What is the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC)?

If you want to practice nursing across state lines, you need to understand the Nurse Licensure Compact. This multistate agreement lets nurses practice in participating states on a single license. It has been around since 2000 and adds members nearly every year. It expands patient access to care and carries real benefits, along with a few drawbacks. Whether or not you live in a compact state, it is worth knowing how the NLC could affect your practice.

What the NLC Is

The Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) is an agreement among states to mutually recognize RN and LPN licenses. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) administers it. The idea is one multistate license that works across every participating, or "compact," state. As of 2026, more than 40 U.S. jurisdictions have enacted the NLC, and the list keeps growing.

A multistate license lets an RN or LPN:

• Practice telenursing across all compact states
• Teach via distance learning across all compact states (for nurse educators)
• Practice in person across state lines, which helps travel nurses and anyone who lives near a border but works in the next state
• Respond quickly during disasters in other compact states

One catch: if you move your primary residence from one compact state to another, you still have to apply for a new multistate license by endorsement in your new home state. Holding one in your old state does not carry over.

The eNLC

The Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact (eNLC) took effect in 2018 as an updated version. States in the original NLC had to adopt the eNLC separately to keep participating. It added 11 uniform licensure requirements for multistate applicants, the biggest being a state and federal fingerprint-based criminal background check.

Today people use NLC and eNLC interchangeably. They refer to the same thing.

Which States Belong

More than 40 jurisdictions have enacted the NLC, with several more carrying pending legislation. A handful have enacted the compact but are still working through implementation, which means residents there cannot yet obtain a multistate license and out-of-state multistate holders cannot yet practice there until the process finishes. Pennsylvania, for example, enacted the NLC in 2021 and completed full implementation on July 7, 2025, so its nurses can now apply for a multistate license. Because membership and implementation status shift from year to year, check the NCSBN compact map for your state's current standing before you rely on it.

Benefits of the NLC

Supporters call the NLC a modern fix for the single-state licensure model that stood for over a century. Under the old system, a nurse had to apply and pay for a separate license in every state, a process that could take weeks or months. With travel nursing and telehealth now routine, supporters point to several benefits:

• Nurses can practice in person or by telenursing across the country without extra licenses.
• Nurses can step in quickly during disasters in other compact states.
• Telehealth and online nursing education move across compact borders without friction.
• Travel nurses, military spouses, and border-area nurses save the time and cost of multiple licenses.
• Employers that share licensing costs shed a recurring expense.
• Patients get faster, broader access to care.
• Uniform licensure standards support quality and patient safety.

The Downsides

Not every state has joined, and even within member states there are critics. The core objection is that the NLC erodes state authority:

• Continuing education: The NLC sets no uniform continuing education standard, which states used to control. Without one, requirements can vary widely or thin out.
• Disciplinary action: Discipline in one state can follow a nurse across every compact state where they practice, which critics worry creates a domino effect that hurts the nurse financially and can limit patient access to care.
• Lost revenue: States earn money from license application fees and give some of that up by joining. NCSBN offers a program to offset early losses, but it does not guarantee full replacement.
• Workforce data: States that stop issuing their own licenses may lose demographic data about their nursing workforce, making it harder to tell whether that workforce reflects the communities it serves.

Frequently Asked Questions

I live in a non-compact state. What can I do?

You are only eligible for a multistate license if your primary residence is a compact state. If you live in a noncompact state, you can apply for a single-state license by endorsement in a compact state, but it is valid only in that state. You can hold as many single-state licenses as you want.

Does the NLC cover APRNs?

No. The NLC applies only to RN and LPN licenses. Advanced practice registered nurses still need an individual license in each state where they practice. A separate APRN Compact was adopted in 2020 and will take effect once seven states enact it. As of 2026, five states have enacted APRN Compact legislation, so it is not yet active.

What if I move from one compact state to another?

Apply for a new multistate license by endorsement in your new home state and complete the Declaration of Primary State of Residence form in the application, available on your board of nursing's website.