§34-21-22. License to practice practical nursing; use of title "licensed practical nurse."

(a) An applicant for a license to practice practical nursing as a licensed practical nurse shall submit to the board written evidence of qualification, verified by oath, that the applicant is of good moral character, is a high school graduate and holds a diploma from an accredited high school, or in the opinion of the board, the equivalent thereof, has successfully completed an educational program of at least one year's duration in a school of practical nursing, approved by the board, and is a citizen of the United States or, if not a citizen of the United States, a person who is legally present in the United States with appropriate documentation from the federal government.

(b) A license to practice as a licensed practical nurse may be obtained in the following manners:

(1) BY EXAMINATION. The applicant shall be required to pass an examination on such subjects as the board may determine; and, upon successfully passing such examination, the board shall issue such applicant a license.

(2) BY ENDORSEMENT. The board may issue a license to practice practical nursing as a licensed practical nurse to an applicant who has been duly licensed as a licensed practical nurse (irrespective of the title or designation granted when such license was issued) under the laws of another state, territory, or foreign country, if, in the opinion of the board, such applicant meets the requirements for licensed practical nurses in this state at the time of his or her graduation. There shall be no license to practice practical nursing granted by the previously known waiver method.

(3) BY TEMPORARY PERMIT. The board may issue a temporary permit to practice practical nursing as a licensed practical nurse to graduates of approved schools of practical nursing pending the completion of licensing procedures in Alabama and to qualified applicants pending licensing procedures under subdivision (2).

(c) Any person who holds a license to practice practical nursing as a licensed practical nurse in this state shall have the right to use the title "licensed practical nurse" and the abbreviation "L.P.N." No other person shall assume or use such title or abbreviation or any other words, letters, signs, or devices to indicate that the person using the same is licensed to practice practical nursing as a licensed practical nurse.

(d) Any person holding a license or certificate of original registration to practice practical nursing as a licensed practical nurse, issued by the Alabama Board of Nurses' Examiners and Registration and issued by the board and which was valid on December 31, 1965, shall hereafter be eligible for licensing to practice practical nursing as a licensed practical nurse under the provisions of this chapter.

(Acts 1965, No. 867, p. 1615, §6; Acts 1975, No. 427, p. 1024, §1; Acts 1983, No. 83-642, p. 989, §5; Act 2009-15, p. 29, §3.)