Nurse Licensure Compact: Guide to the Multistate License

The Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) lets you hold one multistate license and practice in every participating state without applying for a separate license in each one. Your license from your home state (your primary state of residence) carries practice privileges into dozens of other compact states, in person or by telehealth.

This is the model that makes travel nursing, cross border telehealth, and quick relocations workable. Here is how the compact works, how to get and keep a multistate license, what happens when you move, and where each state stands.

What the NLC covers

The NLC is an interstate agreement that lets registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/LVNs) practice in all member states on one multistate license. The license your home state issues is recognized by every other compact state. You do not apply for a separate license or pay extra fees to practice in another member state, whether you go there physically or treat patients there remotely.

Two limits matter. First, the NLC covers only RNs and LPN/LVNs. It does not cover advanced practice nurses such as nurse practitioners. That is the separate APRN Compact, covered below. Second, every state still regulates nursing inside its own borders. When you practice in another compact state, you follow that state's nurse practice act and rules, even on a multistate license. To protect the public, all compact nurses meet the same baseline requirements including background checks, and the member boards share disciplinary and investigatory information.

As of 2026, 43 U.S. jurisdictions have enacted the compact. Most states are either active members or implementing it. Nurses in those states can practice across a large multistate region on a single license. The few states still outside the compact require a separate license to work there.

From the original NLC to the eNLC

Mutual recognition for nurse licensure has been building for more than two decades. The original compact launched in 2000 when Maryland, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin enacted it. Up to 25 states joined that first version in the early 2000s. Growth then stalled. Some nurses and associations worried about uneven licensing standards and missing safeguards, such as the lack of universal background checks and limited authority to act when a patient was harmed by a nurse practicing remotely from another state.

The enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact (eNLC) fixed those gaps. In 2015 the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) and state boards drafted a modernized compact built on Uniform Licensure Requirements (ULRs): mandatory FBI fingerprint based criminal background checks and uniform eligibility standards for every applicant. It also formalized information sharing and cross state discipline. Every compact state now holds to the same baseline criteria.

The eNLC took effect on January 19, 2018, replacing the old compact. Nurses with existing multistate licenses were grandfathered in, except in states that did not join the new version. Rhode Island, for example, was in the original compact but did not immediately join the enhanced one, then re-joined in 2023.

Since 2018 the compact has grown steadily. By 2021 roughly 34 to 35 states were members, including most of the South and Midwest. New Jersey and Ohio enacted legislation in 2021 (Ohio effective 2023), and the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands enacted it that year. Washington State joined in April 2023, Rhode Island re-enacted in June 2023, Connecticut signed on in May 2024, and Massachusetts passed the NLC in November 2024 as the 43rd member.

A few large states still sit outside the compact, including California and New York, along with Alaska, Illinois, Hawaii, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, and the District of Columbia. Many of these have seen bills introduced. The trajectory is clear: from a small coalition in 2000 to a near national system today.

How the NLC works

You hold one active license in your primary state of residence (PSOR) and gain a multistate privilege to practice in every other member state.

Primary state of residence

Your PSOR is your home state, where you live and legally reside, typically shown by your driver's license and voter registration. You can hold a multistate license only in your PSOR, and you cannot hold two multistate licenses at once. If you live in Texas, the Texas Board of Nursing issues your multistate license, and it covers every other compact state. Move your primary residence to a different compact state and you transfer the license to the new state.

Uniform Licensure Requirements

To get a multistate license you must meet the ULRs: an unencumbered active RN or LPN license in your home state, graduation from an approved nursing program, a passing NCLEX-RN or NCLEX-PN result, an FBI fingerprint criminal background check, and any state specific requirements such as English proficiency for international graduates. If you do not meet the multistate criteria (for example, a past felony conviction), you may still qualify for a single state license in that state, just not a multistate one.

