How to Become an LPN in Tennessee: Cost, License, and Salary

By Athena KanAug 4, 2023Updated Jul 13, 2026

Writing on a clipboard, a smiling nurse in navy scrubs stands by a hospital bed with monitors, with the text How to Become an LPN in Tennessee.

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To become a licensed practical nurse in Tennessee, you finish a board-approved practical nursing program of about 1,296 clock hours, apply to the Tennessee Board of Nursing, and pass the NCLEX-PN. Most programs take roughly 12 months full time.

The part that catches people out is the money. Tuition at a public Tennessee campus runs about $4,100 to $7,100 depending on where you study, and books, uniforms, an entrance exam, and the licensing fees push the real total closer to $7,250 to $11,750. Tennessee LPNs earn a median of $58,870 a year. This guide walks the path in order, prices each step, and shows where the fees land after you graduate.

Programs for you

Herzing University

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Online

Earn your bachelor's degree online in 36 months from HLC-accredited school
Online pathways toward a career as a registered nurse.

Financial aid (may be available)

Keiser University

Online Associate of Science - Medical Assisting Science

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Study fully online with scheduling that fits your lifestyle
Prepare to take the RMA exam upon program completion

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Walden University

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

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Online program from an HLC- accredited institution.
Studying a RN-BSN program aligned with AACN nursing standards.

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Liberty University Online Programs

A.A.S. in Medical Office Assistant

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Study your medical assistant online program with 8-week courses.
Transfer in up to 75% of an undergraduate degree.

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Key Points

Admission usually turns on an entrance exam score and a current CPR card, not on prior healthcare experience.
A criminal conviction can block licensure after you have already finished the program, so raise it with the board before you pay a deposit.
Scope of practice here is drawn by supervision, and the boundaries differ enough between states to put a transferring nurse's license at risk.
The fees that arrive after graduation total about $390, split between the NCLEX-PN, the state application, and fingerprinting.
Most Tennessee LPNs treat the license as a rung, arriving from CNA work or leaving through an LPN-to-RN bridge program.

What an LPN Does in Tennessee

Licensed practical nurses provide direct patient care under the supervision of a registered nurse or a physician. The daily work centers on monitoring: blood pressure, pulse, and temperature, wound care, medication administration, and reporting changes in a patient's condition to the RN or doctor responsible for the case.

The supervision requirement is what separates the role from an RN, and it shapes where LPNs work. Long-term care facilities and nursing homes employ the largest share, because the work is steady monitoring, not acute intervention. Hospitals, physician offices, correctional facilities, and home health agencies hire them as well, often on shift schedules that include nights and weekends.

If you are still working out what the role involves day to day, the overview of what a vocational nurse is covers the job itself in more depth.

LPN Scope of Practice in Tennessee

Scope of practice is the legal boundary around what a nurse may do, and for LPNs it is drawn by supervision. A Tennessee LPN practices under the direction of a registered nurse or physician, not independently, and the Tennessee Board of Nursing is the authority on where that line sits.

This matters more than new nurses expect, because the boundaries differ by state. A task an LPN performs routinely in one state may sit outside the scope in another, so an assumption carried across a state line can put a license at risk. Check the board's rules directly, not a school's marketing page, and ask your employer how the scope is applied in your specific setting.

How to Become an LPN in Tennessee

Step 1: Meet the Entry Requirements

Before a program will consider you, most Tennessee practical nursing schools ask for the following:

A high school diploma or GED.
A passing score on an institutional entrance exam, commonly the HESI. Some campuses set minimums such as 60 in math and 70 in reading.
A current Basic Life Support CPR card for healthcare providers.
A criminal background check with electronic fingerprinting.
A pre-admission physical and current immunizations.

No prior healthcare experience is required. The entrance exam is the gate that stops most applicants, and it is the reason some sit out a semester to retake it.

One warning worth acting on early. The background check is not a formality. The Board of Nursing can deny a license over certain criminal convictions, and it makes that call after you have finished the program and paid for it. If there is anything on your record, raise it with the board before you put down a tuition deposit, not after.

Step 2: Complete a Board-Approved LPN Program in Tennessee

Tennessee requires graduation from a program the Board of Nursing has approved. Programs run about 1,296 clock hours, which works out to roughly 12 months full time, and combine classroom instruction with supervised clinical rotations in pharmacology, medical-surgical nursing, pediatrics, and mental health.

Tennessee's public Colleges of Applied Technology are the lower-cost route, with campuses in Memphis, Nashville, Shelbyville, Morristown, Jacksboro, Harriman, and Huntsville among others. Total program tuition and institutional fees run roughly $4,100 to $7,100 depending on the campus. Private career schools charge more, sometimes several times more, so price the two routes against each other before you apply anywhere.

Dreambound lists practical nursing programs at campuses across the state, including the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) - Allied Health Careers Institute program in Murfreesboro, taught in person. Dreambound does not run these programs and cannot guarantee you admission or a license, so treat every listing as a place to start asking questions.

Two of those questions matter more than tuition. Ask for the campus NCLEX-PN pass rate, and ask whether there is a waitlist, because a cheaper program that starts nine months from now is not actually cheaper. If you need to keep working, ask whether evening or part-time tracks exist. To see what is available in nearby states or online, the roundup of LPN schools near you covers the wider picture.

Step 3: Apply for Licensure With the Tennessee Board of Nursing

Once you graduate, you apply to the board for licensure by examination. The application asks for proof of education, the official LPN examination application, and a completed criminal background check submitted through the state's fingerprinting vendor.

