Moved from one state to another compact state

[Nurse109]

Hello everyone,

I need some help over here. I am currently a nurse with a Texas BON license. I just bought a house and moved to New Mexico which is ironically only a mile and a half away from the Texas border. With that being said, my place of employment is in Texas but I reside in New Mexico. I have been researching and so far cannot find any information, so I come to this forum to see if anyone knows....If I reside in New Mexico and work in Texas with a Texas BON license; do I have to change my nursing license to a New Mexico nursing license since I live there? Or can I continue using my Texas BON license?

[chare]

My thought is, that when you change your address with the TX BON, they are going to tell you that you need to apply for licensure in NM. If it were me, I think I would get in front of this, and apply for my NM license.

Best wishes.

[elkpark]

The NLC rules state that one can only hold one compact license at a time, and it must be in your home state. Once your permanent residence is in NM instead of TX, you must apply for NM licensure.

From the NCSBN FAQs page:

"What if I move to another compact state?

Upon permanently relocating to another compact state, apply for licensure by endorsement and complete the Declaration of Primary State of Residence for the new home state, which can be found on your board of nursing (BON)'s website. The declaration form is generally a page within the application. It is important to note that you must apply once you are a legal resident of the new state, as a compact state will not issue a license to a resident of another compact state. Notify the former compact BON that you are no longer a resident. You can practice on your former license for a period of up to 90 days. The 90-day period starts when you become a resident in the new state.

Please note: States are in the process of amending rules regarding the period of time a nurse can practice on the license issued by a former state of residence. The number of days is based on the rule in effect in the new state. Visit ncsbn.org/nlc to confirm your state's current status."

NLC FAQs | NCSBN

Once you've moved out of state, your compact license in your old state becomes invalid after 90 days. I suggest you apply for your license ASAP.

Best wishes!

[quiltynurse56, LPN, LVN]

Looking on the TX BON site, you need to get your license in NM since they are both compact states.