Resources: Compact Licensure, Endorsement, and Moving States

The Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) is an agreement between participating states that lets a nurse hold one multistate license, issued by their home state, and practice in every other compact state without applying for a separate license in each one. It's administered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). The current version, in effect since 2018, is technically the "enhanced" NLC (eNLC), though most people just call it the compact.

A compact license isn't a separate credential. Your existing state RN license becomes a multistate license once your state is an NLC member and you meet the eligibility requirements. There's no extra application if you're already licensed in a compact state, you upgrade or convert your existing license.

Source: nursecompact.com

• Practice in any compact state, in person or via telehealth, without a separate license or waiting period
• Start a travel assignment in another compact state the day you arrive instead of waiting weeks for endorsement
• One renewal, one CE requirement, one fee, instead of juggling separate deadlines for multiple states
• Faster hiring for employers, which makes compact-licensed nurses more competitive candidates for last-minute openings
• Covers telehealth practice into any other compact state

Source: nursecompact.com FAQs

As of the most recent NCSBN update, 40 states have fully implemented the NLC and are issuing multistate licenses: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

Source: NLC official jurisdiction map, nursecompact.com/files/NLC_Map.pdf

• Massachusetts (signed into law, implementation date to be determined)
• Michigan (enacted, awaiting implementation)
• Minnesota (enacted, awaiting implementation)
• New York (enacted, awaiting implementation)
• Guam (nurses with an existing multistate license can practice there, but Guam residents can't yet obtain one)
• U.S. Virgin Islands (enacted, awaiting implementation)

Four states (Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, and New York) plus Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands have enacted NLC legislation but are not yet issuing multistate licenses. Adding these to the 40 fully implemented states is where the higher "jurisdictions have enacted the NLC" figure comes from. That's different from the number of states where you can currently practice on a compact license, which is 40.

Source: NCSBN Nurse Licensure Compact status, mid-2026. Compact status changes as states pass and implement legislation.

No states currently fit this category. With Michigan, Minnesota, and New York now enacted (pending implementation), there are no other states with active NLC legislation introduced but not yet passed as of this update.

Source: NCSBN Nurse Licensure Compact status, mid-2026. Compact status changes as states pass and implement legislation.

Six states have no enacted NLC legislation and no active bill currently moving: California, Oregon, Nevada, Alaska, Hawaii, and Illinois. Nevada's prior bill was defeated in 2021 with nothing pending since. The others have not advanced NLC legislation to enactment.

Source: NCSBN Nurse Licensure Compact status, mid-2026. Compact status changes as states pass and implement legislation.

Endorsement is how you get licensed in a new state using your existing license and credentials, instead of retaking the NCLEX. It's the path nurses use when moving states, whether or not either state is in the compact. Endorsement is not the same as a compact license, you only get a multistate license if your primary state of residence is itself a compact state.

Primary State of Residence (PSOR): the state where a nurse holds legal residency, evidenced by a driver's license, voter registration, or federal tax filing address.

Multistate License (MSL): the compact license itself, issued by your PSOR, that authorizes practice in every other compact state.

Licensure by Endorsement: applying for a license in a new state based on existing license and credentials.

License by Examination: the original path to licensure, sitting for the NCLEX for the first time.

You only need to endorse your compact license if your permanent home changes. If you permanently move your legal home state to another compact state, you usually need to apply for licensure by endorsement, and the 60-day rule applies. If you're only working temporarily in another compact state and keeping the same primary residence, you generally don't need to endorse anything. That's why your primary state of residence matters so much.

Noncompact to compact: apply for licensure by endorsement in your new PSOR. Example: a nurse in California (not compact) moves permanently to Arizona (compact), applies for Arizona endorsement, gets a multistate license once approved, and her old California license stays unaffected.

Compact to noncompact: apply for licensure by endorsement in your new PSOR. Your old multistate license automatically converts to single-state the moment your legal residency changes. Example: a nurse with a Texas multistate license moves permanently to California, her Texas license downgrades to single-state automatically, and she applies for a California license by endorsement.

Compact to compact: the 60-day rule scenario, apply within 60 days of relocating. Example: a nurse with a Maryland multistate license relocates to Washington, has 60 days to apply, practices on the Maryland license while the application processes, and the Maryland license deactivates once Washington issues the new one.

• NCLEX registration fee: $200 flat, same everywhere, paid to Pearson VUE
• State board application fee: roughly $50 to $375 depending on the state
• Fingerprinting and background check: roughly $50 to $150
• Typical total from graduation to active license: $400 to $800

Representative examples: California ~$350, 8 to 12 weeks. New York ~$143 plus $50 first registration. Washington $138 single-state, $203 multistate, plus $48.25 fingerprint fee. Most other compact states $50 to $200, background check separate.

NCSBN Nursys (nursys.com), your destination state's board of nursing site directly, or nursecompact.com for the state list. Washington specifically: nursing.wa.gov, HELMS portal.

Rule 402.2, effective January 2, 2024: a multistate licensee who changes primary state of residence to another party state shall apply for a multistate license in the new party state within 60 days. Uniform across every compact state.

Key points: the 60 days covers submitting the application, not getting the license issued. While the application processes, the nurse practices under the former state's multistate license (Rule 403.1), valid only if submitted within 60 days. The former license's expiration date is irrelevant to this timeline. Property ownership doesn't matter, PSOR is about legal residency. Travel nurses on temporary assignments aren't affected. Military spouses stationed temporarily generally aren't either. Missing the 60 days is a rule violation carrying the same force as law, consequences from a warning to fines or practice restrictions. Employers face reimbursement risk from payors like CMS if a nurse is practicing unlicensed, and NCSBN recommends employers enroll in Nursys e-Notify.

What counts as a permanent move: determined by driver's license, voter registration, and federal tax filing address.

PSOR is a legal determination based on driver's license, voter registration, and tax filing, all pointing to the same state. Owning property or spending time somewhere doesn't make it your PSOR. On holding more than one driver's license: this isn't an NLC rule, it's a general DMV principle. You cannot lawfully hold two active driver's licenses in two states at once. Most states invalidate the old one automatically when a new one issues. Deliberately maintaining and alternating between two licenses to misrepresent residency is fraud, handled by DMV rules, separate from anything a board of nursing does. If a nurse misrepresents PSOR to a board of nursing specifically to get or keep a multistate license, that's a nurse practice act issue on top of the DMV issue.

Conflicts between sources are marked directly in the relevant cell. "Not verified" means no confirmed figure exists yet. "Pending" means data is expected in a future update.