Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC): Member States & How It Works (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · live membership: www.nursecompact.com ↗
The Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) lets RNs and LPNs hold one multistate license valid in 40 member states. Eligibility turns on your primary state of residence (PSOR): you get a multistate license only if you legally reside in a member state and meet the 11 uniform licensure requirements.
Membership right now
Interactive version with every compact: Compact Membership Map
Does the NLC cover your move?
Pick your two states — the checker applies the compact rules for you.
Who qualifies: the 11 uniform licensure requirements
A multistate license is issued only if you meet every one of these, in addition to living in a member state:
- Meet the licensure requirements of your home state
- Graduate from a board-approved nursing education program (or an approved international program with credentials review)
- Pass an English proficiency exam (applies to international graduates where applicable)
- Pass the NCLEX-RN or NCLEX-PN examination (or a predecessor exam)
- Hold an active, unencumbered license
- Submit to state and federal fingerprint-based criminal background checks
- Have no state or federal felony convictions
- Have no misdemeanor convictions related to the practice of nursing
- Not be currently enrolled in an alternative-to-discipline program
- Have a valid United States Social Security number
- Self-disclose current participation in an alternative-to-discipline program
A multistate license requires your primary state of residence (PSOR) to be a member state; practice is regulated where the patient is located. The compact commission counts 43 participating jurisdictions as of 2026-07-21: these 40 states plus Guam and the US Virgin Islands (territories, outside this site's 51-jurisdiction scope) plus Massachusetts, which has enacted the compact but is not yet issuing or honoring multistate licenses.
Primary state of residence: the rule that decides everything
The compact runs on one concept most nurses meet the hard way: primary state of residence. Your multistate license is issued by the state where you legally live — driver's license, voter registration, tax filings — not the state where you work. Live in Texas, work travel contracts in Florida and Georgia: one Texas multistate license covers all of it.
Move your actual residence to another member state and you have a deadline: apply for licensure by endorsement in the new home state and declare it your new PSOR. Your old multistate privilege keeps you working through the transition, but the new home state's license replaces the old one — you do not hold two multistate licenses.
Practice is regulated where the patient is. A telehealth call with a patient in Ohio is practice in Ohio, which is exactly why the multistate privilege matters for remote and travel nursing.
Moving scenarios
Compact state → compact state
Keep working without interruption. Apply by endorsement in the new state when you move your residence, declare the new PSOR, and your multistate privilege continues. Typical cost is the new state's endorsement fee plus fingerprints.
Compact state → non-compact state (e.g. Texas → California)
Your multistate license means nothing in the destination — California, New York, and the other non-members require their own license. Apply by endorsement before you move if you can: California alone runs roughly 10-13 weeks. Your compact license stays valid for the member states while your PSOR remains in a member state.
Non-compact state → compact state (e.g. California → Texas)
Apply by endorsement in the destination. Once you establish residence there and meet the uniform requirements, you receive a multistate license — your California history does not disqualify you; it is verified through Nursys like any other license.
Related: the APRN Compact
The APRN Compact — a separate compact for advanced practice nurses — is enacted in five states (Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming) but needs seven to activate, so it is not operational in 2026. APRNs currently license state-by-state even where the RN compact applies. Track it at ncsbn.org/compacts.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Nurse Licensure Compact?
The Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) lets RNs and LPNs hold one multistate license valid in 40 member states. Eligibility turns on your primary state of residence (PSOR): you get a multistate license only if you legally reside in a member state and meet the 11 uniform licensure requirements.
How do I get a multistate license?
You cannot apply for one directly — you apply for licensure in your primary state of residence, and if that state is a compact member and you meet the 11 uniform licensure requirements (unencumbered license, NCLEX pass, fingerprint background check, no disqualifying convictions, US SSN, and the rest), the license issues as multistate automatically.
What happens to my multistate license if I move?
Moving within the compact: endorse into the new home state and your privilege continues. Moving to a non-compact state: your new primary residence is outside the compact, so you keep only a single-state license from your old state and need the destination's license by endorsement.
Is Massachusetts in the NLC?
Not yet in practice. Massachusetts enacted the compact in November 2024, but implementation is incomplete as of 2026-07-21 — no multistate licenses are issued or honored there. Until it activates, Massachusetts requires its own license by reciprocity application ($275).
Does the compact cover nurse practitioners (APRNs)?
No. The RN/LPN compact does not cover advanced practice. The separate APRN Compact is enacted in only five states and is not active in 2026, so APRNs license in each state individually.
Where do I verify a nurse's license across states?
Nursys (nursys.com) — the NCSBN's national database. It is the same system state boards use to verify your license when you endorse, and employers use it to confirm multistate privileges.
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]