Compact State License

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Hi all. Currently I'm a student in an accelerated Bachelor's program and am expected to graduate in August of next year, making me eligible to take the NCLEX-RN next September. My state of residence is New York, but I'm wanting to relocate to Texas or Tennessee after graduation (both compact states). Currently, New York is a noncompact state.

Obviously, life would be easiest if New York became a compact state before I took my boards, so I could just get licensed using my residence in New York then move wherever I get a job.

I'm wondering :

1) If anyone is familiar with the legislation regarding the compact state licensure and when New York is expected to be considered a compact state (will it be before next September?)

2) It would be worth the risk to move to Texas or Tennessee before taking the NCLEX so that I could consider that my state of residence, take the test, and apply for a job. Anyone who lives/works in these states, is there a high demand for nurses? Would a new grad be considered for anything?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Many people misunderstand how compact nursing licensure works...

Let's pretend New York is part of the Nursing Licensure Compact already. Even with your NY compact license, you'd need to obtain a Texas license if you planned to relocate to Texas. You'd need a Tennessee license if you planned to relocate to Tennessee.

Once you relocate from NY to TX, you can work in TX under your NY license for a legal maximum of 30 days, then you'd need a TX license to continue to lawfully practice nursing in TX. If you moved to TN, you'd also be able to work under the NY license for 30 days and that's it.

If a nurse permanently relocates from one compact state to another, (s)he must get licensed in that new state within 30 days. For example, Jane Doe resides in Tennessee, which is a compact state, but is permanently moving to the compact state of Iowa. Since Iowa is now her new primary state of residence, she has 30 days to get the Iowa nursing license.

A compact nursing license is similar to a driver's license. Once Jane Doe has moved to Iowa, she can legally drive in Iowa under her Tennessee driver's license for 30 days, then she will need to obtain an Iowa driver's license to keep driving legally in her new home state. It is the exact same concept with a nursing license that is from a compact state.

I wrote about the process a couple of years ago: https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/overview-nursing-compact-763693.html

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thank you very much for your help!

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