Changing my name during travel nursing after wedding.

merlee · Aug 13, 2012

Been married three times, sorry I ever changed my name professionally. What a pain to keep up with all the paperwork! Licenses, bank accts, social security, passport, insurance. And everything else.

I can't tell you anything about the compact state stuff - I had a separate license in each of the 5 states I have worked in, pre-compact. You can be licensed in more than one state as an RN. And you can use the same CEUs for different states. But only one driver's license at a time!

Probably best to use your parents' address as a 'permanent' one for most things.

Best Wishes!

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · Aug 13, 2012

I'm a little confused. You are taking six weeks to get married and go on your honeymoon. So you're leaving your apartment in SC and putting your things in storage in Ohio. Then you want to start a travel assignment. Then you plan on moving back to SC after your travel assignment. Is that correct?

If that's the case, how will you have a permanent residence in Ohio? I believe that, in order to receive a driver's license, you need to have a residential address. If you change your permanent address to a non-compact state, then you are required to notify the BON, your license will be changed to a single-state license, and you'll need to apply for licensure by endorsement in the new state where you wish to work.

You do have to maintain residency in your declared primary state in order to keep your compact license. So I don't believe that you would be allowed to move out of SC, have a residence in Ohio and travel to another compact state to complete a travel assignment.

See this link for more information: https://www.ncsbn.org/2011_NLCA_factsheet_students_Rev_Jan_2011.pdf

I'd really advice you to contact your state BON for more specific information and to see what your options are.

There's no reason why you have to change your name immediately after getting married. You can change your name at any time after your marriage. Six months, a year, two years, etc. All you have to do is show your marriage license- the amount of time that lapses doesn't matter. So perhaps the best thing to do is just wait to change your name. Then you don't have to worry about getting a new license, social security card, etc. until you have settled into a new home.

I'm still not sure where that leaves you in terms of moving out of SC and putting all your stuff in storage in Ohio. It sounds like, since you're not maintaining residency in SC, your compact license would not be valid. You need to contact the BON and address this with them.

NedRN · Aug 14, 2012

You will be itinerant, or without a home. This means all your compensation, including supplied housing will be taxed. A small plus here, you won't owe state income tax to SC or OH.

For most state boards, residency rules are much less stringent. You don't have to actually have a dwelling there A PO box will work, but you should have your drivers licence, car registration, voters registration and such there. You need an address anyway for those anyway to be legal. So chose your poison. Not possible to have it all. But claiming Ohio as your address gives you the worst of everything.

NurseRies, BSN, RN · Jan 8, 2013

Thanks All,I ended up and contacted South Carolina BON. They recommend I leave residence there. I did not change my name, I am going to wait until I have a permanent home. Sounds a lot easier, although, hard to explain to non nursing people why this makes the most sense. I have no permanent residence, so I maintained South Carolina as my home state since that is where I paid my taxes the last 3 years. I think the compact state rules are very confusing and had to do a lot if research to understand the qualifications. If your primary residence is in a non compact state, but you also hold a TX license (compact state), you can still only go to Texas. I think that rule should be changed. Compact states should be compatible no matter what your primary residence state. I obtained RN licenses in SC, OH, MA, CA, and FL. They certainly don't make the process easy. Most travel companies don't reimburse you for your licensing fees either. I spent about $1700. So far with travel nursing, I think the benefits are a lot less then people seem to imagine. After talking to many travel nurses, it is obvious that things used to be different. Bonuses don't happen anymore. Hourly rates are about equal. The only benefit you get is free housing and food. But if you own a home elsewhere, there is no benefit. All I can say is, it's an adventure, you have to be a travel nurse for the experience, not the money. Has been challenging getting to this point but I'm very happy to be doing it. First assignment going great!

NedRN · Jan 9, 2013

Think that through about what happens if your primary license is now in several states. Among other things, there would be a loss of revenue to state boards.

The IRS also demands a primary state if you are going to take advantage of tax benefits while traveling: such as housing, per diems, and travel. Compact licensure has nothing on the complexity of keeping up a valid tax home!

NurseRies, BSN, RN · Jan 10, 2013

Think that through about what happens if your primary license is now in several states. Among other things, there would be a loss of revenue to state boards.
The IRS also demands a primary state if you are going to take advantage of tax benefits while traveling: such as housing, per diems, and travel. Compact licensure has nothing on the complexity of keeping up a valid tax home!

I have declared South Carolina as my primary license. I have also declared with my agency that I do not have a permanent tax home after answering a 5 page questionnaire. So I am going to be paying taxes state to state depending on where I work. I have also counseled with an accountant prior to starting my assignment to make sure I'm going everything legally. I certainly hope I've taken all necessary steps to protect myself, but just on case, I'm setting aside quite a bit of money. That way if I owe $5,000 ( which I shouldn't) It will be no problem for me to pay. Better safe then sorry.

BluntForceTrauma · Jan 10, 2013

Your problem may come when you apply to agencies and list your SC license with an OH address

NurseRies, BSN, RN · Jan 10, 2013

Your problem may come when you apply to agencies and list your SC license with an OH address

I still maintain a SC address. But I have most of my mail forwarded to my parents house in Ohio because that is usually where I go if I have a week off. I talked to both agency and BON before my first assignment and all is understood. I am now almost finished with my first assignment. But it was definitely a tricky situation. I'm sure a lot of travel nurses run into these problems.

NedRN · Jan 10, 2013

While I don't know all the ins and outs of itinerant traveling, one issue could be with car registration and driver's license. Since you are not "working away from home", most states have rules requiring getting registration in their state within a few weeks. Seems like it would be difficult to legally resist such demands. There are some "full timer" RV sites that could probably shed light on the issues. Certainly there is a large community that acquires a "permanent" mailing address in a single state (Arizona seems popular in that community), and keeps registration and license there while working elsewhere. Still itinerant with no tax home, just a mailing address.

NurseRies, BSN, RN · Jan 10, 2013

While I don't know all the ins and outs of itinerant traveling one issue could be with car registration and driver's license. Since you are not "working away from home", most states have rules requiring getting registration in their state within a few weeks. Seems like it would be difficult to legally resist such demands. There are some "full timer" RV sites that could probably shed light on the issues. Certainly there is a large community that acquires a "permanent" mailing address in a single state (Arizona seems popular in that community), and keeps registration and license there while working elsewhere. Still itinerant with no tax home, just a mailing address.[/quote']
This problem crossed my mind as well. I have a South Carolina driver's license. The way I solved it is that I gave my car to my parents. My husband works from home and travels with me. We are using his car. Basically I just have a temporary mailing address in Ohio, since my living arrangements will change once every 8-13 weeks. Once I talked to so many people, they said that as long as I wasn't working in Ohio, nothing is tying me to that state. It's just a temporary mailing address from now until I stop traveling.
I think the benefits of travel would be greater If you had a mortgage and permanent tax home. I simply don't, so things are more confusing.

NedRN · Jan 10, 2013

Consider buying a house in South Dakota. You can pick one up a nice one for around 40K, no state income tax, low fees for driver's license and registration, and compact licensure. Not much in the way of costs, especially if you get a roommate, and a central place to hang out for a while on cross country trips. Such a set up would maximize your income. Texas would be second on my list of good places to be located for similar reasons. I'd pay more for such a house near a college/university to maintain or increase home value, and ease of finding roommates.