates serve as certified proof of a professional’s qualifications in a certain subject.
Verification of licensure, registration, or certification status is provided at two rates:
The Kentucky Board of Nursing has deployed the Optimal Regulatory Board System, or “ORBS,” a cloud-based licensing management system, as of March 20, 2023. All KBN licenses, qualifications, and certificates may now be verified via Board of Nursing License Verification Portal.
The following specializations can be validated by the Kentucky Board of Nursing via the online verification portal:
Kentucky licensing notifications and reporting are available through Nursys, a main source equivalent provided by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Nursys e-Notify notifies institutions when your hired APRNs, RNs, or LPNs face public sanctions or warnings from their regulatory jurisdiction(s), or when their licenses expire.
Simply indicate the license type (RN and/or LPN/VN) and state you want to apply to. Nursys will transmit all verifications from all of the participating states wherever you hold a record of licensing in one simple step to that board of nursing.
The Board of Nursing License Verification Portal allows to validate Kentucky licensure and prescriptive authority. This site provides real-time updates. To perform a more precise search, choose “Search by License Number” or “Search by NCSBN ID” above. Partial name searches are OK. Once your search returns results, click View Report next to the person you’re looking for. This will provide complete information on the license, certificate, or certification.
The Kentucky Board of Nursing is a governing body that supervises nursing practice and education in Kentucky. Its responsibilities include licensing nurses and nursing assistants, establishing nursing practice standards, regulating nursing education programs, and enforcing the Nursing Practice Act against licensees who violate it.
To verify your Certified Medication Technician (CMT) status in Kentucky, go to the Kentucky Board of Nursing’s official site and use the online verification method. This system enables you to look up your license by entering your name or registration number. It gives up-to-date information on your license’s status, as well as any penalties or endorsements.
To renew a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) license in Kentucky, visit the Kentucky Board of Nursing website. The procedure usually entails connecting into your account on the Board’s license system, validating your professional and personal data, completing any necessary continuing education (CE), and submitting the renewal cost. To prevent operating with an expired license, ensure that you renew it before it expires.
The continuing education (CE) needed for renewing your license in Kentucky vary according to the kind of nursing license you hold. Registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) must complete 14 hours of continuing education (CE) each year to renew their licenses. Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) must earn additional continuing education credits pertaining to their specialist area. It is critical to check the Kentucky Board of Nursing’s website for the most recent CE requirements for your license type, since these might change.
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