An Overview Of Nursing Compact Licenses

[TheCommuter]

The Nurse Licensure Compact is an agreement that allows multi-state nursing licensure for registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) in an efficient manner.

At the time of this writing, approximately 24 states participate in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC). A nurse who has established permanent residency in a NLC state has a multi-state nursing license and is allowed to work in the other participating states. These states, commonly referred to as the 'compact states,' are:

• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Colorado
• Delaware
• Idaho
• Iowa
• Kentucky
• Maine
• Maryland
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Virginia
• Wisconsin

However, for a nurse to have multi-state practicing privileges, the nurse must reside in a compact state and hold a nursing license in that primary state (Emery, 2008).

Nurses who do not live in a compact state will not be permitted to have multi-state licensure unless they obtain licenses for each state in which they would like to practice.

For instance, Bunny lives in California, which is not a compact state. She lives near the state line and has accepted a job in Arizona, which is a compact state. Bunny must obtain an Arizona nursing license by endorsement if she wishes to practice there. Furthermore, her Arizona license will not be a compact license because her permanent residence is in the non-compact state of California. However, if Bunny were to relocate to Arizona and set up permanent residence there, her Arizona license would become a compact license.

According to Emery (2008), if a nurse permanently moves from one compact state to another, a license change must take place within 30 days. As an example, Missy resides in Tennessee, which is a participating compact state, but is planning a permanent move to the compact state of Virginia.

Since Virginia is now her new primary state of residence, she has 30 days to get a Virginia nursing license. A compact nursing license is similar to a driver's license. Once Missy has moved to Virginia, she can legally drive in Virginia under her Tennessee driver's license for 30 days, then she will need to obtain a Virginia driver's license in order to keep driving legally in her new home state. It is the exact same concept with a nursing license that is from a compact state.

Multi-state privileges come in handy for travel nurses and people who live in close proximity to state lines. For example, Dolly lives in the compact state of Maryland, but would like to accept a travel assignment in South Dakota, which is another compact state. Since Dolly's permanent residence is in a compact state (Maryland), she has multi-state privileges and is legally allowed to practice nursing in any other compact state without going through the hassle of obtaining a new license for each state that participates in the NLC.

Another example involves Candy, who lives in the compact state of Nebraska. She lives very close to the Iowa state line, where she has accepted a job. As long as Candy maintains residence in Nebraska, she can continue to commute across the state line and work in Iowa (another compact state) under her Nebraska nursing license.

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[RingaLing]

The main reason that the "other" states have not joined the Nursing Compact is money. Particularly in states with a large amount of nurses (think Florida and New York) and high-priced licensure fees, there would be a significant drop in revenue from nursing licenses if they were to join the Compact. I'm thrilled that I finally live in a Compact state, because it's allowing me the opportunity to pursue my dream of doing consulting work across the country.

Wouldn't you know it--my first big job (several month contract) is in a NON-compact state!

Hot tip--don't give up your licensure in ANY state, even if you think you'll never work there again. I had multiple licensures back in the day, and now I wish I had kept them up. It would have made this easier, since they were in mostly non-Compact states. I'll never let another lapse again.

[oneLoneNurse]

It would be great if PA were a Compact state too.

[That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Getting my license to transfer was the biggest nightmare in the world. I had to rely on one state to send my info to another state, which they messed up on with me and my GF delaying our licenses. Then they required ludicrous amounts of documents for prior legal issues, when they do a background check as well. Seriously what is the point? It is called the NCLEX - NATIONAL test so it annoys the crap out of me that you cant transfer easier.

[juschillin, MSN, RN, NP]

Errrrr ...

Objection! "Bunny", "Missy", and "Dolly"? Is that the best the author can do for names for these wayward nurses? We're just all Bunny's, Missy's, and Dolly's ... Hey, I'm all about image and really would like to see our professional morale and self-esteem and value go upwards. But with names like these? Oh, sister! What a vision! I can see the 3 of them now, with their white uniforms and caps, bowing down to The Great Powers That Be.

The first paragraph was starring Bunny, and I thought, Oh! Right. I get it, as in little bunny foo-foo hopping through the compact states. Then I got to Missy and Dolly. How about Jackie, Susan, and maybe throw in a little Stevie??

Tryin' to chill !!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

As the author of the aforementioned article, I purposely selected names that the vast majority of people in real life would not have.

I can delve a little deeper and say that names are very generational. Therefore, middle-aged nurses from the Baby Boomer generation are more likely to have names like Susan, Jackie, Linda, and Deborah, whereas nurses in my generation (Gen X and the Millennials) are more likely to have names such as Jennifer, Amanda, Nicole, and Jessica. If I would have named the imaginary nurses Jackie and Susan, people might be claiming bias toward middle-aged female nurses while leaving the younger people out. If we look too closely, there's always some extraneous issue that can be turned into a complaint.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch. The point of the article was to serve as a resource and clear up some common misunderstandings surrounding nursing compact licensure, since a disturbing number of nurses do not seem to fully understand the issues and implications surrounding their licenses.

Errrrr ...

Objection! "Bunny", "Missy", and "Dolly"? Is that the best the author can do for names for these wayward nurses? We're just all Bunny's, Missy's, and Dolly's ... Hey, I'm all about image and really would like to see our professional morale and self-esteem and value go upwards. But with names like these? Oh, sister! What a vision! I can see the 3 of them now, with their white uniforms and caps, bowing down to The Great Powers That Be.

The first paragraph was starring Bunny, and I thought, Oh! Right. I get it, as in little bunny foo-foo hopping through the compact states. Then I got to Missy and Dolly. How about Jackie, Susan, and maybe throw in a little Stevie??

Tryin' to chill !!

[juschillin, MSN, RN, NP]

It's ok, no worries!

It is helpful to have some guidance on the topic b/c it IS confusing for state to state licenses like mine. I had to move between my 2 states twice, first crossed the border and stayed through the winter, thought I was going to stay, but had to return to care take of my mom. So I had to swap it back and forth twice within 6 months and it was confusing. That's why I went back to my trusty forum at AN.

Anyway, age doesn't matter -- you're only as old as you feel! My kids are Gen Y'ers and I think you're an awesome cohort, poised for changing the system, and I have faith in you guys despite what some people say.

So go Gen Y!! And thanks for your post. My kids are the ones that often keep me up to speed on cultural topics, musics, good TV shows like Mad Men, etc.

It's all good!

[keniken416]

NY and NJ got pending bills that will put the in the NLC list. I hope they get passed.

[NurseVirgo]

I hope so too!

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

NY and NJ got pending bills that will put the in the NLC list. I hope they get passed.

NJ has pended that bill for several years. It won't pass until the other compact states require the same level background check as NJ does. All you have to look up is Charles Cullen and you will know why the bill will fail until the other states agree to extend their background checks to the same level of NJ. Combined with the potential loss of $200 per license income it's doubtful it will pass.

[ksuheather]

Awesome info. I'm married to an active duty soldier and we are residents of a compact state and live in another where I am going to school. Should I license with my home of record or where I'm going to school.

[817nurse]

Awesome info. I'm married to an active duty soldier and we are residents of a compact state and live in another where I am going to school. Should I license with my home of record or where I'm going to school.

If I am not mistaken, you need to be licensed in your home state. This is the state you declare as your residence.

[Barnstormin' PMHNP]

TheCommuter,

Thank you for an article that is actually useful and accurate.

(P.S. secretly I want to be known as Bunny )