Can you hold an active license in more than one state?

[chaxanmom]

Forgive me if this is a silly question. :) I've never lived in a border state before now. I live right on the edge of two different states. I'm originally licensed in Maryland and that license is active. Right now we are stationed right on the edge on NJ and PA. Can I hold an active license in all 3 states or will getting reciprocity in one cancel another? Should I job hunt first and then apply when I get an offer or a lead? I would think I should get my license or at least start the process before I look for a job but I wanted to make sure I can at least hold both the PA and the NJ license at the same time first. I looked on the NCSBN site and called their number but couldn't find the answer (or talk to a real person...argh!!). Thanks in advance if you can answer this!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Yes, you can have active licenses in more than one state. However, there's a catch: you will need to declare a home state.

For example, let's assume that you have a compact license for Arizona (your imaginary home state), but received job offers in Iowa. Even though Iowa and Arizona are both members of the Nursing Licensure Compact, you will still need to declare a home state for your license. If you decide to work in Iowa under your Arizona license, you can legally do so for only 30 days. After the 30 days has elapsed, you will definitely need to apply and pay for an Iowa nursing license in order to continue working legally in Iowa.

A compact nursing license is similar to a driver's license. Once you have moved to Iowa, you can drive under your Arizona license for 30 days, then you will need to obtain an Iowa driver's license in order to keep driving legally in your new home state. It is the exact same concept with a nursing license that is from a compact state.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

as to keeping track of ceus and expiration dates, i put them all on my ical and let it remind me about the dates; also, so far, two states have sent me reminders anyway. my home state seems to have the highest requirement for ceus, and actually i need so many for my specialty certifications i have enough for licensure many times over.

as a slight clarification, you can't just choose what to declare as your residence for your primary license-- you can only have one legal residence, and that's it.