A compact nursing license, formally a multistate license under the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), lets a registered nurse or LPN/LVN practice in every compact state on one license. This is the current list of compact states, straight from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing's map, plus what "partial" and "pending" mean and how to get the license.
How many compact nursing states are there?
40 states are full members of the Nurse Licensure Compact, and NCSBN counts 43 jurisdictions in total once Guam (partial implementation), Massachusetts and the U.S. Virgin Islands (enacted, awaiting implementation) are included. Ten states, including the four biggest non-members, California, New York, Illinois and Oregon, have no NLC legislation pending.
Compact nursing states list (NLC members)
Nurses whose primary state of residence is one of these states can hold a multistate license and practice in all of them:
- 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
- Wyoming
Partial implementation and states awaiting implementation
- Guam: partial implementation: nurses with a multistate license from another compact state may practice in Guam, but Guam residents cannot yet be issued a multistate license.
- Massachusetts: NLC enacted, awaiting implementation. Until the Board of Registration in Nursing implements it, Massachusetts licenses remain single-state and compact nurses still need a Massachusetts license to work there.
- U.S. Virgin Islands: NLC enacted, awaiting implementation.
States with NLC legislation pending
- District of Columbia: bill B69
- Michigan: House Bill 4246
Non-compact states (no NLC legislation pending)
Residents of these states cannot hold a multistate license, and nurses from compact states need a separate single-state license to work in them:
- Alaska
- California
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- New York
- Oregon
American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands are also outside the compact. Note that several of the highest-paying states for nurses, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington-adjacent Alaska, New York, sit on this list, which is exactly why travel nurses headed there still go through state-by-state licensure.
What the Nurse Licensure Compact is
Interstate compacts are agreements between states to recognize one another's professional licenses. The NLC, created by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) in the late 1990s and rewritten as the "enhanced" NLC in 2018, lets an RN or LPN/VN hold one multistate license issued by their primary state of residence (PSOR): the state where they hold a driver's license, vote and file taxes, and practice, in person or by telehealth, in every other compact state. The license is subject to each state's nurse practice act while practicing there.
How to get a compact nursing license
- Your PSOR must be a compact state. If you live in a non-compact state you can still be licensed in a compact state, but it will be a single-state license.
- Apply in your PSOR. New graduates apply for licensure by examination (and Authorization to Test for the NCLEX) in their primary state of residence, not the state where they went to school. Existing nurses moving into a compact state apply by endorsement; the multistate license is issued once you meet the uniform licensure requirements (background check, no disqualifying discipline, and so on).
- Practice anywhere in the compact. One multistate license covers every member state. You may hold as many single-state licenses in non-compact states as you need.
- Moving? Reapply within 60 days. A nurse who moves from one compact state to another must apply for a license in the new primary state of residence within 60 days; the old multistate license converts to a single-state license once the new one issues.
New graduates: you are not required to license in the state where your program is located. Apply where you will live and work; the NCLEX is a national exam and can be taken at any test center. See our graduate's guide to compact state licensure for the step-by-step.
Why the compact matters
Where the nurses are
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts roughly 3.38 million registered nurses employed in the United States (May 2025). California employs the most (about 339,000) and Wyoming the fewest (about 5,300). The compact lets nurses move, for a season or for good, to states that are short of staff and start work without an employment gap.
Travel nursing
A multistate license is the practical foundation of travel nursing: a compact-state resident can take 13-week assignments in 40 states without waiting on a new license each time. Most travel contracts pay as a weekly package (taxed wage plus stipends) that rises and falls with demand.
Life happens
Military relocations, family care, a spouse's job: nurses move. With a multistate license you keep working under your existing license while your new home state processes the application.
Emergencies
From hurricanes to the COVID-19 pandemic, disasters create sudden regional staffing gaps. The compact lets hospitals bring in licensed nurses from other states in days rather than months.
The APRN Compact
Nurse practitioners, CRNAs, nurse-midwives and clinical nurse specialists are not covered by the NLC, an APRN's multistate RN license does not extend to advanced practice. NCSBN's separate APRN Compact has been enacted in four states (Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah) and bills are pending in Arkansas, Arizona, Kansas, Montana and New York. NCSBN says it will be implemented once seven states have enacted it, so it is not yet operational.
Sources
- NCSBN, Nurse Licensure Compact, participating jurisdictions map (status of every state and territory; retrieved 26 September 2026).
- NCSBN, APRN Compact map and South Dakota enacts APRN Compact (seven-state implementation threshold); retrieved 26 September 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Registered Nurses, May 2025.
Frequently asked questions
How many states are in the Nurse Licensure Compact?
40 states are full NLC members. NCSBN counts 43 jurisdictions in total, adding Guam (partial implementation) and Massachusetts and the U.S. Virgin Islands (enacted, awaiting implementation).
Is California a compact nursing state?
No. California is not a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact and has no NLC legislation pending. Nurses from compact states need a separate California license to work there.
Is New York a compact state for nurses?
No. New York is not in the NLC and has no legislation pending. Illinois, Oregon, Hawaii, Alaska, Minnesota and Nevada are in the same position.
Is Massachusetts a compact state?
Massachusetts has enacted the NLC but has not yet implemented it, so Massachusetts licenses are still single-state and compact nurses still need a Massachusetts license until implementation.
What is the difference between a compact license and a multistate license?
They are the same thing: a "compact nursing license" is the multistate license issued by a nurse's primary state of residence under the Nurse Licensure Compact. A nurse holds one multistate license (from their home state) but may hold any number of single-state licenses in non-compact states.
Does the compact cover nurse practitioners?
No. The NLC covers RNs and LPN/LVNs only. Advanced practice nurses need a license in each state until the separate APRN Compact becomes operational, which requires seven enacting states; four (Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah) have enacted it so far.