Nurse Licensure Compact Recap: Which States Joined The NLC in 2023?

As we enter a new calendar year, we want to make sure that nurses are up-to-date on the latest news regarding the Nurse Licensure Compact.

If you live in a compact nursing state and you've been dreaming of traveling somewhere new, you're in luck! Four more states joined the NLC in 2023. 

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1. Ohio
Ohio was the first of four states to join the compact in 2023, making it the 38th jurisdiction to have enacted the NLC across the states and territories.

Ohio LPNs and RNs were able to apply for a multistate license (MSL) as of January 3, 2023.

Ohio has fully implemented the compact, which means Ohio nurses can get their compact licenses and nurses who live outside of Ohio with unencumbered MSLs may now practice there, either in-person or virtually, at no additional cost.

View the official announcement on the NCSBN website.

📌 Free Guide for Ohio Nurses
 Need some help transferring your single-state license to a multistate license, or have questions about fingerprinting and background checks? Take a look at our complete guide.

2. Washington 
Washington was the second state to join the Nurse Licensure Compact in 2023. In April 2023, Governor Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5499, making Washington the 40th jurisdiction to enact the compact.

Washington's NLC implementation was split into several phases. As of July 2023, nurses (LPNs and RNs) who held active, unencumbered multistate license (also known as a compact nursing license) could practice in Washington.

According to the Washington Board of Nursing, LPNs and RNs whose primary state of residence (PSOR) is Washington state may apply for their multistate license on or after January 31, 2024: https://nursing.wa.gov/licensing/multistate-license. 

📌 Additional Info for Washington Nurses
See Washington's NLC Implementation Plan to learn about Phase 1, Phase 2, and required compliance.

Still have questions? Check out the Washington Board of Nursing's MSL resource page.

3. Pennsylvania
As of September 2023, RNs and LPNs who reside outside of Pennsylvania and hold a multistate license can begin working in Pennsylvania, either in-person or virtually via Telehealth.

Pennsylvania has enacted partial implementation of the NLC, which means that Pennsylvania nurses can not yet apply for their multistate license. A date has not yet been determined for when Pennsylvania nurses can apply for their MSL.

📌 Additional Info for Pennsylvania Nurses
Get all the NLC details on the Pennsylvania Department of State website. 

📩 Download the PDF from the PA Board of Nursing.

4. Rhode Island
Rhode Island Governor Daniel J. McKee officially signed the NLC into law in June 2023. Similarly to Pennsylvania, Rhode Island has fully implemented the compact.  Rhode Island is the 41st jurisdiction to join the NLC. Rhode Island LPNs and RNs can officially apply for the multistate license (MSL) after January 8, 2024: https://health.ri.gov/licenses/nurses/compact/. 

Interestingly, Rhode Island was previously a part of the NLC. Though the state broke apart from it in 2018.

Rhode Island Senator Joshua Miller told CBS19 News that "Rejoining the compact is good for our public health and safety."

View the official Rhode Island NLC announcement on the NCSBN website. 

Download the Compact Map
As of September 2023, 41 states are compact nursing states/territories.

Get the most up-to-date compact map from NurseCompact.com to learn about about pending states and territories.

If you have additional questions about obtaining a compact or multistate nursing license, please contact your state’s Board of Nursing directly.