Compact State Licensure

[OncRN2015, DNP, APRN, NP]

I have been looking into licensure in other states.  Is it accurate that 38 of 50 states are now compact states for RN licensure??  When I first started as a RN about 8 years ago, I think there were only 6 states that were compact.  If I have an expired license in a compact state, can I renew it and automatically be apart of the compact states?  Do I need to do anything different for compact?  If I wanted to be licensed as a NP in multiple states, do I still need to apply for my NP license in each state?

[Epidural, BSN, RN]

37 states and Guam are now part of the Nurse Licensure Compact. In order to have a compact license in any state, you need to be a legal resident of that state. Some compact states give nurses the option of getting a single state license, if that is all you want. This confuses a lot of people, so make sure you check this on your Board of Nursing website.

Also, some nurses apply for a license in a compact state, before they actually move to that state. Once they complete their move, they don't understand why their license is only a "single state license". It's because the address they gave the BON was actually out of state. All they need to do is update their address with the BON, and request a compact license.

There is also an "APRN compact", but only two states have joined (North Dakota and Delaware). I think four more states need to join before it is official.