Apply Before or After I Get My License in Another State?

sunnycalifRN · Nov 21, 2009

I think you answered your own question. Just go ahead and apply, and when you do land a job, you'll be hired with the stipulation that your MI license must be obtained.

iluvdetroit · Nov 21, 2009

Thanks!

katonurse1982 · Nov 22, 2009

iluvdetroit, good luck to you!

I was wondering if a new grad can apply in other states before they first get licensed in their home state. I'm in Mich and want to go out west after I graduate in may. I want to start applying in Jan and don't know if i'm even eligable, any input would help

iluvdetroit · Nov 22, 2009

Well, you'd either have to sit for your NCLEX in the state that you want to be licensed in out west or re-apply for a license in the state that you want to practice in after you get your Michigan license. There are some states that have formed what is called a "nurse license compact" together, meaning that if you have your license in one of the compact states you can legally practice in another compact state, but currently Michigan is not in that group.

I don't know where out west you are looking to go. We relocated to Arizona briefly earlier this year, and the job market at the time I was out there was not much better than here in Michigan, and they were cranking out tons of nurses from their various nursing schools, just like here. However, I have heard that the hospitals, at least in the Phoenix area where we lived, have lifted the hiring freeze and are now starting to hire a few nurses here and there.

Whatever you end up doing, good luck to you and congratulations on almost being done with school! : )

elkpark · Nov 22, 2009

There are some states that have formed what is called a "nurse license compact" together, meaning that if you have your license in one of the compact states you can legally practice in another compact state, but currently Michigan is not in that group.

There is a lot of confusion about the NLC (Nurse Licensure Compact) -- keep in mind that you can use your "home" license from a compact state to work in other compact states, but only as long as you maintain your permanent residence in your current state. If you move to another state (even another compact state), you still have to apply for a new license.

The easiest way to think about it is that it works exactly the same as our drivers' licenses (except that not all 50 states have chosen to sign the compact). Everyone understands that you can use your "home" driver's license to drive as far and as long as you like in any other US state, but, if you move to another state, you have 30 days (or whatever the state's law says) to apply for a new driver's license in that state. The NLC works exactly the same way.

diane227, LPN, RN · Nov 22, 2009

You can go ahead and apply for jobs while you are also making application for your license. I was hired in another state when I moved from Texas before I got my license in that state. They just would not let me work until my license came through.

iluvdetroit · Nov 22, 2009

There is a lot of confusion about the NLC (Nurse Licensure Compact) -- keep in mind that you can use your "home" license from a compact state to work in other compact states, but only as long as you maintain your permanent residence in your current state. If you move to another state (even another compact state), you still have to apply for a new license.
The easiest way to think about it is that it works exactly the same as our drivers' licenses (except that not all 50 states have chosen to sign the compact). Everyone understands that you can use your "home" driver's license to drive as far and as long as you like in any other US state, but, if you move to another state, you have 30 days (or whatever the state's law says) to apply for a new driver's license in that state. The NLC works exactly the same way.

Okay, thanks for clearing that up. I just recently learned about it because we were going to relocate to AZ and I was really hoping that Ohio and AZ would both be compact states, but they aren't, we ended up in Michigan, and I would have ended up having to get my AZ license anyway.