Apply as soon as your program confirms your graduation. The board must clear your application before you are authorized to sit for the exam, and that clearance is the step most likely to add weeks to your timeline.

Nurses already licensed in another state apply by endorsement instead, which carries its own fee and does not require retaking the NCLEX-PN.

Step 4: Pass the NCLEX-PN

After the board authorizes you, you register with Pearson VUE and schedule the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses. The exam tests clinical judgment rather than recall. Graduates who lean on memorized facts tend to struggle with it.

Pass it, and the board issues your license. Your license then renews every two years, with continuing education required to keep it active.

What Becoming an LPN in Tennessee Actually Costs

Becoming an LPN in Tennessee costs roughly $7,250 to $11,750 through a public campus. Tuition accounts for a little over half of that. The rest arrives as books, uniforms, exams, and fees, itemized below.

Expense	Typical cost	Paid to
Program tuition and fees	$4,100 to $7,100	The school
Books and supplies	$2,400 to $3,600	The school
HESI entrance exam	$50	The school
Uniforms and scrubs	About $300	Vendor
Physical and immunizations	Up to $300	Your provider
Malpractice insurance	About $15 a year	Insurer
NCLEX-PN examination	$200	Pearson VUE
Initial license application	$150	Tennessee Board of Nursing
Background check	About $37	Fingerprinting vendor

The three items at the bottom, the ones that arrive after you have already finished the program, total about $390 and catch new graduates off guard. Current amounts are published in the board's fee schedule, which also lists the $140 renewal every two years and the $150 endorsement fee for nurses moving into Tennessee.

Funding exists. WIOA workforce funding can cover training costs for eligible workers through a local career center. Tennessee also runs state scholarship programs that cover tuition at public campuses for residents who qualify. Between the two, plus federal financial aid at accredited schools, some students pay far less than the figures above. If cost is your main filter, the comparison of cheapest and fastest LPN programs is a useful starting point.

LPN Salary in Tennessee

Tennessee LPNs earn a median of $58,870 a year, or $28.30 an hour, which works out to about $4,906 a month, as of May 2025.

Annual	Monthly	Hourly
$58,870	$4,906	$28.30

Measured against a $7,250 to $11,750 training cost, that is one of the faster payback periods in healthcare. New graduates start below the median, and pay climbs with setting and shift. Long-term care and correctional facilities often pay above hospital rates for the same license, and night and weekend differentials add more.

Nationally, employment of licensed practical and vocational nurses is projected to rise about 3% between 2024 and 2034. That is modest growth, and it is worth reading honestly: most openings come from nurses retiring or moving into RN roles rather than from new positions being created. The LPN license is frequently a step toward an RN bridge program, not a final destination, and Tennessee community colleges run LPN-to-RN pathways built for exactly that.

LPN Career Paths in Tennessee

The LPN license is a middle rung, and most people arrive from below it or leave through the top of it.

Plenty of Tennessee LPNs start as certified nursing assistants. CNA work requires only a few weeks of training, pays less, and gives you patient-care hours plus a realistic sense of whether the floor suits you before you commit a year to practical nursing. Some campuses treat CNA experience favorably at admission.

Moving up, LPN-to-RN bridge programs are the common exit. Several Tennessee community colleges run associate degree tracks built specifically for working LPNs, letting you keep your license and your paycheck while you study. Registered nurses hold a wider scope and earn considerably more, so many LPNs treat the credential as a rung on a ladder. The comparison of an LVN or LPN against a registered nurse lays out the difference in scope, schooling, and pay.

Lateral moves exist too. Correctional nursing, hospice, and home health each pay differently for the same license, and specialty experience can matter more to an employer than the school you attended.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to become an LPN in Tennessee?

The program itself takes about 12 months of full-time study. Add several weeks after graduation for the Board of Nursing to process your application and authorize you to test, then however long it takes to get an NCLEX-PN seat at a testing center. Plan on 13 to 15 months from your first class to holding the license.

Can you become an LPN in Tennessee online?

Not entirely. Some programs deliver coursework online or in a hybrid format, but Tennessee requires supervised clinical hours, and those happen in person at an approved facility. Any program advertising a fully online LPN credential should be checked against the Board of Nursing's approved program list before you pay anything.

Is LPN school hard?

It is demanding rather than academically brutal. The difficulty comes from pace and volume: roughly 1,296 clock hours compressed into a year, pharmacology that requires memorization, and clinical rotations scheduled around your other obligations. Students who fail usually do so because of the time commitment, not the material. Working full time while enrolled is where most people come unstuck.

Can you become an LPN in Tennessee without a high school diploma?

You need a diploma or a GED. Practical nursing programs will not admit you without one, and there is no route around it. If you are working toward a GED now, some campuses will let you apply while you finish it, so ask admissions instead of waiting.

What is the easiest LPN program to get into in Tennessee?

Admission difficulty comes down to entrance exam minimums and waitlist length, both of which vary by campus. Programs with lower HESI cutoffs or rolling admission are easier to enter, but they are not necessarily the ones with the strongest NCLEX-PN pass rates. Ask for both numbers before you choose on convenience alone.

Starting an LPN Career in Tennessee

A year of study, an exam, and a license. That much is straightforward. The number nobody advertises is the roughly $390 in fees waiting after graduation, on top of books and uniforms that can nearly double whatever tuition figure a campus quotes you.

So price the whole thing, not the sticker. Add the fees, the books, and the exam to every number you are given, then line up the Tennessee practical nursing programs on Dreambound and ask each one what its graduates actually paid.