Compact Nursing States 2026: Which States Are in the NLC
More than 40 U.S. states participate in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), letting RNs and LPNs practice across member states on one multistate license. California and New York are notable non-members. The compact only applies if your HOME state is a member — verify the current list at nursecompact.com.
As of 2026, more than 40 U.S. states participate in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), allowing RNs and LPNs to practice across member states on a single multistate license. Notable non-member states include California and New York. The compact only applies if your HOME state is a member — being licensed in California does not give you compact privileges even if you practice in a compact state. For the current complete list: nursecompact.com.
Knowing if your state is part of the Nurse Licensure Compact changes everything about how you practice, travel, and take contracts. Nurses in compact states hold a single multistate license that works across all NLC member states, cutting out the cost and wait time of applying for licenses individually in each state.
As of April 2026, more than 40 states are full NLC members, up from just 26 when the Enhanced NLC launched in 2018. That growth tells you something: the nursing workforce is mobile, and most of the country has moved to reflect that.
Here is what most articles get wrong though. The compact only works if your HOME state is a member. Being licensed in a compact state is not enough. Where you legally reside determines your eligibility, and right now, California and New York are not NLC members, which affects a significant chunk of the U.S. nursing workforce.
Here at Testavia, we break down which states are in, which are out (and once you pass the NCLEX, how to study its NGN format matters for licensure), what a multistate license actually covers, and what it means for you practically whether you are a travel nurse, a telehealth nurse, or just planning a move.
What Is the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC)?
The Nurse Licensure Compact is an agreement between member states that allows RNs and LPN/LVNs to hold one multistate license and practice across all participating states without filing separate applications in each one. It is administered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) and covers both registered nurses and licensed practical nurses. Advanced practice registered nurses fall under a separate APRN Compact entirely, so if you hold an APRN designation, this guide covers the RN and LPN side only.
The original NLC launched in 2000. In 2018, it was replaced by the Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact (eNLC), which added a standardized set of Uniform Licensure Requirements that every nurse must meet to hold a multistate license. The eNLC is not a different compact. It is the same compact rebuilt with stricter and more consistent entry standards applied uniformly across every member state. If your multistate license was issued after 2018, it is already an eNLC license. Licenses issued before 2018 under the original compact may need renewal to reflect eNLC status.
The Home-State Rule
Your multistate license is issued by your PRIMARY STATE OF RESIDENCE, meaning the state where you legally live, pay taxes and hold a driver's license. Not where you took the NCLEX. Not where your hospital is located. Where you actually live and claim legal domicile.
If your home state is not a compact member, you do not get compact privileges anywhere, even if every single state you plan to work in is a full compact member. That one detail trips up more nurses than anything else and most articles either bury it or skip it entirely. A nurse living in California who takes a travel contract in Texas does not get compact benefits in Texas. The compact flows from where you LIVE, not where you work.
NLC vs Reciprocity: These Are Different
The NLC is not the same as reciprocity or endorsement and the distinction matters. Reciprocity and endorsement require you to apply state by state, wait for individual approval and pay separate fees in each state. The compact is mutual recognition, meaning your one home-state license is automatically valid across all member states the moment it is issued. No extra steps. No waiting per state. No redundant applications. Understanding this difference saves you from assuming the compact works like a faster version of endorsement. It does not. It is a fundamentally different system.
Current Compact Nursing States List (2026)
As of April 2026, the full NLC member states as of this writing are 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.
Two territories have also enacted NLC legislation. The U.S. Virgin Islands has passed NLC legislation and entered the compact but is awaiting an implementation date. Guam has partial implementation, meaning nurses with active multistate licenses can practice there, but nurses who claim Guam as their primary residence cannot yet apply for a multistate license until the NLC is fully implemented there.
The table below gives you the full status breakdown at a glance.
