NCLEX in WA, license in NY?

[xana1986]

Hello,

I am about to sit for the NCLEX in Washington State, but I will be moving to New York. I am wondering if I am supposed to take the NCLEX in my state of residency (WA) and then get my license in my state of residency (WA); or, can I take the NCLEX in my state of residency, but apply for a license in NY? Everywhere I look, I see the term "reciprocity", which applies to transferring a license from one state to another; however, is it possible to simply get the license in the desired state without going through reciprocity from my state of residence?

Thank you,

Xana1986

[jsano19]

Yes, it's completley possible to get the license in a state that you are not a resident of. Here's the deal though, have you applied to take the NCLEX yet? When you apply to take the NCLEX, you select the state which you are applying for licensure. If you already have applied for WA licensure, then no, you cannot just take it and have an NY license.

There are a group of states that work in compact with each other. Meaning that if you get a license in one, you are recognized as having a license in the others (I believe there are currently 13). Neither NY or WA are compact states however.

If you already applied for WA licensure, once you get that, you can also get a NY license by endorsement. I'm not sure about how reciprocity works between the two states though.

However, if you have not yet applied for licensure, when you apply, you can apply for NY licensure. And yes, you can take the test in WA even for NY licensure, but only if you applied for it. I personally went to school in DC but am from Michigan. I took a job in DC, filed for DC licensure, but took the NCLEX itself in Michigan. So another question that may be answered is that you don't have to take the test in the state you are getting licensure in, but you must have applied for licensure in that state.

Hope that helped some!

Jeff