Michigan Board of Nursing NCLEX: Steps, Fees and Timing

A plain-language walkthrough of the Michigan route to the NCLEX for RN and LPN candidates: board application, Pearson registration, ATT, fees, results and what to ask the board.

Who applies to the Michigan board

Applying to the nursing regulatory body (NRB) where you want to be licensed is the required first step, because it is what gives you eligibility to take the NCLEX. Each NRB has its own eligibility requirements, and NCSBN does not keep a list of them. For you, that NRB is the Michigan Board of Nursing.

RN and LPN/PN candidates

The Michigan guide lists separate requirement sets for RN and LPN, split by exam, endorsement and relicensure. The exam route leads to the NCLEX-RN for RN applicants and the NCLEX-PN for LPN applicants. The steps below follow the same order for both, and the differences are mostly in the wording about your program.

One note for PN candidates: nclex.com states that the NCLEX-PN is used for U.S. licensure only. If you hoped to use it elsewhere, ask the relevant regulator.

Graduates of programs in the US or Canada

This guide follows the exam route for graduates of nursing programs located in the United States or approved programs in Canada. The Michigan guide describes eligibility as completing an RN or LPN education program within 3 years of graduation that fits one of these categories:

1. Michigan program: the program is located in Michigan and approved by the Michigan Board of Nursing.
2. Canadian program: the program is located in Canada and accredited by the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN).
3. Program in another state: the program is accredited by ACEN, CNEA or CCNE. If it is not, the guide asks for additional documentation from the program, such as a letter signed by the director of nursing, or a letter from the state board if the program has closed.

You do not need to work out your program's status alone. Ask your school and the board to confirm that your program meets Michigan's requirements.

Where this guide stops

Graduates of nursing schools outside the United States have a different set of requirements in the Michigan guide, including credential evaluation. We do not cover those here, and this is not immigration advice. Read that section of the board's guide and contact the board directly. We also do not cover scope of practice, which is a question for the board and your employer.

The steps in order

Here is the sequence from the board's guide and nclex.com. Do them in this order, because Pearson registration alone does not make you eligible.

Step 1: Apply online through MiPLUS

Complete the online application at michigan.gov/miplus. The guide says to complete all fields, answer all questions and upload any supporting documentation. You pay the board's application fee by card at this stage (see the fee section below).

The application includes some items that surprise people:

1. Good moral character questions: if you answer "yes" to either question, the board requires documentation and an explanation.
2. Social Security number: you give it at application. If you are exempt or do not have one, an SSN affidavit form is uploaded with the application.
3. Human trafficking training: beginning January 6, 2022, a one-time training to identify victims of human trafficking is required.
4. Implicit bias training: beginning June 1, 2022, 2 hours of implicit bias training within the 5 years immediately preceding issuance of the license is required.
5. Professional education and English proficiency: you list your school and program, and show a working knowledge of English. For many US graduates this is established because the program was taught in English.

If you need testing accommodations, nclex.com says to request them with the NRB, so raise that with the Michigan board during this step.

Step 2: Criminal background check

After you submit the application, the board emails an Application Confirmation letter. That letter contains the instructions for completing the Criminal Background Check. The board's pages describe it that way and do not spell out fingerprint steps, so we will not guess at them. Follow the instructions in your letter, and contact the board if the letter does not arrive or the instructions are unclear.

Step 3: Send transcripts and complete the other requirements

Exam applicants need final, official transcripts or the Michigan Nursing School Certification Form, if applicable. These must be sent directly to the board from your nursing school and meet the board's standards. The guide gives bpldata@michigan.gov for email and the Bureau of Professional Licensing, PO Box 30670, Lansing, MI 48909 for mail.

Because the school sends the documents, check with your program office about timing. It helps to ask the school early, since a missing transcript can hold up the board's eligibility decision.

Passing score reports are different: the guide says they come to the board directly from NCSBN, so you do not forward them yourself.

