Does the state you get your degree in affect where you can practice?

gradnursechicago, BSN, RN · Jun 3, 2020

It all depends on if your state and your school state is part of the compact states. If they are part of the compact states, if you get licensed in one of them you will be licensed in all of them. Which states are you looking at?

For me, I went to school in Missouri, live in Missouri, and am moving to Illinois to live and work. Illinois is not part of the compact states so I had to apply for separate licensure that was ONLY for IL. If I want to practice in another state, I can request licensure in those states, it just might take a couple months to transfer over.

Editorial Team / Admin · Jun 3, 2020

2 minutes ago, gradnursechicago said:
It all depends on if your state and your school state is part of the compact states. If they are part of the compact states, if you get licensed in one of them you will be licensed in all of them. Which states are you looking at?

Not quite. The school itself is irrelevant; the curriculum must meet the requirements of the state BON that one applies to for licensure- and most states will accept the majority of schools around the country.

What matters is where you apply for licensure by exam. If you live in Ohio, you could attend school in Texas, take NCLEX in California, and apply for licensure in Pennsylvania (non-compact state). Where will you have a license to work? In Pennsylvania, and only Pennsylvania.

In order to be granted a compact license, you must live (have legal residence) in a compact state and you must apply for licensure in that state. Your home state license is able to be used to work in any state that is part of the NLC. If you move from a compact state to a non-compact state, your license becomes a single state license. If you move from one compact state to another, you must apply for a compact license by endorsement in your new state. If you initially apply to a state that is non-compact, your license is good only for that state.

OP, generally if you can become licensed in one state, you can endorse that license to another state at a later date. Some states may require additional criteria- I believe Texas requires completion of a jurisprudence exam before your license is officially endorsed. It may be in your best interests to decide prior to applying for licensure where you want to live- license fees can be quite steep, especially if you apply to one state by exam then shortly thereafter apply to another state by endorsement.

futurern13 · Jun 3, 2020

Thank you both for your responses.

I currently live in PA (but on the border so I have always worked in Maryland). I am planning to attend school in Florida though. Do you know if they are compact states or if there is a specific website where I could find that out?

Thank you for further explaining that though. I am honestly not sure where I will end up wanting to practice as most of my family is PA/MD area but I have always wanted to move south. I just wanted to make sure that the degree would be transferrable to different states. I will work on doing more research also.

Editorial Team / Admin · Jun 3, 2020

30 minutes ago, futurern13 said:
Do you know if they are compact states or if there is a specific website where I could find that out?

Click in my earlier post where it says NLC. That’ll take you to the website.

futurern13 · Jun 3, 2020

Thanks so much!