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The Nurse Licensure Compact for RNs and LPNs

The Nurse Licensure Compact lets an RN or LPN/LVN hold one multistate license from the state where they live and practice in the other compact states under it.

Last reviewed November 3, 2026. General information, not legal or compliance advice.

The home state

Under the compact, your home state is your primary state of residence, which is usually where you hold a driver’s license, vote and file federal taxes. Only your home state can issue you a multistate license, and you can hold just one multistate license at a time. Working in another state does not change your home state.

Multistate and single-state licenses

A multistate license issued by a compact state carries the privilege to practice in every other compact state, in person or by telehealth, while you follow the nurse practice act of the state where the patient is. A single-state license is valid only in the state that issued it. You need a single-state license for each non-compact state where you practice, and a compact state can also issue single-state licenses to nurses who do not meet the multistate requirements or who live elsewhere.

Which states take part

As of our review on November 3, 2026, the compact is implemented in 40 states: 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 and Wyoming. Massachusetts and the U.S. Virgin Islands have enacted the compact but have not implemented it, and Guam accepts multistate licenses but cannot yet issue them. Every other state, including California, New York and Illinois, and the District of Columbia, is outside the compact. Membership changes as legislatures act, so check the current map at nursecompact.com.

Moving to a new home state

• If you move your primary residence to another compact state, you apply for a multistate license in the new home state. You can usually keep practicing on the former multistate license until the new one is issued, and the old one is then deactivated.
• If you move from a compact state to a non-compact state, the multistate license generally becomes a single-state license valid only in the former home state, and you apply for a license in the new state.
• If you move from a non-compact state to a compact state, you apply to the new home state for a multistate license.
• Confirm the timing and steps with both boards, because each board sets its own process.

Renewal and CE

A multistate license renews on the schedule of the home state that issued it, and the CE rules that apply are the home state’s. Single-state licenses renew on their own schedules with their own CE rules. Each state page shows the recorded nursing CE rule and the state’s compact status, and the nursing CE guide compares them.

Advanced practice nurses

The Nurse Licensure Compact covers RN and LPN/LVN licenses only. A separate APRN Compact has been enacted by a few states, but it needs seven states to enact it before it can take effect, and as of our review it is not in effect. Nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, clinical nurse specialists and CRNAs still need advanced practice authority in each state, as the NP compact guide explains.

In ClinLicense

A multistate license is recorded once with its home state, and each single-state license sits beside it with its own renewal date, so a nurse with a Texas multistate license and a California license sees two renewals and two CE rules. See multi-state license management.

Limits of this guide

Rules and fees change, and this guide is general information, so confirm the details with the relevant board or agency before you act.