Required Documentation

IMPORTANT: At this time, IERF is ONLY able to accept applications for nursing licensure evaluations for credentials earned in:

Canada
India
Mexico
Philippines
Puerto Rico

In most cases, an evaluation is required by the state board(s), even if an individual has been licensed in another state and practicing in the field for several years, as licensure requirements vary by state. Also, the state board(s) might have additional licensure requirements besides an evaluation. It is therefore recommended that you first contact the state board(s) to determine whether an evaluation is needed and whether there are additional licensure requirements besides an evaluation. If the board(s) direct(s) that an evaluation is required, note that you will not be able to pursue licensure in that state without first getting an evaluation done.

The purpose of the evaluation is two-fold:

The first is for IERF to determine what an applicant’s qualification is considered comparable to in the United States.
The second is for IERF to identify for the state board(s) whether the program completed by an applicant meets the minimum educational requirements set by the board (e.g., if the state board requires content in X area, and your program does not include content in X area, X area would therefore be identified as a deficiency in your evaluation).

IMPORTANT: Please note that, at this time, IERF is NOT able to accept applications for nursing licensure evaluations for credentials earned in Cameroon, Cuba, Haiti or Nigeria.

Document Requirements for All States

The required documentation listed below has been established by the state boards. As such, IERF is not able to proceed with an evaluation until ALL required documents have been received.

The applicant must arrange for the following to be submitted to IERF. The application fee only covers the completion of an evaluation. IERF will not be contacting the institution(s) of study or the licensing authority(ies) on your behalf to obtain the required documentation.

Mailed DIRECTLY to IERF by the Institution(s) of Study

The state boards require that we base our evaluations on original academic documents mailed to our office directly by the institution(s) of study. As such, we are not able to accept the documentation from the applicant, even if they are original or sealed. Note that:

Official certified true copies (with an original ink stamp/seal and signature) are acceptable as originals only if they are issued by the institution(s) of study (e.g., certified copies issued by a notary, etc. are not acceptable).
The package containing your academic documents can only be put together, handled, and mailed to our office by your institution(s) of study (this means that your school cannot hand the package to you or to your representative (e.g., a family member, a friend, etc.) to mail to our office).

Please ask the institution(s) of study to include your IERF file number in the package that they mail to our office so that we can match it to your file. All records received from the institution(s) of study become the property of IERF and will not be forwarded to the applicant.

Transcript Request Form

For Florida

If applying for licensure in this state, please forward the Transcript Request Form for Florida (TRF) to your educational institution(s), request that they fill out all the information on the form, and that they mail it directly to IERF, along with the documents outlined below.

For Washington

If applying for licensure in this state, please contact us at alliedhealth@ierf.org for further instructions regarding the Transcript Request Form for Washington (TRF). In your e-mail, please specify that you are seeking licensure in the state of Washington and be sure to include scans of your nursing transcript and diploma.

For all other states

If applying for licensure in any other state, please forward the Transcript Request Form for All Other States (TRF) to your educational institution(s), request that they fill out all the information on the form, and that they mail it directly to IERF, along with the documents outlined below.

Official Academic Records

These must be in the official language of issue:

Transcripts/Mark Sheets/Examination Results indicating courses/subjects, hours of study/units/credits, and grades/marks/examination results.
Diplomas/Graduation Certificates/Degree Certificates indicating that a degree/qualification has been earned or that a program of study has been completed, if applicable.

Breakdown of Hours for Each Course Form

Please forward the Breakdown of Hours for Each Course Form to your educational institution(s), request that they fill out all the information on the form, and that they mail it directly to IERF. Your school needs to provide the total number of:

theoretical (i.e., classroom/teaching) hours
laboratory (i.e., hands-on training in biological and physical sciences; simulated learning completed in a classroom/laboratory setting with models/students) hours
clinical (i.e., care of actual patients in a hospital and/or clinical setting, while being supervised and assessed (i.e., graded) by a licensed nurse) hours. Note that weeks/months/years of instruction are NOT acceptable.

Detailed Course Syllabi and Course Title Matching Form

Detailed course syllabi are required for ALL nursing courses and nursing-related courses (e.g., Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology, Nutrition, Pharmacology, etc.).

A syllabus provides detailed information about the course objectives and content. Please click here for a sample syllabus that you may forward to your institution of study to demonstrate the amount of detail that is normally found in a syllabus. Your school should NOT duplicate the layout or content in the sample syllabus, but, rather, forward official syllabi as they are normally issued.

Important Note:
In matching syllabi to transcripts/mark sheets/examination results (transcripts), IERF compares the title of the course on the transcripts to the title of the course on the syllabi. If we are not able to match the syllabi to the transcripts (i.e., if there are ANY discrepancies), the syllabi will not be accepted, unless your school assists us in matching the documentation.

Examples of discrepancies include:

when the course titles do not match (e.g., the course title on the transcript is “Introduction to Nursing” but the course title on the syllabus is “Fundamentals of Nursing”, etc.)
when the course codes, if applicable, do not match (e.g., the course code on the transcript is “N100” but the course code on the syllabus is “Nursing 1”, etc.)
when the syllabi are not from your time of study (e.g., you finished your studies in 2000, but the syllabi are for courses in 2010, etc.)

