Licensing, State of Residency, and the Military spouse.

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi all,

I'm just starting down the path to my ADN. I've been trying to collect as much information as possible to help my path go smoothly. I was reading about compact licensing because the school I am attending is in the state of Texas. While reading about it, it was talking about your state of residency. My state of residency is Washington because my husband is in the military and we have no plans to make Texas a permanent home. I know I need to be licensed in Texas, but how do I go about that if my state of residency is Washington (a non-compact state)? Here's the link to the pamphlet about compact licensing: https://www.ncsbn.org/2011_NLCA_factsheet_students_Rev_Jan_2011.pdf

Secondly, I know recently some legislature was put through to help Military spouses transfer licenses faster and easier between states. Can anyone give me the run down on the new program?

Also, any other advice or information is appreciated.

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In the situation you are describing, residency refers to where you actually reside and not where you intend to return to when you husband leaves the military.

If you apply for licensure in the state of Texas, and have a physical Texas address you should be issued a license iwth multi state privileges. In your situation, a compact license is not likely going to be of much use to you. When your husband is transferred to another state, what happens to your Texas license is going to depend on where you end up.

If you transfer to another compact state, you can work on your Texas license for 30 days. This will provide you enough time to at least obtain temporary licensure in your new state. When you receive your permanent license in the new compact state, your Texas license will be inactivated as you can only maintain one license with multi state privileges.

If you relocate to a non-compact state, when you report the address change to the Texas Board of Nursing, your Texas license will lose its multi-state privileges and become a single state license, good only in Texas.

I believe what you are referring to is the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act. You might want to check with someone on post, but I don't think this is going to be helpful in applying for licensure in another state.

Good luck in your schooling, and thank your husband for his service.

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Thank you very much Chare, I appreciate your help!

I did a little extra research, and if you see the same question again as it applies to Washington State, those that are Military Spouses can fill out a short form when they apply for a license there to expedite the process of getting a new license.

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Look into it a bit further and see if the military will pick up the costs involved with the licence (fees for the new license, notary fees for documents).

The Canadian military pays our fees when our spouses are posted, perhaps yours does as well?

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