Status | Jurisdictions |
|---|---|
Full Members | 40+ states (see list above) |
Partial or Pending | Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York |
Non-Member | California, Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois, DC and others |
This list changes. What is accurate today may shift by the time you are reading this. Recent additions such as Pennsylvania (July 2025) and Connecticut (October 2025) pushed the total past 40, while Massachusetts, Michigan, and Minnesota are still working through implementation. Always verify the current list directly at nursecompact.com before making any licensing decisions. A static list from any blog or prior-year source, including this one, is not a substitute for the live NCSBN data. Healthtrustjobs
What "Pending" Actually Means for Your License
A pending state has passed enabling NLC legislation but has not completed implementation at the state Board of Nursing level. Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota have enacted NLC legislation but are still working through implementation. Nurses in those states cannot use compact practice privileges yet even though the law has technically passed. Thenursingdirectory
Implementation involves administrative steps at the state BoN level including system integration with Nursys, the NCSBN license verification platform. Those steps take time. If your home state is listed as pending, check the nursecompact.com pending section regularly. The transition from pending to full member can happen quickly once implementation is complete and when it does, your eligibility for a multistate license opens up immediately.
Why the List Keeps Growing
The NLC's expansion reflects a genuine shift in how the nursing workforce operates. Telehealth adoption, post-pandemic workforce redistribution and the steady growth of travel nursing have all increased demand for license portability. The NLC has seen substantial growth with more than 40 states actively participating as of 2026. The compact started as a small coalition in 2000 and has evolved into a near-national system. The states that remain outside it are increasingly the exception rather than the rule. Is This Legal?
Which Major States Are NOT in the Nurse Licensure Compact?
The following are the states not in the nurse licensure compact.
California
California is the most significant holdout in the country and the one that affects the largest share of the U.S. nursing workforce. The California Board of Registered Nursing has not passed enabling NLC legislation and the opposition has been consistent across multiple legislative cycles.
The core argument from California's side centers on scope of practice and disciplinary standards. California maintains stricter regulatory requirements than most states and has historically taken the position that multistate license portability would allow nurses who have not gone through California's own licensure process to practice there. The concern is less about nurse quality broadly and more about maintaining California's specific regulatory framework.
Nurses with a California primary license do not have compact practice privileges and must obtain individual licenses in each additional state where they want to practice. The California BRN license process takes 8 to 12 weeks and costs between \$100 and \$250. Verify the current timeline and fee directly at rn.ca.gov before submitting any application since both figures change periodically.
New York
New York is the other major holdout and the one most actively watched right now. In the current 2025 to 2026 legislative session, Senate Bill S3916 and its Assembly companion A4524 would enact the interstate nurse licensure compact by amending New York's Education Law. Both bills sit in their respective Higher Education committees and have not advanced to a floor vote. LegalClarity
That means New York nurses are in the same position as California nurses today. Individual licenses in every state. No compact privileges. No multistate shortcut. Verify current status at op.nysed.gov since legislation is at least in motion and the picture could change within the current session.
Other Notable Non-Compact Jurisdictions
Beyond California and New York, Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois and Washington D.C. also remain outside the compact as full non-members though many have seen bills introduced and active legislative debate. Illinois has had recurring NLC bills stall in committee across multiple sessions. DC nurses face the same individual-license requirement as California and New York nurses and should plan accordingly. Thenursingdirectory
The Practical Reality for Non-Compact Nurses
If your home state is not a compact member, here is what your workflow looks like as a travel nurse or telehealth nurse.
You apply for an individual license in every state where you want to practice
Each application carries its own fee and background check requirements
Processing timelines range from two weeks to several months depending on the state
You maintain and renew multiple licenses simultaneously with separate continuing education and renewal requirements per state
Contract opportunities on short timelines are limited by however many individual licenses you currently hold
California and New York nurses who travel professionally typically maintain active individual licenses in their five to ten most frequently contracted states and start new state applications three to six months before they expect to need them. The license pipeline is a constant background task.
California or New York RN eyeing travel nursing? Testavia's free ATT and Pearson VUE licensing checklist walks you through the individual state licensing process step by step so nothing falls through the cracks. Download it free here.
