Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Under New York's BSN in 10 law, an RN licensed after 18 June 2020 must hold a baccalaureate or higher degree in nursing within 10 years of licensure to keep registering; the first deadlines fall at renewals after June 2030. The degree must be in nursing, so outside courses can only fill general education, where your RN to BSN school decides.
Under Education Law 6905, as amended by Chapter 502 of 2017 and Chapter 380 of 2018, an RN who is not exempt must attain a baccalaureate or higher degree in nursing within 10 years of New York licensure, with the first cohort reaching that deadline at registration renewals on or after 18 June 2030.
The rule asks for A baccalaureate or higher degree in nursing within 10 years of licensure; RNs licensed on or before 18 June 2020 are exempt. The legal source is Education Law 6905.
| Your situation | BSN in 10 status | What NYSED says |
|---|---|---|
| RN licence on or before 18 June 2020 | Exempt | Licensed in NYS, another state, a territory or Canada |
| In or applied to an RN programme by 18 June 2020 | Exempt if enrolled continuously | Documentation needed for pending applications |
| RN licensed after 18 June 2020 | Degree in nursing within 10 years | Deadline at the renewal after 10 years |
| Needs more time | Conditional registration | One year, extendable for good cause |
| Denied twice for lack of seats | Temporary educational exemption | A single two-year period; not both |
New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions (State Board for Nursing) decides how this rule applies to you. We read its published rule and the pages below; each was checked on 15 Nov 2026.
Each nursing programme sets its own prerequisite list, its own time limits for science courses and its own rule on which credits it takes. Read the programme's published list first and ask its admissions office in writing before you enrol in any course.
UPI Study does not yet offer Microbiology with lab, Nutrition or Lifespan Development. Our courses carry no clinical hours, and they do not clear a deficiency for a board of nursing.
Each course below is ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended for college credit. Whether it counts here is the decision of the college and of New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions (State Board for Nursing).
Statistics is a common RN to BSN general education requirement; ask your school first.
Self-paced online Principles of Statistics course (Statistics 101). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Second-level writing is often part of general education.
Self-paced online English Composition 2 course (ENG 102). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
A social science slot many BSN plans include.
Self-paced online Introduction to Sociology course (Sociology 110). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
A humanities slot for general education.
Self-paced online Principles of Philosophy course (Philosophy 200). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Some schools list an ethics course in general education; confirm it fits your plan.
Self-paced online Ethics in the Social Sciences course (Social Science 110). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →TESU and UoPeople are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit; whether credit counts toward a nursing degree is the nursing programme's decision.
ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
| Option | Price | For this rule | Price checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPI Study PRO | $99 a month, every course | $99 for each month you are subscribed; take as many courses as you finish in that time | 15 Nov 2026 |
| SUNY Empire RN to BSN | $295 a credit | 124-credit online RN to BSN; transfer and prior learning credit reduce what you take there | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Sophia Learning | $99 a month or $799 a year | Self-paced general education; ask your nursing school first whether it counts the credit | 15 Nov 2026 |
| StraighterLine | $99 a month + $79 a course | $316 in course fees for four general education courses, plus the months you study | 15 Nov 2026 |
Four 3-credit general education courses at $295 a credit come to $3,540 at SUNY Empire's listed rate. UPI Study PRO is $99 a month for as many courses as you finish, but it saves money only if your nursing school confirms in writing that it counts the credit.
UPI Study is not a college and is not accredited. ACE and NCCRS review our courses and recommend credit; a college decides whether to give that credit and records it on its own transcript.
Email your RN to BSN school and ask in writing whether it counts each course toward an open general education slot, and how much outside credit it allows, before you enrol.
The BSN in 10 law, Chapter 502 of 2017 as amended by Chapter 380 of 2018, changed Education Law 6905. It applies to RNs first licensed after 18 June 2020 who do not meet an exemption. They have 10 years from New York licensure to attain a baccalaureate or higher degree in nursing, and must show it at the first registration renewal after those 10 years.
Many nurses are exempt. NYSED lists anyone with an unrestricted RN licence in New York, another state, a U.S. territory or Canada on or before 18 June 2020, and students who were enrolled in, or had applied to, a nursing programme by that date and stayed enrolled continuously.
An RN to BSN combines nursing courses with general education. The nursing part must be taught by the nursing programme. The general education part, such as statistics, writing, social science and humanities, is where schools most often count credit earned elsewhere. SUNY Empire's online RN to BSN, for example, is 124 credits and lets students use transfer credits and prior learning to shorten the programme.
SUNY Empire states that it awards credit for ACE-recommended courses and that it is a Cooperating College with NCCRS. TESU and UoPeople are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit. Each nursing programme still decides what counts toward its own degree, and some limit outside credit in particular subjects, so ask your school before you take a course.
NYSED can issue one of two extensions, but not both. A conditional registration lasts one year, and can be extended for good cause, for an RN who agrees to finish the degree within that year. A temporary educational exemption lasts a single two-year period for an RN who applied at least twice to a baccalaureate nursing programme and was turned away for lack of seats. Without either, an RN must stop practising when the registration lapses, and may return once the degree is done and NYSED registers them.
It is New York's requirement, in Education Law 6905, that an RN licensed after 18 June 2020 attain a baccalaureate or higher degree in nursing within 10 years of New York licensure to keep registering. The first cohort reaches the deadline at renewals on or after 18 June 2030. Many earlier nurses are exempt.
NYSED lists you as exempt if you held an unrestricted RN licence in New York, another state, a U.S. territory or Canada on or before 18 June 2020. Students enrolled in, or with an application pending to, a nursing programme by that date are also exempt if they stayed enrolled continuously.
Yes. NYSED says a baccalaureate or higher degree in nursing, such as a BSN, BN, MSN or DNP, from a college registered by NYSED or accredited by an accreditor acceptable to the Department. Taking many nursing classes without finishing a degree does not meet the requirement.
Often, but your RN to BSN school decides what counts toward its degree. Ask for a transfer evaluation, find the open general education slots, and ask in writing whether credit for ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended courses counts toward them, and how much outside credit the nursing degree allows.
You can apply to NYSED for a conditional registration, one year and extendable for good cause, or a temporary educational exemption, a single two-year period if you were denied admission twice for lack of seats. You can hold only one. Otherwise you must stop practising as an RN until the degree is complete.
Get your RN to BSN school's written answer first, then take only the general education courses it confirms, around your shifts.