Pennsylvania Board of Nursing NCLEX: Steps for RN and PN

A plain, ordered guide for RN and PN graduates: apply in PALS, register with Pearson VUE, wait for your ATT, then test. Includes fees from nclex.com and what to confirm with the board.

Who applies to the Pennsylvania board

New graduates versus endorsement applicants

The board's application page lists a New Graduate application for new graduate nurses applying for the NCLEX and/or a Graduate Temporary Practice Permit. A separate Endorsement application is for people who already hold a nursing license in another state, jurisdiction or country and want a Pennsylvania license. If you are already licensed elsewhere, ask the board which path fits you rather than guessing.

Where the application lives: PALS

The application is completed online through PALS at www.pals.pa.gov. That same account is where you log in afterward, so use an email address you check often and keep your login details somewhere safe.

The NCLEX FAQ explains why you cannot shop around: each nursing regulatory body sets its own eligibility requirements, NCSBN does not keep a list of them, and your application must come from the board in the place where you want to be licensed. This guide does not list Pennsylvania's eligibility criteria because the pages we reviewed do not spell them out. Check the board's Nursing Licensure Guide and the application checklist inside PALS.

The order of steps

The NCLEX FAQ says you must complete two separate processes: apply to the board and pay its licensing fee, and register with Pearson and pay the exam fee. Neither one replaces the other. Our NCLEX guides go deeper on the ATT, fees and retakes, so this section stays on the order.

Step 1: review the board's Nursing Licensure Guide

The board lists a Nursing Licensure Guide among its resources. Read it before you start, and look for the application checklist so you know which documents you need. Starting early matters because a missing item can leave you without an eligibility decision.

Step 2: register with Pearson VUE

You can register online or by phone with Pearson Candidate Services at 866.496.2539. Either way you pay the exam fee with a credit, debit or prepaid card. The fee schedule names VISA, MasterCard and American Express.

Use the same name and email you gave the board, and use an email you can access. Your ATT will go to the address you give Pearson. If you do not get confirmation of your registration within two days, contact Pearson Candidate Services before submitting a second registration or payment.

Step 3: submit the online application and pay the board fee

Submit the New Graduate application in PALS and pay the board's licensing fee with it. The NCLEX fee page lists the licensure fee as "contact nursing regulatory body," which means the board sets and collects that amount. See the fees section below for how to confirm it.

Step 4: eligibility and your Authorization to Test (ATT)

After the board has declared you eligible, you receive the ATT by email at the address you gave Pearson. If it does not arrive, the FAQ suggests contacting the board to make sure everything was submitted and received. If the board has made you eligible and you still have no ATT, or the ATT is lost, call Pearson.

The ATT matters in three ways:

1. You cannot schedule without it: The ATT email is required to book an appointment.
2. It has an expiry date: The average ATT validity is 90 days, and the dates cannot be extended for any reason. If you do not test in the window, you re-register and pay another exam fee.
3. Only first and last names must match: Your ID and your ATT need matching first and last names. The address on your ID does not need to match the ATT.

Step 5: schedule and test

You can test year-round at any Pearson Professional Testing location, regardless of where you are applying for licensure. That means a test center outside Pennsylvania is allowed. For domestic test centers, ID must be physical, government-issued, non-expired, in Roman characters, and carry a recent photo and signature. A passport book or card, a driver's license or a state ID card are examples.

Cancel or reschedule outside 24 business hours of your appointment. Otherwise the exam fee is forfeited.

Fingerprints and background checks: what to check with the board

The pages we reviewed do not state a fingerprint or background check requirement for Pennsylvania, so we will not guess. Open the application checklist in PALS and read it line by line. If anything is unclear, ask the board directly, and do it before you register with Pearson so you do not burn an ATT window waiting on paperwork.

Pennsylvania board fees and NCLEX fees

Board fees

The application information page we reviewed does not list the Pennsylvania licensing fee or the permit fee. The amounts are shown when you apply, so confirm the current figure for your license type in the PALS application checklist and pay it with your application. Do not rely on a number from a forum post or an older guide, because boards can change fees.

NCLEX registration fee paid to Pearson

For candidates seeking U.S. licensure, the NCLEX registration fee is $200 USD at the time of writing. Effective Feb. 1, 2027, it becomes $350 in the United States. The date you complete your registration sets the fee, not your exam date, and the same fee applies to retakes. Check nclex.com's fees page before paying, because this is the live source.

Two smaller fees are worth knowing about:

1. Change your board after registering: $50 USD for candidates seeking U.S. licensure.
2. Change your exam type (RN or PN) after registering: $50 USD for candidates seeking U.S. licensure.

So choose the right board and the right exam when you register. If you are an RN candidate, register for the RN exam, and if you are a PN candidate, register for the PN exam.