Step 4: Register with Pearson and pay the exam fee

Next, register with Pearson, the testing vendor. You can register online and pay with a credit, debit or prepaid card, or call Pearson Candidate Services at 866.496.2539 and pay the same way. Payment and scheduling for the NCLEX both run through Pearson.

When you register, use the email address you want the ATT sent to and enter your name the way it appears on your identification. Nclex.com says only the first and last names need to match between your ID and your ATT, and that the address on your ID does not need to match the ATT.

If you spot a mistake after registering, nclex.com says what to do depends on whether the board has declared you eligible. If it has, contact the board to correct it, then ask Pearson for a revised ATT if needed. If it has not, report the correction to Pearson.

Step 5: Eligibility, ATT and scheduling

After the board declares you eligible and your Pearson registration is complete, Pearson emails the ATT to the address you gave. You need that email to schedule. It contains your authorization number, your candidate identification number and an expiration date.

The board specifies how long each ATT is valid. Nclex.com says the average length is 90 days, so read the dates on your own ATT. Those validity dates cannot be extended for any reason. If you do not test within them, you have to register again and pay another exam fee.

If you have registered but no ATT arrives, nclex.com suggests contacting the board to check that all materials were received, or to ask why eligibility has not been granted. If the board has made you eligible and you still have no ATT, or you lose it, call Pearson Candidate Services.

Schedule through Pearson Candidate Services online or by phone. You can test at any Pearson Professional Testing location, regardless of where you are applying for licensure, so a Michigan application does not tie you to a Michigan test center. We are adding ATT, fee and retake explainers to our more NCLEX guides as they are published.

Michigan board fees and Pearson exam fee

Two separate payments are involved: one to the board and one to Pearson. Keeping them apart makes budgeting clearer.

What the board states

The Michigan Nursing Licensing Guide and FAQs lists the application fee plus 2-year license fee as $212.90 for an RN by examination or endorsement, and $212.90 for an LPN by examination or endorsement. It must be paid by Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover, credit or debit. That is the amount as stated on the board's page when this article was written. Fees can change, so check the current figure on the guide before you pay. (Relicensure is a different, higher fee on the same page.)

What Pearson charges and the 2027 change

The Pearson registration fee depends on where you are seeking licensure, not where you live or test. For example, nclex.com says a candidate living in Canada but seeking licensure in the United States pays the U.S. fee.

Nclex.com announces a change: effective Feb. 1, 2027, the NCLEX registration fee will be $350 in the United States and Australia, and $570 (CAD) in Canada. Registrations completed before Feb. 1, 2027 are charged the current fee. The date you register determines the fee, not your exam date. We do not list the current pre-2027 amount here because the pages we relied on do not state it, so read it on nclex.com or Pearson at the time you register.

Other points from nclex.com:

1. Retakes: the same fee applies to all registrations, including retakes, based on the date registration is completed.
2. Refunds: there are no refunds of NCLEX fees for any reason.
3. Late cancellations: the fee is forfeited if you cannot cancel outside 24 business hours of your appointment or you do not keep your appointment. You would need to register again, be made eligible again by the board and receive a new ATT.
4. Other fees: nclex.com says other fees, including international scheduling and change fees, are not changing.

What to double-check

Before paying, check three things: the board's current fee on its guide, the Pearson fee in effect on your registration date, and the dates on your ATT once it arrives. We have not added up a total, because the sources do not give one and other costs such as travel depend on you.

Results, Quick Results and getting your license

Where official results come from

Nclex.com says official exam results are available only from the nursing regulatory body. Pearson and NCSBN do not provide exam results. For you, that means the Michigan Board of Nursing is the place for official results and your license decision.

Does Michigan offer Quick Results?

The NCLEX Quick Results Service gives unofficial results two business days after your exam, for a fee. It applies only to candidates seeking licensure in the U.S., and only if the NRB participates. The pages we relied on do not confirm whether Michigan participates, so check the Quick Results list on nclex.com and confirm with the board before you count on it.

What the board says about score reports

The Michigan guide says passing score reports go to the board directly from NCSBN. The FAQ section of the board's page includes questions about receiving test results, but the portion we could read does not give the timing. We will not guess at a number of days, and the same goes for when your license is issued after you pass. Read that FAQ on the board's page and ask the board for the current expected timing.

