Virginia Board of Nursing - International Applicants

NOTE: Currently, the Virginia Board of Nursing is not accepting requests for approval to provide English language proficiency examinations or international nursing education credential evaluations.

International Licensure Applicant Requirements

The Board of Nursing requires an independent credential review by a Board approved agency to evaluate and verify that credentials earned from an international nursing education program is comparable or equivalent to those Board approved nursing education programs required for licensure as a Registered Nurse or Practical/Vocational Nurse in the U.S. Refer to the tables below for details.

Additionally, internationally educated licensure applicants whose pre-licensure nursing education program was not taught in English or English is not the applicant’s native language, are required to pass a Board approved English Language Proficiency (ELP) Exam. An ELP exam must include the components of reading, speaking, writing, and listening. See Virginia Code §54.1-3017 for requirements and the tables below for additional details.

Board accepts the follwing ELP Exams & Scores:

TOEFL Overall Score: 83; Speaking: 26
IELTS Academic Overall Score: 6.5; Speaking: 7.0
TOEIC Overall Score (Listening/reading): 725; Speaking 160; Writing 150
MET: Overall Score: 55; Speaking: 55
OET: Reading, Listening, Writing: 300; Speaking: 350 (note there is no overall score for OET)

These are the profession/license types that are required to have an independent credential review. Click on the references for more information:

Profession

References (laws/regulations)

Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurses

Virginia Code §54.1-3017 18 VAC 90-19-130 18 VAC 90-18-120

Virginia Code § 54.1-3040.3 (C) (Uniform Licensure Requirements)

Registered Nurses

The below table contains information required for nursing licensure applications submitted to the Board of Nursing. Please refer to the applicable Application Instructions for more information on how to submit the required information to the Board.

List of VBON Approved Credential Evaluation Entities & English Language Proficiency (ELP) Exams (4/1/2024)

AGENCY	BOARD APPLICATION TYPE	ELP REQUIREMENTS
CGFNS Website: CGFNS International, Inc.	RN/LPN EXAM APPLICANTS - Go to Services by State CGFNS International, Inc. (Requirements for VA). Board accepts CGFNS Certification Program (CP) Verification Letter and Credentials Evaluation Service Professional (CES) Report RN/LPN ENDORSEMENT APPLICANTS ONLY - Board may accept CGFNS Certification Program Verification Letter, Credentials Evaluation Service Professional (CES) Report or ICHP Visa Screen.	ELP Exam results are required to be submitted directly to CGFNS. ELP Exam scores not required to be resubmitted to CGFNS for CP Verification Letter.
International Education Evaluators Website: www.myiee.org	RN/LPN EXAM & ENDORSEMENT APPLICANTS - Go to this link to complete this application for VBON Virginia Board of Nursing \| IEE	ELP Exam results are required to be submitted directly to IEE
Josef Silny & Associates (JS&A) Website: Josef Silny & Associates, Inc (jsilny.org)	RN/LPN EXAM APPLICANTS - Go to Procedures for Applicants to complete this application for VBON JS&A Application for (VA) Board of Nursing RN/LPN ENDORSEMENT APPLICANTS ONLY - Board may accept a credential evaluation using the JS&A Application for (VA) Board of Nursing or by completing the requirements for VISA4Nurses which is for Certification of Health Care Workers.	ELP Exam results are required to be submitted directly to JS& A.
SpanTran: The Evaluation Company Website: SpanTran	RN/LPN EXAM & ENDORSEMENT Applicants Go to this link to complete this application for VBON: SpanTran Application for (VA) Board of Nursing	ELP Exam results are required to be submitted directly to SpanTran.

Note: Applicants are English Exempt if they were educated in Australia, Barbados, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, South Africa, Trinidad/Tobago, United Kingdom, United States (except Puerto Rico). An ELP score report does not need to be submitted to the Board with an ICHP VisaScreen or Visa4Nurses, applicable to Endorsement applicants only.