Fees that are not refundable

NCLEX registration fees are not refunded for any reason. The refund policy names duplicate registrations (you cannot have more than one active registration for the same exam), failing to cancel or reschedule outside 24 business hours, and not appearing for your appointment.

The NCLEX fee page also describes a Qualified Veterans Reimbursement Program. The Department of Veterans Affairs lists the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN among qualified licensure exams, and eligible veterans and their dependents may be reimbursed for the exam cost. Reimbursement starts with VA Form 22-0803, so look at the VA's page if this might apply to you.

Temporary practice permit for graduates

The New Graduate application on the board's page covers the NCLEX and/or a Graduate Temporary Practice Permit. The board also lists an Application for Extension of Temporary Practice Permit among its other forms.

What the board says about permit timing

The application information page we reviewed does not state when a permit is issued, what it allows, or how long it lasts. Ask the board for the permit terms, and read the permit instructions in your PALS application before you rely on one for a start date at work.

Testing accommodations

If you need testing accommodations, the board's new graduate page lists a Request for Testing Accommodations form under other forms. Start this early, because a request that is still pending can slow down the rest of your timeline. Confirm deadlines with the board and with Pearson, since the pages we reviewed do not give them.

Results, Quick Results and your Pennsylvania license

Where official results come from

Official exam results come only from the nursing regulatory body, which for you is the Pennsylvania board. Pearson and NCSBN do not provide results. If you do not pass, you can receive a Candidate Performance Report, which NCSBN says is provided only to candidates who fail so they can direct their remediation.

Does Pennsylvania offer Quick Results?

The Quick Results Service lets candidates whose board participates see unofficial results two business days after the exam, for a fee. We could not verify Pennsylvania's participation from the pages we reviewed, so confirm it on nclex.com's current Quick Results list before you count on it. Unofficial results are not your license or your official result.

When the license is issued

The pages we reviewed do not say how long Pennsylvania takes to issue a license after a passing result. Watch your PALS account and ask the board if you have not heard anything after what feels like a reasonable wait.

If you do not pass: retakes in Pennsylvania

What the board and NCSBN state

Retake limits and waiting periods are set by each board, and the Pennsylvania pages we reviewed do not state them. Confirm both with the board and on nclex.com's retake information before you plan a date.

What the NCLEX pages do state is this. A retake costs the same registration fee, based on the date you register. You must be made eligible again by the board and receive a new ATT. Each exam attempt is independent, and on a new attempt the adaptive process begins again. Our NCLEX guides include more on retakes.

Contacting the Pennsylvania board and using PALS

Phone, email and addresses

We are not reproducing phone numbers, mailbox addresses or office hours here, because the application information page we reviewed does not list them and they can change. Use the contact details on the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing page, and verify them before you call or write.

Which email is for what

For questions about your application or technical problems with your account, start from your PALS login at www.pals.pa.gov. NCLEX FAQ also notes that if you have not received your ATT, you should contact the board. For anything about registration, payment or a lost ATT, Pearson Candidate Services at 866.496.2539 is the contact. The board's page says its staff cannot provide legal advice, so ask about process, not strategy.

Licensure verification and renewal: where to go

This guide covers first licensure. If you later apply for endorsement into another state, RN and LPN license verification is done through Nursys. The board's page states that it costs $30 per license type, per board of nursing where you are applying. For renewal, the board has a Renewal Information page, so read the rules there when your license is issued.

The board's page also lists the Nurse Licensure Compact among its resources. If you are interested in practicing across state lines, ask the board how it applies to you rather than assuming.

Pass rates and hardest-state questions

Official pass rates are published by NCSBN and are reported separately for RN and PN, first-time and repeat candidates, and education cohort. We do not have Pennsylvania figures in the sources for this guide, so we do not quote any. Look at NCSBN's published pass rates and keep those categories separate.

As for which state is the hardest, we cannot answer that from the sources. The exam and passing standard are set by NCSBN. The passing standard is reevaluated every three years, it is applied uniformly to every exam, and there is no fixed percentage of candidates who pass. Boards differ in administrative steps and eligibility requirements, not in the exam itself.

Use your waiting time to study the test plan

While the board processes your application, the most useful thing you can do is read the test plan for your exam. The test plan is organized by client needs categories, and NCSBN says it is meant to guide candidates preparing for the exam.

RN and PN each have their own test plan

The RN exam gives each candidate a minimum of 85 items and a maximum of 150 within a five-hour period that includes breaks, and the exam stops when the computer is 95% certain of a pass or fail. For RN candidates, start with the 2026 NCLEX-RN® test plan explained. For PN candidates, the NCLEX-PN test plan guide covers the PN exam on its own terms.

PreceptIQ, an NCLEX® coach that studies your mistakes, is coming to iPhone and Android at PreceptIQ. It is a study aid, not a guarantee of a result.

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.