New Nurse and Compact State License?

Nursing Students General Students

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Hi,

I'll be a BSN grad in FL (a state that's not in the compact) and I wonder if it's smarter to fly to a compact state to take NCLEX so I'll be able to apply to more jobs in more states? Or can I pass the NCLEX in FL and just apply for a nursing license in a compact state? Do I have to have a residence in a compact state to get the license? Do I have to worry about clinical hours: for example, do the compact states require more clinical hours than FL? Is there a list somewhere, because I've googled it and can't find anything.

So many questions! Thanks to anyone who can help! :)

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.

You have to maintain legal residence in the compact state to utilize the compact "advantage". Thus if you continue to have your legal residence in FL and you apply for a license in a compact state , thinking that you can use that license to work in several other compact states, you are error.

Now if you have legal residence in a compact state, and merely work over in another compact state, the compact use is valid. But if you move to that other compact state, you actually have to get a license in that state.

To use one compact state license in other compact states, you must maintain a legal presence such as being a resident in that state.

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Hmm, this is a pain in the neck. I guess I'll have to get a FL license and transfer it to wherever I find a job. I don't plan to live or work in FL once I graduate, so that's added expense I'd rather not have.

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Specializes in Neuro Intensive Care.

I was under the impression that licenses are state to state. What is the "compact" state license?

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I was under the impression that licenses are state to state. What is the "compact" state license?

https://m.ncsbn.org/nlc.htm

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You can get your first nursing license in any state (let's call it State 1) by applying to that state's Board of Nursing (BoN) and getting their approval to sit the NCLEX exam in their jurisdiction. You don't have to have gone to school in State 1 to do this. You have to meet whatever criteria they want-- your nursing school has to be accepted by them (some states approve schools that other states won't approve), if there are fingerprinting or other requirements, they'll want a transcript, and they want the money. Then when you pass NCLEX you are granted a State 1 RN license.

So now you want to move to State 2. You write to the State 2 BoN and tell them you want a State 2 license by reciprocity (or by endorsement, same thing for practical intent and purpose). They tell you what they want, which may be all of the above again, and the money, and then they send you a State 2 license. Unlike your driver's license, you don't have to turn in your State 1 license. You can be licensed in as many states as you like (or can afford). :)

24 states are part of a Nursing Licensure Compact*. Compact states grant you the ability to practice within their borders if your license is from another Compact state (a state where you have your primary legal residence) without going through all that process outlined above (though you probably will have to pay something). If your legal residence isn't a Compact state, you can still get a license in State 2, though. And 3, and 4, and 5...

As an example: My primary legal residence is not a Compact state. I have a license there. I do some work in a neighboring state which is a Compact state, but since my home state isn't, I got it by reciprocity/ see above process. Now I have a Compact state license so I should be good to go to any other Compact state and get a license easily, right? Wrong, because my legal residence is in a nonCompact state.

So I have licenses in 8 states and they cost me a bloody fortune because I had to go through that whole process in every single one of them, even though most are Compact states. Order a college transcript (at $10 per) for all. NY wants me to take an online class on recognizing and reporting abuse-- time and money. Two or three states want me to pay for background checks-- a coupla hunnert bucks per. A few others want fingerprints...on their forms only, done by recognized law enforcement (as I said, the local State Police barracks got used to seeing a lot of me there for awhile). Many, but not all, participate in a national licensure verification system called Nursys, so I pay for Nursys to verify my license in all the states they work with to all the rest of them, at $30 each...but California doesn't participate in Nursys, so it's $60 to have them verify my license to everyone else. Each. And so on.

* 24 Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) States (current)

COMPACT STATES / IMPLEMENTATION DATE

Arizona 7/1/2002

Arkansas 7/1/2000

Colorado 10/1/2007

Delaware 7/1/2000

Idaho 7/1/2001

Iowa 7/1/2000

Kentucky 6/1/2007

Maine 7/1/2001

Maryland 7/1/1999

Mississippi 7/1/2001

Missouri 6/1/2010

Nebraska 1/1/2001

New Hampshire 1/1/2006

New Mexico 1/1/2004

North Carolina 7/1/2000

North Dakota 1/1/2004

Rhode Island 7/1/2008

South Carolina 2/1/2006

South Dakota 1/1/2001

Tennessee 7/1/2003

Texas 1/1/2000

Utah 1/1/2000

Virginia 1/1/2005

Wisconsin 1/1/2000

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