Moving...retake the NCLEX?

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in ER/OR.

hey guys. sorry..i'm new to nursing (applied for fall). i was just curious - if i graduate from a program in one state, and then move to another to practice later on, do i have to take the nclex over for that state? i'm in wv and planning the move to nc, so i don't fall into the compact agreement. just curious. thanks for your help!:nuke:

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Specializes in ICU.

No - you don't have to retake it. I'm going through this process now. I'm licensed in NJ, and I need a PA license too. I contacted the PA Board of Nursing, and they sent me some paperwork that I need to fill out, and some paperwork that I send to the NJ Board of Nursing to fill out (to verify my license in NJ), then they send it to the PA Board. It costs about $100-$200 for the applications, but that's nothing compared to having to suffer through the NCLEX again :bugeyes:

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Specializes in Tele.
hey guys. sorry..i'm new to nursing (applied for fall). i was just curious - if i graduate from a program in one state, and then move to another to practice later on, do i have to take the nclex over for that state? i'm in wv and planning the move to nc, so i don't fall into the compact agreement. just curious. thanks for your help!:nuke:

think the "n" in nclex means national. so if you move to another state you would just transfer

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the NCLEX is actually the same test in every state. You could graduate in Hawaii and take the test in Florida for a license in California. What matters is that the score gets sent to the BON for the state you're applying to.

As a matter of fact, I graduated from a school in NJ, applied for licensure in FL and took my NCLEX in New York City. And now I just applied for licensure by endorsement to PA!

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The NCLEX is a national exam and is not state specific. We have not had state specific nursing boards in many years. You take the exam for one state, meaning that Pearson-Vue will only accept you to write the exam for one state at that time, and then if you move later on, you use the License by Endorsement process.

The NCLEX exam has reciprocity, meaning that if you pass, the results are accepted in all fifty states plus the US territories. But be aware that not all training is accepted in all 50 states, so it may not be automatic to get a license in another state based on you having a license already. Your training needs to meet the requirements of the new state, and since each BON is independent, that is why one has to go thru the process of applying and getting accepted for the new license.

Nursing licenses in the US do not have reciprocity, there is no application for this.

Best of luck to you.

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