Travel Nurse Compact LicensureTravel Nurse Compact Licensure; The nursing licensure compact or NLC allows a nurse to be licensed in one state and practice nursing in any of the participating states. Currently there twenty-four states participating in the NLC program. The multi-state compact allows a nurse to practice in all 24 states with a minimum of paperwork and only one licensing fee. The driving force behind this initiative was the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). Reasoning that creating an environment that allowed nurses to be more mobile would ease the nursing crisis. Nurses can more easily travel to locations that are in shortage situations. A few rules and caveats do apply. 1. A nurse must have a legal residence in a nurse compact state. i.e. Suzy Traveler's primary residence when she is not being a travel nurse is Houston Texas. She maintains her drivers license there and she has a home there. Since Texas is a NLC participant Suzy can accept travel assignments in any of the 24 states who participate. 2. If Suzy Traveler decides to move to Idaho (a compact member state) she has 30 days from the day she arrives in Idaho to get her new license. It's similar to the same rules for residency in regard to things like driving licenses and voting registration. 3. If Suzy Traveler's permanent residence is in Washington state and she accepts an assignment in Texas she will have to get a license for Texas. Unfortunately, for Suzy because her permanent residence is not a compact state signatory her Texas RN license will only be good for practicing nursing in Texas. 4. A multi-state license is good for practicing nursing physically and electronically across state lines. The nurse is required to know and abide by the nursing practice regulations of the state they are working in. 5. International or foreign licensees working in the U.S. on a visa are allowed to declare a compact state as their primary state of residence and are issued a multi-state license. Many people have suggested that a national nursing license makes sense. The RN-NCLEX is the same test nation wide so why shouldn't the license be the same? You can find out additional information about the multi-state nurse licensure compact by visiting the NCSBN site about the NLC. The states that have signed on to the NLC are: Arizona Not all states are comfortable with multi-state licensure compacts due to issues about things like: How do you deal with a law violation in a remote state? In conclusion the multi-state compact is a good thing for the travel nurse. One license instead of five or ten is something that makes sense and is a boon for the traveler.
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