What Does a Multistate Nursing License Actually Allow You to Do?
A multistate license grants you practice authority across all NLC member states without additional applications. That is the headline benefit. But understanding what the license does and does not cover in day-to-day practice saves you from expensive assumptions.
You Follow the Practice State's Rules
The compact does not override state-specific practice laws. When you practice in another compact state, you must follow that state's nurse practice act and scope of practice rules. A nurse with a Texas multistate license practicing in Arizona operates under Arizona's professional standards, not Texas's. This is intentional. The compact removes the licensing barrier but it does not create a single national scope of practice. Every state still governs what nurses can do within its borders.
Before starting any contract or telehealth assignment in a new compact state, spend time reviewing that state's nurse practice act. Scope of practice differences between states are real and affect specific procedures, delegation authority and documentation standards. Assuming your home state's rules apply everywhere is one of the more common and costly mistakes compact-state nurses make.
Travel Nursing
Travel nursing is where compact nursing states membership has the most direct impact on your career options and earning potential. A compact-state nurse can accept a 13-week contract in any member state with zero additional licensing paperwork. The agency processes the contract and you are eligible to start. For non-compact nurses, every new state placement requires an individual license application running weeks or months ahead of the anticipated start date.
The difference is not just administrative convenience. It is competitive positioning. With a single compact license, nurses can practice in 40 plus states without obtaining individual licenses, saving thousands of dollars and months of waiting. Compact-state nurses have access to more placements on shorter timelines which directly affects how many contracts they can take per year and what they earn across those placements. Travelnursecalc
Telehealth and Remote Nursing
Telehealth is where the compact rules get more nuanced than most guides acknowledge. Your compact privileges apply based on where your PATIENT is located, not where you are physically sitting when you provide care. If your patient is in a compact state, your multistate license covers the encounter. If your patient is in California, New York or any other non-compact state, you need an individual license in that state regardless of your own compact status.
For nurses running telehealth practices across multiple states, this means auditing your patient population by state and confirming your licensure covers every state your patients come from. A telehealth nurse based in Texas whose patient panel includes Californians needs a California individual license. The compact does not reach into non-member states from either direction.
NCSBN has issued specific guidance on telehealth under the NLC and the policy continues to evolve alongside the broader expansion of remote care. Verify the current NCSBN position at ncsbn.org before building your telehealth licensing strategy around any third-party interpretation.
Military Families
Military families are among the highest-benefit groups under the compact and one of the least discussed in mainstream nursing articles. A permanent change of station move for a military family can happen with relatively short notice and each relocation historically meant starting the individual state license process from scratch in the new duty station state.
With a multistate license, a nurse who moves from Virginia to North Carolina to Georgia to Texas holds valid practice authority in each of those states throughout the transition, provided each new home state is a compact member. The only administrative requirement is applying for licensure by endorsement in the new home state within 60 days of establishing residency. That 60-day window keeps the compact coverage continuous across moves.
For military spouses in nursing, the compact is less of a career convenience and more of a career continuity tool. The alternative, managing individual license applications across frequent moves, creates gaps in practice authority that directly affect employability at each new duty station.
Disciplinary Actions Travel Across All Member States
This is the aspect of compact membership that surprises nurses most and the one worth understanding before you need it. If any compact member state takes disciplinary action against your license, whether that is suspension, probation, conditions or revocation, that action affects your practice privileges across every compact member state simultaneously.
Your home state Board of Nursing is the primary disciplinary authority for your multistate license. Other member states can impose their own additional restrictions on top of whatever the home state does. A disciplinary action in one state is not contained to that state under the compact. It radiates outward to all of them.
The practical takeaway is straightforward. Your professional conduct in any compact state carries consequences that extend across every member state. Clean practice history matters more under the compact than it ever did under individual single-state licenses.