Applying for a multistate license

Apply through your state Board of Nursing as usual. If your state is a member and you meet the ULRs, you can request the multistate license, often as part of the initial exam application or by endorsement if you are moving in. A new graduate in Florida who meets the criteria gets a multistate RN license. An experienced nurse relocating to Florida from a non-compact state applies by endorsement and, after the background check and other requirements, receives a multistate license. Not sure what you hold? Verify your status in the Nursys database, which shows whether your license is multistate or single state.

Practice privileges across states

Once you hold a multistate license, you can practice in any other member state with no further paperwork. Practice includes physical work and telehealth to patients located in other compact states. A triage nurse in Arizona can counsel a patient in Colorado, and a travel nurse on a Texas multistate license can take an Ohio assignment without applying in Ohio. To work in a non-compact state, you must get that state's license the traditional way.

When you practice in a remote state, you follow its nurse practice act and rules, and that state can act on your privilege to practice there if a violation occurs. Serious action on a multistate license by your home state, such as suspension or revocation, automatically affects your ability to practice in all compact states. The member boards coordinate, share investigatory information, and uphold sanctions across state lines.

Educators and preceptors

The compact also helps nurse educators and faculty who teach across state lines. Online programs often have students in many states, and most states require faculty to be licensed where the student sits. A multistate license lets an educator teach students in any compact state, precept a student from another compact state, or consult remotely without stacking up licenses.

Think of it like a driver's license. Your home state license lets you drive anywhere, but you obey the local traffic laws. Your multistate nursing license lets you practice in other member states while you follow each state's nursing laws. Less paperwork and cost for nurses, faster recruiting for employers, more available care for patients.

Compact vs. non-compact states

As of 2026, 43 states and U.S. territories have enacted the NLC, though not all are fully implemented. In practice, about 38 to 40 states are actively issuing or recognizing multistate licenses, with a few laws passed but pending implementation. NCSBN's Nurse Licensure Guidance tool shows where you can practice based on where you live.

Active member states

Members include almost all of the South (Texas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, both Carolinas), most of the Midwest (Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas), and a growing set of Western and New England states (Arizona, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Montana, New Hampshire, Maine).

Implementation timing varies. By January 2024, 37 states were fully implementing the NLC, with Connecticut and Massachusetts joining later that year. Washington State joined in mid 2023 and recognized outside multistate licenses that year, but began issuing its own only in 2024. Rhode Island rejoined effective January 1, 2024. Pennsylvania enacted the NLC in 2021 but, because of administrative delays, has not fully implemented it. Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands enacted it and are awaiting full implementation. Before you count on working somewhere, confirm whether the state is "compact in effect" or just "enacted, pending."

A current snapshot: 38 states are fully operational members. Three more states and two territories have enacted but not finished implementing. Two jurisdictions (Pennsylvania and Guam) sit in partial implementation. Nine states and D.C. have active bills. Only California plus two Pacific territories (American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) have taken no legislative action.

States with pending legislation

States with active or pending NLC bills include Alaska, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, and Washington D.C. Pending means a bill is proposed or under debate, not signed. Illinois saw a bill introduced in 2023. Alaska's Board of Nursing has studied the compact and briefed legislators. New York has had proposals, pushed by the wave of nurses leaving for travel assignments during COVID-19, but faces union opposition. California's AB 3232 (2022 to 2023) did not advance, with debate centered on labor concerns and state specific regulations. Hawaii and Michigan have had recent bills, and D.C. has a council bill under consideration.

States with no current action

Only Nevada and Oregon have neither joined nor introduced active legislation. To practice there, use their standard licensing process.

The practical difference is large. Hold a compact license and you can take jobs or assignments across member states with little delay. Live in or work in a non-compact state and you budget time and money for extra licenses. Many travel nurses keep a compact license as their home license for broad coverage, plus a single state license or two for key holdout states like California or New York.

One catch even inside compact states: joining does not automatically convert your license. If you did not opt in or submit fingerprints when your state joined, you may still hold a single state license until you act. When New Jersey implemented the compact in 2021, nurses who wanted multistate privileges had to complete a background check and upgrade. New graduates, though, get the multistate license from the start if eligible.

