Interstate Commission of Nurse Licensure Compact Administrators Adopts New Residency Rule

CHICAGO – The Interstate Commission of Nurse Licensure Compact Administrators (ICNLCA) announces new Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) rules which were adopted at its Aug. 15, 2023 Annual Business Meeting. The amended rules take effect Jan. 2, 2024. Prior to the adoption, a comprehensive review of the NLC rules was conducted in order to bring greater clarity to the rules, eliminate redundancies and implement necessary new rules. The current rules had been in effect since the commencement of the current version of the NLC in January 2018.

Among the most notable changes in the NLC rules is a rule pertaining to the requirement of nurses when relocating and therefore, changing a primary state of residence.

The current rule (in effect through Jan. 1, 2024) reads:

402(2) A nurse who changes primary state of residence to another party state shall apply for a license in the new party state when the nurse declares to be a resident of the state and obtains privileges not ordinarily extended to nonresidents of the state, including but not limited to, those listed in 402 (4) (a) – (e).

The new rule (effective Jan. 2, 2024) reads:

402(2) A multistate licensee who changes primary state of residence to another party state shall apply for a multistate license in the new party state within 60 days.

“It has always been the case that a nurse must apply for a new compact license when relocating and changing primary state of residence,” comments ICNLCA Chair Pam Zickafoose, EdD, MSN, RN, NE-BC, CNE, FRE, executive director, Delaware Board of Nursing. “What’s new is that as of Jan. 2, 2024, the nurse must initiate that application process in the new state within 60 days of relocating. The new rule will clarify when a nurse must apply for a new license when relocating to a new primary state of residency. Nurse employers will also benefit from this new rule by ensuring that all employees are appropriately licensed. Just as we are required to obtain a new driver’s license when relocating to a new primary state of residency, the same type of requirement applies to nurses who hold a compact license and are relocating to another compact state.”

Nurses can enroll at no cost in Nursys e-Notify to receive notifications related to license renewals at www.nursys.com.

Resources such as FAQs and a brief video about the new rule are available on the NLC website.

About the ICNLCA
The ICNLCA facilitates cross border nursing practice through the implementation of the nationally recognized, multistate license, the NLC. The ICNLCA enhances nurse mobility and public protection through maintaining uniform licensure standards among party state boards of nursing; promoting cooperation and collaboration between party states, facilitating the exchange of data and information between party states; and educating stakeholders. The ICNLCA is a quasi-governmental and joint public agency of the party states created and established on July 20, 2017. The Executive Committee is the seven-member elected leadership of the ICNLCA.

About the NLC
The NLC allows for registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/VNs) to have one multistate license, with the ability to practice in person or via telehealth in both their home state and other NLC states. Forty-one jurisdictions are presently members of the NLC. Licensing standards are aligned in NLC states, so all nurses applying for a multistate license are required to meet the same standards, which include a federal and state criminal background check that will be conducted for all applicants for multistate licensure.

The NLC also enables nurses to provide telehealth nursing services to patients located across the country without having to obtain additional licenses. In the event of a disaster, nurses from multiple states can easily respond to supply vital services. Additionally, almost every nurse, including primary care nurses, case managers, transport nurses, school and hospice nurses, among many others, needs to routinely cross state boundaries to provide the public with access to nursing services, and a multistate license facilitates this process.

For more information, contact nursecompact@ncsbn.org or visit www.nlc.gov.