How to Get or Convert to a Multistate License
Some of the ways to get or convert to a multistate license include:
If You Are a New NCLEX Candidate
If you are taking the NCLEX in a compact state and your home state is a compact member, you will typically receive a multistate license automatically provided you meet the eNLC Uniform Licensure Requirements at the time of application. You do not need to file a separate request for compact privileges in most cases. The multistate designation is built into the initial application process for eligible candidates.
Confirm this with your home state Board of Nursing before you apply since the exact process varies by state. Do not assume the default outcome is always a multistate license without verifying.
If You Already Hold a Single-State License
A significant number of nurses in compact states hold single-state licenses, either because they initially declined compact privileges, because they were licensed before the eNLC launched in 2018 or because their state was not yet compact when they first applied. Most compact state Boards of Nursing allow conversion to a multistate license at renewal. The process typically involves completing the ULR requirements including the federal background check and declaring your primary state of residence.
Fees and exact steps vary by state. Pull the current instructions directly from your home state BoN website rather than relying on third-party guides since this information changes and errors in third-party sources are common.
eNLC Uniform Licensure Requirements Checklist
To hold a multistate nursing license under the eNLC you must satisfy every item on this list.
Active and unencumbered nursing license in good standing
No current license restrictions, probation or active encumbrances
Federal fingerprint-based criminal background check completed
Social Security Number or Tax ID verification on file
Primary state of residence declared as the compact home state
Completion of continuing education requirements set by your home state BoN
Processing typically takes 2 to 6 weeks though timelines vary by state Board of Nursing. Do not rely on specific fee amounts from third-party sources. Pull the current fee directly from your home state BoN since these figures change without notice in third-party articles. Catsol
What Happens When You Move States
If you move from one compact state to another, you apply for licensure by endorsement in your new home state within 60 days of establishing residency. Once your new home state issues your license, your previous home state license is inactivated. You hold one active compact license at a time.
If you move from a compact state to a non-compact state, your multistate license remains active until it expires but you cannot renew it through the non-compact state. You need to obtain an individual license in your new home state and in each additional state where you want to practice going forward.
Compact Nursing States and Travel Nursing: The Numbers Behind the Decision
The table below makes the practical difference between compact and non-compact home state nurses concrete.
Scenario | Compact Home State Nurse | Non-Compact Home State Nurse |
|---|---|---|
Licenses needed for 5 compact states | 1 | 5 |
Processing time per new compact state | None required | 2 to 6 weeks average |
Cost per additional compact state | No extra cost | Varies by state BoN |
Eligible for compact privileges in CA or NY | No | No |
Contract flexibility on short timelines | High | Limited by license pipeline |
Annual license renewal burden | 1 renewal | Up to 10 or more renewals |
The renewal burden row is one that experienced travel nurses flag consistently. Managing five to ten individual state licenses means five to ten separate renewal cycles, each with its own continuing education requirements, deadlines and fees. For non-compact nurses, license management is effectively a part-time administrative job running alongside their clinical work.
If you are building toward a travel nursing career and still preparing for the NCLEX, the foundation you lay now determines how smoothly the licensing process goes after you pass. An unencumbered first-attempt pass with a clean application record is what makes multistate licensure, endorsement and individual state applications move without friction. Testavia's NCLEX prep platform carries a 99% pass rate and is built around the way the current NCLEX is actually tested, including full Next Generation NCLEX coverage and 2,500 plus practice questions designed for a nights-and-weekends study schedule. Start your free 7-day trial at Testavia and build the preparation foundation your nursing career deserves.
Written by · Verified educator
Testavia editorial
Nathan Cole
RN
Medical-Surgical nurse & health writer
Meet Nathan, a registered nurse with over five years of experience in Medical-Surgical care, based in New York City. Having worked with a wide range of patients through some of their most vulnerable moments, Nathan brings a grounded, real-world perspective to his writing on healthcare. His goal is simple: to bridge the gap between medical knowledge and everyday understanding, making health topics feel less intimidating and more empowering for everyone. When he's not caring for patients, Nathan channels his passion for medicine into writing that educates, comforts and inspires.
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