Every state and territory has a board of nursing. The Nurse Licensure Compact lets one licence work in 43 jurisdictions. Choose your state or territory below.
The Nurse Licensure Compact, in one minuteThe Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) lets a nurse whose primary state of residence is a compact state hold one multistate licence that is valid in every other compact state, including for telehealth. You apply through your home state's board: on the licence-by-exam application you declare your primary state of residence (the state of your driver's licence, voter card, tax return or W-2) and meet NCSBN's uniform requirements. If you live in a non-compact state you get a single-state licence and add other states later by endorsement. Moving to another compact state? You have 60 days to apply for a licence there.
40 member states and when the compact took effect
- Alabama · Jan 1, 2020
- Arizona · Jan 19, 2018
- Arkansas · Jan 19, 2018
- Colorado · Jan 19, 2018
- Connecticut · Oct 1, 2025
- Delaware · Jan 19, 2018
- Florida · Jan 19, 2018
- Georgia · Jan 19, 2018
- Idaho · Jan 19, 2018
- Indiana · Jul 1, 2020
- Iowa · Jan 19, 2018
- Kansas · Jul 1, 2019
- Kentucky · Jan 19, 2018
- Louisiana · Jul 1, 2019
- Maine · Jan 19, 2018
- Maryland · Jan 19, 2018
- Mississippi · Jan 19, 2018
- Missouri · Jan 19, 2018
- Montana · Jan 19, 2018
- Nebraska · Jan 19, 2018
- New Hampshire · Jan 19, 2018
- New Jersey · Nov 15, 2021
- New Mexico · Jan 19, 2018
- North Carolina · Jan 19, 2018
- North Dakota · Jan 19, 2018
- Ohio · Jan 1, 2023
- Oklahoma · Jan 19, 2018
- Pennsylvania · Jul 7, 2025
- Rhode Island · Jan 8, 2024
- South Carolina · Jan 19, 2018
- South Dakota · Jan 19, 2018
- Tennessee · Jan 19, 2018
- Texas · Jan 19, 2018
- Utah · Jan 19, 2018
- Vermont · Feb 1, 2022
- Virginia · Jan 19, 2018
- Washington · Jan 31, 2024
- West Virginia · Jan 19, 2018
- Wisconsin · Jan 19, 2018
- Wyoming · Jan 19, 2018
Enacted, not yet issuing multistate licences: Guam, Massachusetts, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Not in the compact (single-state licences only): Alaska, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oregon, District of Columbia, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico.
The uniform requirements for a multistate licence
- Meet the licensure requirements of your home state (your primary state of residence)
- Graduate from a board-approved program, or an international program verified by an independent credentials agency
- Pass an English proficiency exam if your program was not taught in English
- Pass the NCLEX-RN (or a predecessor exam)
- Hold, or be eligible for, an active licence with no encumbrance
- Pass a state and federal fingerprint-based criminal background check
- No felony conviction or agreed disposition, in any jurisdiction
- No misdemeanour conviction related to nursing practice
- Not currently in an alternative-to-discipline program, and disclose any past participation
- Hold a valid U.S. Social Security number
Source: NCSBN, Nurse Licensure Compact (nursecompact.com) · NLC map and implementation dates (PDF) · Applying for licensure (uniform licensure requirements) · NLC FAQs. Checked 2026-10-07.