Getting and keeping a multistate license

If you live in a compact state, the multistate license is usually part of the normal licensure or endorsement process, with the background check as the main added step.

New graduates in a compact state

When you apply for your RN or LPN license in a compact state, you are typically offered the multistate option. Complete the fingerprinting and background check. Meet all the ULRs and, if your state issues multistate licenses, you receive one. From day one it is valid in every other compact state. If you later move, you may need to transfer it.

Licensed nurses (endorsement)

If you already hold an RN/LPN license and want to practice in another state, you use the endorsement process. The steps depend on where you are coming from.

Moving from a non-compact state into a compact state: apply for licensure by endorsement in the new state. You can start before or right after the move. The new state requires you to meet the multistate criteria, declare it as your primary residence, and complete the background check. Your old non-compact license stays valid only in that state; it never becomes multistate, since that state is not in the compact.

Moving from a compact state to a non-compact state: apply by endorsement in the new state, as you would for any single state license. Once you change your primary residence to a non-compact state, your multistate license loses its multistate status and reverts to a single state license valid only in the former home state. A nurse who becomes a California resident can no longer use a Texas multistate license to practice in other states, because the NLC requires your home to be in a member state. Keep the old license active if you plan to return, but it grants no multistate privilege while you live in a non-compact state.

Moving from one compact state to another: transfer your multistate license to the new state by applying for endorsement there and declaring it your primary residence. You do not maintain multiple licenses; the new multistate license covers all compact states. Timing matters here. Effective January 2, 2024, an NLC rule requires you to apply for licensure in the new state within 60 days of moving. You can practice on your former home state license for up to 60 days while the new one processes, but do not wait. Once 60 days pass without the new license, you are out of compliance. Apply as soon as you move, or slightly before if the state allows. When the new license issues, the old one is inactivated.

Maintaining the license

Day to day, a multistate license is much like a single state one. Renew it on schedule (often every two years, depending on the state), complete your home state's continuing education, and stay in good standing. If your license becomes encumbered in your home state, your privileges in other states are limited or paused until it clears, since member states honor those encumbrances.

Always update your address with your board. Move to another compact state and you transfer as described. Move to a non-compact state and your multistate license converts to single state (some boards do this automatically once they learn of the address change). Watch for board communications, especially when your state newly joins the NLC; you may need to opt in or prove you meet the requirements once multistate privileges become available.

Working in many states often

If you rotate through hospitals nationwide, a multistate license saves you from juggling separate renewal dates and fees. Follow each state's scope of practice where you work. If you keep separate single state licenses for non-compact states (say, a New York license), renew those and meet their continuing education separately. The NLC does not merge them.

Check Nursys

Unsure of your status? Use the Nursys verification system from NCSBN. It shows whether your license is single or multistate. If you hold a single state license, your state is in the compact, and you qualify, you can usually apply to upgrade to multistate through your board, typically by submitting fingerprints and paying for the background check if not already done.

Changing your state of residence

Changing your primary residence is one of the most important scenarios under the NLC. Here is what to do in each case.

Non-compact state to compact state (example: Oregon to Idaho). Apply for the new state's license by endorsement, before or after the move. The state may issue a temporary permit while paperwork processes. Prove the new state is your primary residence and meet the ULRs, and the board issues a multistate license. Let the old single state license lapse at renewal unless you still need it. You can now work in any compact state.

Compact state to non-compact state (example: Missouri to California). Apply for the new state's license by endorsement; there is no multistate aspect there. Apply as soon as you accept the job, since processing can be slow. Once you become a resident of the non-compact state, your multistate privilege ends and your old license acts as a single state license only. You cannot practice in the new state on the old license, and you should not keep practicing in other compact states once your home is non-compact. Many nurses keep the old license active as a single state license in case they return.

Compact state to compact state (example: Georgia to North Carolina). The 60-day rule applies. Apply for the new state's license by endorsement and designate it your primary state within 60 days of moving. You can keep working on the old multistate license for up to 60 days after you become a resident. When the new license issues, the old multistate status is turned off. Do not push the time limit; if the new license is delayed past 60 days, you land in a gray area. Start the endorsement as soon as you move.

