NCLEX between States

Yes, you may test in any state since the NCLEX is a national test, not a state test. The test is the same regardless of which state you take it in. The only thing you need to do, as addressed by the first response, is check to see what you need to do to register for the test in the state in which you take it. If you do not have a particular state in mind to work in, it would be to your advantage to take the test and become licensed in a home state that is in the NLC (Nursing Licensure Compact agreement.) Then you can work in any state that is in the compact agreement. Otherwise, if you wished to change states, and your "home state" was not a part of the NLC, then you would have to get a separate license, and pay the fees/go through the process of obtaining another state's license which can be cumbersome and expensive. Hope this helps.

There's a lot of confusion about the NLC. Please note that you cannot get a nursing license with "compact privileges" from a compact state unless you are a permanent resident of that state. If you apply for licensure but don't live in the state, you will just get a regular, traditional license that is only good in that state and cannot be used to work in any other compact state.

Also, even if you are a resident of a "compact state" and have a "compact license," it can only be used to work in other states as long as you remain a permanent resident of that state -- if you move to another state, even another compact state, you still have to apply for a new license in your new state.

There is no point or advantage to applying for licensure in a compact state unless you are a permanent resident of that state. The NLC mostly only matters to travel nurses and those who live in a compact state near the border of another compact state (for example, I live on the border of my state, which is a compact state, and work in the state "next door," which is also a compact state). For most nurses, the NLC doesn't matter at all.

To the OP -- you (your friend) should register for licensure in the state in which you intend to live and practice. Once you're registered and authorized to sit the exam, you can physically take the exam in whatever location (in the US or in one of the foreign testing sites) is convenient for you -- it doesn't have to physically be in the state to which you're applying. Although licensure in the US is handled on an individual-state basis, the NCLEX exam is nationally standardized.

The NCLEX is the same no matter where you take it and you can take it anywhere the delivery of the test is offered. Most people take the test in their home state and have the results forwarded to the state where they have applied for their initial license. That state is normally their home state or another if they intend to move for their first job.