The Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) is an agreement that allows mutual recognition (reciprocity) of a

nursing license Nurse licensure is the process by which various regulatory bodies, usually a Board of Nursing, regulate the practice of nursing within its jurisdiction. The primary purpose of nurse licensure is to grant permission to practice as a nurse after veri ...

between member U.S. states (" compact states"). Enacted into law by the participating states, the NLC allows a

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

who is a legal resident of and possesses a nursing license in a compact state (their "home state") to practice in any of the other compact states (the "remote states") without obtaining additional licensure in the remote states. It applies to both

registered Registered may refer to: * Registered mail, letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and in need of a chain of custody * Registered trademark symbol, symbol ® that provides notice that the preceding is a trademark or service ...

and

practical Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that views language and thought as tools for prediction, problem solving, and action, rather than describing, representing, or mirroring reality. Pragmatists contend that most philosophical topics� ...

nurses and is also referred to as a multi-state license. Per the NLC rules, nurses who are licensed in and legal residents of a compact state may not hold licenses from other compact statesthat is, they can only hold one compact state license at a time, which must be from their home state, and a nurse temporarily practicing in a remote state retains their license in their home state. However, if a nurse changes their primary state of residence from one compact state to another compact state, they must transfer their license by applying for licensure by endorsement in the new home state; upon issuance of the new home state license, the license from the former home state is inactivated. A license obtained in a compact state that is not one's state of legal residency is not recognized by the other compact members, so nurses who are legal residents of non-compact states must obtain licenses for each compact state in which they wish to practice.

Participating states

Nurse Licensure Compact Member Status Map5-18-24

As of July, 2025, the 41 NLC states are: *Alabama *Arizona *Arkansas *Colorado *Connecticut (tentative implementation date: 10/01/25) *Delaware *Florida *Georgia *Idaho *Indiana *Iowa *Kansas *Kentucky *Louisiana *Maine *Maryland *Massachusetts (implementation pending) *Mississippi *Missouri *Montana *Nebraska *New Hampshire *New Jersey *New Mexico *North Carolina *North Dakota *Ohio *Oklahoma *Pennsylvania- as of July 7, 2025 *Rhode Island *South Carolina *South Dakota *Tennessee *Texas *Utah *Vermont *Virginia *Washington *West Virginia *Wisconsin *Wyoming *The territory of the US Virgin Islands has passed NLC legislation and entered the compact, but is awaiting an implementation date *Guam has a partial implementation, which allows nurses who hold active, multi-state NLC licenses to practice in Guam. Nurses who claim Guam as their primary place of residency, however, cannot apply for a multi-state license until th
NLC
is fully implemented.

Non-participating states

Eight other states and the District Of Columbia all have active NLC bills. They are: Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, and Oregon. In New York, Republican Asm. Robert Castelli first proposed joining the compact in 2010. Other Republicans like minority leader Sen. Rob Ortt have consistently and repeatedly introduced bills, and the Democratic-led committees have consistently withheld them without a vote. Opposition from unions like the New York State Nurses Association and

National Nurses United National Nurses United (NNU) is the largest organization of registered nurses in the United States. With more than 225,000 members, it is the farthest-reaching union and professional association of registered nurses in the U.S. Founded in 2009 t ...

argue that joining the compact would lower state licensing standards, undermine union protections, and fail to address the root causes of the nurse staffing crisis such as wages, working conditions, and enforcement of staffing laws. Commissioner of Health James McDonald testified in support of joining the compact in 2023. Democratic Gov.

Kathy Hochul Kathleen Hochul ( ; ; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician and lawyer who has served since 2021 as the 57th governor of New York. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she is New York's List of female ...

's fiscal year 2025 and 2026 budget proposals to join the compact were rejected by the

Legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

References

NLC history and basic information, bill progress, position statements

Compact History

Compact Nursing States: 2023 Updated Guide for RNs

Explanation Of The NLC For Nurses

More Explanation Of The NLC

For Alaska Nurses

For Connecticut Nurses

For Hawaii Nurses
* For Illinois Nurses: https://www.ana-illinois.org/news/jackie-morris-championing-nursing-advocacy-and-the-fight-for-the-nurse-licensure-compact-in-illinois/
For Massachusetts Nurses

For Michigan Nurses
* For Minnesota Nurses: https://mn.gov/boards/nursing/licensure/nurse-license-compact/
For Nevada Nurses
* For New York Nurses: https://youtu.be/gmnxHZ5BEOU
For Oregon Nurses
* For Pennsylvania Nurses: https://www.ncsbn.org/news/pennsylvania-to-fully-implement-nlc-july-7-2025 {{nursing United States interstate compacts Nursing in the United States