Military spouses and temporary moves. If you move on military orders, you can keep working on your existing multistate license while you transition. You still get the new state's license if it is a compact state, since your residence changed, but the compact removes most of the relicensing hassle. Many states also fast track military spouse licensing, including in non-compact states.

In every move, check the new state board's website for NLC transfer guidance, apply by endorsement, complete fingerprints if not on file, and declare the new state as your primary residence. Update your address with your old state board too. If the new state has enacted the compact but not implemented it (as Pennsylvania did for a stretch), you get a regular license now and may convert to multistate once the state goes live.

Why the NLC matters

The compact widens job prospects, cuts licensure bureaucracy, and helps employers ease staffing shortages.

Expanded job opportunities. A multistate license lets you apply for positions in any compact state without license barriers, which is ideal for travel and per diem nurses, and for anyone living near a state line. Living in Kansas City, Kansas and picking up shifts in Missouri works on one license.

Time and money saved. Multiple single state licenses each carry application fees, verification, transcripts, fingerprinting, continuing education, and renewals. A compact license consolidates that to one board, one renewal fee, one set of requirements. Over a career with moves or travel assignments, that saves hundreds or thousands of dollars and a lot of paperwork.

Telehealth. The growth of telehealth, accelerated by COVID-19, made multistate privileges more valuable. A nurse in a member state can treat patients in any other compact state by telehealth without extra licenses. A diabetes educator in Missouri can follow up with patients in Iowa and Arkansas, which opens work from home roles for companies serving patients nationwide and supports models like centralized tele-ICU and remote hospice coordination.

Disaster and emergency response. During disasters or public health crises, a member state can bring in nurses from other compact states without emergency waivers. The compact provides a permanent framework for the rapid response that states had to improvise during COVID-19.

Career flexibility. The compact makes it easier to keep your career moving through relocations. Military spouse nurses benefit most, transferring quickly wherever the family is stationed.

Easing shortages. The compact does not create more nurses, but it redistributes available ones more efficiently. A short staffed state in the compact can recruit from a larger pool. A hospital in Washington can hire a qualified nurse from Texas or Ohio without waiting for a new license. NCSBN frames the compact as part of broader workforce strategy, and states increasingly see non-membership as a recruiting disadvantage.

Access in underserved areas. Rural hospitals and small facilities can hire remote telehealth nurses or temporary staff from other states. Home health and hospice agencies can cover wider areas, and patients in underserved regions can reach telehealth nursing services from nurses in other member states.

Continuity of care across state lines. Patients who travel seasonally can keep the same telehealth case manager year round if both states are in the compact. Multistate health systems can deploy staff across facilities with less administrative overhead.

Public safety. The compact's information sharing strengthens protection. Every multistate nurse has had an FBI background check and meets a uniform standard, and shared discipline data means a nurse with serious violations cannot hide them by moving states. That is arguably safer than the old system, where a nurse revoked in one state might keep licenses elsewhere that did not yet know.

What the data shows

Surveys generally show nurse support for the compact. One multistate survey drew more than 66,000 nurses, a sign of high interest. Nurses cite easier mobility and lower license costs; some worry about local job competition or diluted state standards. Hospital associations and large health systems are among the strongest backers, since licensure bottlenecks delay hiring.

Measuring the compact's effect on shortages is hard, because many factors are at play. A nursing union analysis argued that membership alone has little impact on hospital staffing levels, and that wages and working conditions drive nurse supply. That is fair: joining the compact will not fix a shortage if a state does not address why nurses leave. What the compact does is remove a barrier, making it faster for willing nurses to go where the jobs are. NCSBN calls it one tool in the toolbox, not a cure.

More than 2 million nurses live in compact states and can obtain a multistate license. Each time a large state like Pennsylvania or Massachusetts fully implements, tens of thousands more join the system. The result is a more flexible national workforce and a genuine era of interstate nursing practice that did not exist a generation ago.

