I'd like to move from Il and get a Texas license (help)

[KungFuFtr]

Hello all

I'm a nurse working waaaay up in Illinois. I'd like to move down to the area and buy a house sometime next year. I visited the Texas board of nursing and some of the site looks like it's written in Latin. The site lists something called a "Nurse licensure compact". Apparently, the state in which I live and hold my license (IL) is not one of these multistate licenses. It appears that I have to pay $200 and take the nursing jurisprudence examination. However, once I get my Texas license, I must give up my Illinois license? I guess I have no problem with that, if I'm living in Texas. However, I'd like to get my license for Texas before I apply for jobs. Am I able to get my Texas licence and sort of hold on to it? I'm pretty confused about the process.

Thanks in advanced

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Nurses can be licensed in as many states as they'd like, just as long as they are willing to pay the fees and accrue the CEUs needed to maintain all of those licenses.

Once you endorse your Illinois license into Texas through a process called "licensure by endorsement," you will still have an Illinois license, as well as licensure from Texas.

Whether you decide to keep the Illinois license active is up to you. My original license is out of California, and I decided to let it lapse because it made no sense to me to keep paying fees to renew it when I was not planning on working there again. I successfully endorsed my California license into Texas in early 2006. I also endorsed my California license into Oklahoma in late 2008.

Good luck to you!