Therefore, please also forward the Course Title Matching Form to your school(s), request that they fill out all the information on the form, and that they mail it directly to IERF with your syllabi. Note that:

a syllabus can only be matched to one course (i.e., a syllabus cannot be used for multiple courses)
a course can only be matched to one syllabus (i.e., multiple syllabi cannot be used for one course)

Mailed DIRECTLY to IERF by the Licensing Authority(ies)

Please ask the licensing authority(ies) to include your IERF file number in the package that they mail to our office so that we can match it to your file. All records received from the licensing authority(ies) become the property of IERF and will not be forwarded to the applicant.

The License Verification Form (LVF) must be forwarded to the licensing authority in any country where you are or have been licensed (other than the U.S.), as IERF is required to verify any previous licensure, even if your licensure has lapsed.

If there is no separate nursing licensure procedure in your country of study, please have your school fill out the LVF and mail it to IERF, along with a letter of explanation.

Sent to IERF by the Applicant

Please submit clear and legible photocopies of the front and back of the following documents. Alternatively, once you have submitted your application and you have been assigned an IERF file number, you can e-mail scans of the documents below to alliedhealth@ierf.org. Be sure to include your IERF file number in the subject line so that we can match it to your file.

Nursing License / Professional Membership Card

If you have ever passed a nursing licensure examination or held a nursing license in your country of study or any other country, please submit a copy of your license, even if your licensure has lapsed.

If there is no separate nursing licensure procedure in your country of study, but you have ever held a professional membership, please submit copies of all related documents.

If you have also ever been licensed in the U.S., please submit a copy of your license for every state, even if your licensure has lapsed. If you have not been issued a card for your license, you can submit your license number for each state instead.

Professional Translations

Professional translations are required for all records not officially issued in English.

IERF considers a translation to be professional and if it is issued by an individual who is trained as a translator, who prepares translations as his/her profession (i.e., job), and who is formally paid for his/her translation services.

The translator must:

issue the translation on the official letterhead of the translation service
include a statement attesting that the translation is accurate to the best of his/her knowledge, with an official seal and signature
issue a word-for-word translation (not an interpretation)
follow the same format and page layout as the original-language documents (e.g., tables, columns, etc.)

IERF reserves the right not to accept a professional translation if it is determined to be inaccurate or interpretative when reviewed.

IERF has negotiated a special discount with University Language Services for our applicants who use their translation services. You can contact them directly through their website to learn more about the discount. Please note that some of our applicants have found that getting professional translations done in their country of study to be less expensive.

Important Note:
IERF does not recommend that you get your documents professionally translated until we have confirmed that we have received ALL the required documentation for your file.

All documents received from your institution(s) of study and the licensing authority(ies), as well as the copy of your license (that you will submit, if applicable), must first be reviewed by IERF to determine if they are acceptable.
Once we have determined that we have received all the required documentation in the official language of issue for your file, we will e-mail you to request the professional translations, and will attach a scan of all the documents that need to be translated.
Do not submit your original professional translations to our office. Keep those for your records. IERF only requires a photocopy of the translations, which will become the property of IERF. Note: if you choose to e-mail your translations to our office, a printing fee of $0.25/page will be assessed.

State-Specific Board Requirements

If you are applying for licensure with the state of Alabama, Arkansas, Nebraska, Texas or Vermont, please refer to the additional requirements below.

All records received from the examination authorities will become the property of IERF and will not be forwarded to the applicant.

Alabama Board of Nursing

The Alabama Board of Nursing requires the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number (SSN). Please be sure to provide this information in the application. If you do not have a SSN, please note that you will not be able to apply for licensure in the State of Alabama.

Also, please submit your original academic records for secondary school (e.g., diploma and transcripts, maturity certificate, or examination certificate). These will be returned to you when the evaluation is mailed.

Lastly, the Alabama Board of Nursing requires IERF to obtain proof of English language proficiency as part of the evaluation process. Please have your IELTS/TOEFL/PTE/MELAB results sent directly to IERF by the examination authorities.

Arkansas State Board of Nursing

The Arkansas State Board of Nursing requires IERF to obtain proof of English language proficiency as part of the evaluation process. Please have your TOEFL/IELTS/PTE results sent directly to IERF by the examination authorities.

Missouri State Board of Nursing

The Missouri State Board of Nursing requires IERF to obtain proof of English language proficiency as part of the evaluation process. Please have your TOEFL/TOEIC/IELTS results sent directly to IERF by the examination authorities.

Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (Nursing)

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (Nursing) requires IERF to obtain proof of English language proficiency as part of the evaluation process. Please have your TOEFL/ IELTS/TOEIC/MELAB/PTE results sent directly to IERF by the examination authorities.

Texas Board of Nursing

Internationally-educated applicants who have never obtained a license and/or who have never worked in their country of study only have four years to take and pass the NCLEX. If you were never licensed and/or were never employed as a nurse in your country of study, and you earned your nursing qualification more than four years ago, please contact the Texas Board of Nursing directly to find out more about their licensure requirements, as an evaluation is not possible.

Vermont State Board of Nursing

The Vermont State Board of Nursing requires the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number (SSN). Please be sure to provide this information in the application. If you do not have a SSN, please note that you will not be able to apply for licensure in the State of Vermont.