The APRN Compact

The APRN Compact is a separate agreement that would let nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse midwives, and certified registered nurse anesthetists hold one multistate license and practice (in person or by telehealth) in every member state. NCSBN finalized the current version in 2020, but it takes effect only after seven states enact it. So far five states have signed on (Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming), so APRNs still need separate licenses in each state where they practice.

Modeled on the RN/LPN compact, the APRN version adds safeguards. Applicants must hold an unencumbered RN license, graduate from an accredited APRN program, earn national certification in their role and population focus, pass an FBI background check, and log 2,080 clinical hours of APRN practice. The home state issues the license, APRNs follow each remote state's scope of practice laws, and discipline is shared across states.

Supporters say a multistate APRN license would widen telehealth reach, speed disaster response, cut red tape for military families, and reduce duplicate licensing costs. Adoption has been slow, partly because some professional groups dispute the 2,080-hour requirement and want stronger APRN input in governance. Two more states would trigger the launch. Until then, the path forward runs through state legislatures and professional associations.

Supporting NLC legislation in your state

If your state has not joined, or has enacted but not implemented the compact, nurses can move the needle. Massachusetts passed its bill after years of persistent advocacy. Here is how to help.

Stay informed and educate others. Learn the facts from NCSBN and your state board, including the trade offs. Then correct the common misconceptions among your peers and employer ("it will lower standards," "it will flood our state with outsiders"). Share accurate information and real examples. Host a short info session or write for your state nursing association newsletter. Emphasize that the compact keeps safety high through FBI background checks and uniform requirements while adding flexibility, and let nurses who have benefited, like travel nurses and military spouses, tell their stories.

Engage your state nurses association and other stakeholders. Find out where your association stands. Some unions and associations had reservations; specialty nursing and hospital associations often strongly support the compact. If yours supports it, volunteer for the legislative committee or help with testimony. If it opposes, raise the question of reconsidering with data, since some opposition rests on standards concerns the eNLC already addressed. Bring in consumer groups, patient advocates, and physician organizations too; a broad coalition of hospitals, long term care providers, veterans groups, and nurses helped Massachusetts pass its bill.

Contact your legislators. Lawmakers respond to constituents. Find out whether a compact bill is in the current session. If so, contact the sponsors with your support and any personal stories, and urge your own representative and senator to vote yes. Be brief and professional: state who you are ("I am an RN in your district with X years of experience") and why the compact matters. NCSBN's Take Action tool provides an online form to message legislators, often with a prefilled message you can personalize. Even before a bill exists, putting it on lawmakers' radar helps.

Provide testimony or letters of support. When a bill gets a hearing, you can testify in person or submit written testimony to counter the opposition. If a union leader argues the NLC will not solve staffing, describe a real staffing gap it would have filled. Come with facts and a study or example from another state, and highlight patient impact: "My patient moved out of state to live with family, and licensing kept me from continuing their telehealth care. The compact would remove that barrier." Personal stories stick.

Work with employers and leaders. Hospitals and health systems often champion the compact because it helps staffing and recruitment. Ask whether your employer is advocating; if not, encourage it. Administrators can supply data on unfilled positions and care delayed by licensing. In a leadership role, draft a letter of support for your organization, and have faculty speak to how the compact helps clinical placements.

Grassroots mobilization. A petition among nurses, a social media campaign sharing compact facts, a short video aimed at policymakers, or raising the issue at town halls all help. Nurses are among the most trusted professionals, so your voice carries weight.

Be patient but persistent. Many states needed multiple attempts. Massachusetts took over a decade. If your state does not pass it this year, keep the conversation going; a new governor or a healthcare crisis can shift the landscape fast.

APRN Compact advocacy. If you are an APRN, the same approach applies, and expect more debate. Educate colleagues on what the compact actually does, engage both nursing and physician groups, and stress patient access in primary care and mental health. Make clear the compact is licensure, not a change to scope of practice. Address the 2,080-hour concern directly by discussing whether a future amendment could resolve it, showing you are open to refinement while the overall concept holds.