Maintaining professional credentials as a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) in Texas requires careful attention to the state’s mandatory renewal process. The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) oversees the licensure of all nurses, ensuring practitioners meet the required standards for safe and competent patient care. Successfully navigating this biennial cycle involves meeting continuing education mandates, submitting a timely online application, and understanding the financial obligations involved.
Fulfilling Continuing Education Requirements
The completion of continuing education (CE) activities is required to maintain professional competency. Texas LVNs must complete at least 20 contact hours of accepted continuing nursing education within the two-year licensing period preceding their renewal date. These hours must relate to the nurse’s area of practice.
The Texas legislature mandates specific educational topics that must be included in the CE requirement. LVNs must complete a human trafficking prevention course approved by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) during every renewal cycle. Additionally, two contact hours focusing on nursing jurisprudence and ethics are required, but this course only needs to be completed every six years, corresponding to every third renewal period.
Navigating the Texas BON Online Renewal Process
The renewal application is processed exclusively through the official Texas Nurse Portal, the hub for all licensure transactions. The application becomes available approximately 60 days before the LVN’s expiration date. The process involves logging into the portal, updating personal and employment information, and responding to questions related to fitness to practice.
The online application requires a mandatory declaration regarding criminal history, disciplinary actions, and affirmation of CE completion. The nurse must truthfully declare that they have met all continuing competency requirements; documentation is generally not submitted unless the license is selected for a random audit. The application concludes with the payment of the biennial renewal fee, which is $45 for LVNs. This fee must be paid online via credit or debit card for the submission to be considered complete.
Understanding the Renewal Cycle and Important Deadlines
The Texas LVN license operates on a biennial renewal cycle to maintain active status. An individual’s renewal deadline is not a fixed date but is determined by their personal timeline. Specifically, the license expires on the last day of the LVN’s birth month.
This schedule means that nurses born in an odd-numbered year renew their license in odd-numbered years, and those born in an even-numbered year renew in even-numbered years. While the Texas BON sends electronic renewal reminders, the responsibility for submitting a timely application rests solely with the license holder.
Renewing a Lapsed or Delinquent LVN License
Failing to complete the renewal process by the expiration date causes the LVN license to become delinquent, as Texas has no grace period. A nurse cannot legally practice with a delinquent license, requiring a reactivation process to return to active status. Consequences for a delinquent license include mandatory additional fees and administrative review.
To reactivate a delinquent license, the LVN must submit an application and prove completion of the standard 20 contact hours of CE within the two years preceding the reactivation application. The financial penalties increase depending on the delay: a license delinquent for less than 90 days requires the standard $45 renewal fee plus a $60 late fee. If the license has been delinquent for more than 90 days, the nurse must pay the $45 renewal fee along with a $120 late fee.