Multistate license

Nurses Recovery

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I have been a nurse for 15 years. I moved to my current state 10 years ago. I applied for my RN license a few months after getting settled in. Approximately 30 days After receiving my license here I got a letter in the mail stating that my license in my previous state needed to be given up or made inactive because I was not allowed to have two current licenses at one time. Both states are compact states. My license in the previous state is expired now and has been for some years. My question is should I not have let my license in the previous state expire? My current state is active.

I mean as a compact state you can work in your old state...but the laws and practice act from your current state of licensure still governs what you can or cannot do. This is why you cannot maintain two compact licenses.

Actually, when you hold a compact/multistate license and work in a different state (than your home state), you are bound by the Nurse Practice Act and BON rules/regs of the state in which you are practicing at that time, not your home state rules/regs. From the NCSBN NLC document, "What Nurses Need to Know":

The NLC allows a nurse (RN and LPN/VN) to have one compact license in the nurse's primary state of residence (the home state) and to practice in other compact states (remote states). The nurse must follow the nurse practice act of each state (visit Find Your Nurse Practice Act | NCSBN to find your state's nurse practice act). The nurse could be subject to the discipline process in the states of practice.

https://www.ncsbn.org/NLC_What_Nurses_Need_to_Know.pdf

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There may not be a "penalty". When I moved to my current state (compact) from my old state (also compact), the old state's Board of Nursing called me. They asked me where I was in the process of moving, and obtaining licensure in my new state. I had already started working, so they told me to make sure that I had been assigned a temporary license before I officially changed my state of residence. I did, I had the correspondence verifying my temporary license issuance with me (I had literally started my new job that day). They said that they would change the state of residence but that inactivates my old state license. In some places and searches it shows up as "inactive" and in others "expired". I have also inactivated two of my other licenses - and they also sometimes show up as "inactivate" and others "expired".

Frankly, it seems to matter more that you are accurately licensed where you are currently practicing and residing. I mean as a compact state you can work in your old state...but the laws and practice act from your current state of licensure still governs what you can or cannot do. This is why you cannot maintain two compact licenses.

I said penalty for EXPIRED *read lapsed* LICENSE which is a thing in some states. When I moved from my compact state and updated my address my license wasn't inactivated, only changed to that state only. When it was time for renewal I chose to inactivate them, not let them lapse. My friend moved from Ohio and let her license expire but OH is reporting them as lapsed and she has to damn near jump through hoops to get them back, so much so to the point she gave up cause it'll be super expensive.

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Specializes in Care Coordination, MDS, med-surg, Peds.

It's inactive in my old state.

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They were inactive at first. However now they read expired. I'm not moving back to that state anytime soon I was just curious about it in case I wanted to in the future. I just assumed when inactive I didn't have to pay a renewal fee. But now they show expired so I'm wondering if I messed up by not renewing even thought that state will remain inactive. I hope that made sense.

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If you hold a current multi-state license in one eNLCstate, you can not maintain a multi-state license in another eNLC state. Again, whether the state in question places it either in an inactive or expired status, or uses another term doesn't matter as the license has to be deactivated.

If you want to return to the original state all you have to do is apply to have your license reinstated. When you do so, you will be allowed to work on your current state license until you are issued your new license.

[...]

403. CHANGE IN PRIMARY STATE OF RESIDENCE

(1) A nurse who changes his or her primary state of residence from one party state to another party state may continue to practice under the existing multistate license while the nurse's application is processed and a multistate license is issued in the new primary state of residence.

(2) Upon issuance of a new multistate license, the former primary state of residence shall deactivate its multistate license held by the nurse and provide notice to the nurse.

[...]

Final Rules (Adopted Dec 12, 2017; Effective Jan 19, 2018)

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They were inactive at first. However now they read expired. I'm not moving back to that state anytime soon I was just curious about it in case I wanted to in the future. I just assumed when inactive I didn't have to pay a renewal fee. But now they show expired so I'm wondering if I messed up by not renewing even thought that state will remain inactive. I hope that made sense.

Oh I see. No you don't have to renew them if inactive unless you plan to work in that state. However, since it's also a compact state, you don't need to worry about reactivating them unless you move there. If you were to take a travel assignment there, your current license would suffice as you still reside in a compact state.

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If you hold a current multi-state license in one eNLCstate, you can not maintain a multi-state license in another eNLC state. Again, whether the state in question places it either in an inactive or expired status, or uses another term doesn't matter as the license has to be deactivated.

If you want to return to the original state all you have to do is apply to have your license reinstated. When you do so, you will be allowed to work on your current state license until you are issued your new license.

Final Rules (Adopted Dec 12, 2017; Effective Jan 19, 2018)

Thank you!!! That is exactly what I wanted to know.

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Oh I see. No you don't have to renew them if inactive unless you plan to work in that state. However, since it's also a compact state, you don't need to worry about reactivating them unless you move there. If you were to take a travel assignment there, your current license would suffice as you still reside in a compact state.

Thank you!!!

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