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Note: Membership to NCSBN is not open to individuals.
One license – 25 states and counting… The Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) allows nurses to have one multistate license, with the ability to practice in both their home state and other compact states.
The Nurse Licensure Compact has undergone significant revisions which has resulted in new model legislation to supersede the current enacted statute. Currently, 25 states have enacted the original NLC legislation; henceforth, states interested in passing NLC legislation will introduce the new version adopted May 4, 2015.
In 2000, NCSBN launched an initiative to expand the mobility of nurses as part of our nation's health care delivery system.
Implementation Dates | Download Map
Physically and/or electronically - through a streamlined process without additional applications or fees!
…and are still protected through effective enforcement of licensure laws across state boundaries.
You can obtain a compact (multistate) license if you…
You must apply for licensure by endorsement in the new state of residency. Your individual state license issued by the noncompact state is not affected and will remain active if you maintain licensure and if so provided by the laws of the nonparty state.
You must apply for licensure by endorsement in the new state of residency. Your compact license is changed to a single-state license valid only in that state. You must notify the board of nursing (BON) that you have moved out of state.
You can practice on the former residency license for up to 30 or 90 days (states are individually implementing the 90 day rule). You will be required to:
You will be issued a new multistate license and the former is inactivated. You must notify the BON in the former residency state that you have moved out of state. Proof of residency may be required.
Mary is a licensed RN who has primary residence in Colorado. However, she lives near the four corners (Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado). Since all of these states are participants, through the compact Mary can drive across these borders to practice, or practice electronically, without additional applications or fees.
Mary decides later to move and change her primary residence to New Mexico. She now has a 30-day grace period to practice on the same license. By the end of the 30 days, Mary will need to have received her new multistate license. Mary would be wise to apply in advance of the move.
If you are on a visa from another country applying for licensure in a party state you may declare either the country of origin or the party state as the primary state of residency. If the foreign country is declared the primary state of residency, a single-state license will be issued by the party state.
Learn the difference between single state and multistate licensure.
Contact us with any comments or questions concerning the Nurse Licensure Compact.