Retakes, time limits and accommodations in Michigan

How many times can you take the NCLEX in Michigan?

The board's FAQs include a question on how many times you can take the NCLEX, but the answer was not in the text we could read, so we do not state a number. Read that FAQ on the board's page and confirm with the board. Needing another attempt is common enough that boards write rules for it, and it does not say anything about your ability to become a good nurse.

What we can say from nclex.com: each exam attempt is independent, and the CAT process begins again on a new attempt. The same registration fee applies to retakes. After a missed or expired appointment you need the board to make you eligible again and a new ATT.

The 3-year window and skills competency

The Michigan guide ties eligibility to your graduation date. If you did not pass the NCLEX within 3 years after graduating, you are not eligible to repeat it until one of two things happens. The same wording appears for the NCLEX-RN and the NCLEX-PN.

1. Written certification of skills competency: you receive it from an approved nurse education program. It must cover a head-to-toe physical assessment including vital signs, medication administration, documentation, surgical asepsis and infection control, and safety including fall prevention, body mechanics and transfers. You then have 1 year after the date of the certification to pass.
2. An approved extension: the board may grant up to 6 months if the failure to sit for the exam was due to your disability, military service, absence from the continental United States, or a circumstance beyond your control that the board considers good and sufficient. You submit documentation with a valid application and proof of graduation, at least 30 days before the next board meeting.

If you are near the 3-year mark, talk to the board and your school early, because the extension request has a deadline tied to board meetings.

Testing accommodations

Nclex.com says that if you are testing with accommodations, you request them with the NRB. Start that conversation with the Michigan board when you apply, not after you register with Pearson.

Questions Michigan candidates search for

Pass rates in Michigan

The sources we relied on contain no Michigan pass-rate data, so we do not quote any. NCSBN publishes NCLEX pass-rate information on nclex.com. When you read it, keep RN and PN separate, first-time and repeat test-takers separate, and note the education cohort and reporting period. A single combined number hides a lot.

Which state is hardest for an RN license?

The sources do not rank states. What they say is that each NRB has its own eligibility requirements, which is why the board's checklist matters. The NCLEX itself is the same exam wherever you take it, and you can test at any Pearson location regardless of where you apply.

Phone, login and license lookup

MiPLUS is the portal for the application. The guide gives the Bureau of Professional Licensing mailing address as PO Box 30670, Lansing, MI 48909, and bpldata@michigan.gov for transcripts and verifications. For the board's phone number and other contact options, use the contact information on the board's page or the Membership page on nclex.com, which links every NRB's website and contact details. The Michigan guide also has FAQs on verification and renewal, so start there for those topics.

Use the wait time to study with a plan

Study for the test plan, not the state

Because the NCLEX is the same exam in every jurisdiction, your study plan does not change when you apply to Michigan. Nclex.com says the NCLEX Tutorial, Exam Preview, Candidate Bulletin and test plans are available free of charge, and they are worth reading while you wait for eligibility. NCSBN does not recommend or endorse any particular review course or study material.

Each exam follows the test plan content area percentages, and the exam is adaptive, so you cannot predict specialty-focused questions. A plan built around the test plan categories beats a plan built around topics you happen to enjoy.

Next steps

If you are on the RN track, start with our 2026 NCLEX-RN® test plan explained to see how the categories fit together. If you are on the PN track, the NCLEX-PN test plan categories, weights and study plan guide gives you the same starting point.

Pick your weakest category, study it in short sessions around shifts and coursework, and look back at what you missed rather than only at what you got right. No study tool can guarantee a result, and that includes ours.

PreceptIQ, an NCLEX® coach that studies your mistakes, is coming to iPhone and Android at preceptiq.app. It is not in the App Store or Google Play yet, and licensed nurse clinical review of the question bank is under way.

Common questions

NCLEX®, NCLEX-RN® and NCLEX-PN® are registered trademarks of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN®). PreceptIQ is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NCSBN.