Lessons · Nursing · moving a licence to another state
Moving a licence to another state is an application, not a transfer
A first licence is granted by examination. A nurse who is already licensed in one state and wants to practise in another applies by endorsement, which does not mean sitting the examination again, and does not mean the licence carries across on its own: it is a fresh application to the new state, against that state's own requirements.
Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
In beta. This lesson was written for Hone and has not yet been checked by a licensed nurse. Practice material, not professional advice. What that means.
What it is for
The word people use is reciprocity, and it makes everybody picture a swap. What actually happens is an application, with fees, with verification of the licence you hold, and sometimes with requirements the first state never asked of you. A nurse who accepts a post in another state on the assumption her licence travels can arrive unable to work. The same misunderstanding exists in teaching, where signed agreements between all fifty states still only buy the right to apply.
How to think about it
Before accepting anything in a new state, read that state's page for nurses licensed elsewhere and write down three things: what it wants verified, how long it says that takes, and whether you may work while it is pending. Which of those three is the one that would stop me starting? Then plan from the slowest. Boards publish their own requirements and change them, so the figure you plan around has to come from your board's own page rather than from here or from anybody who did this a few years ago.
Worked example
First licence, by examinationProgramme, examination, board.
A second state, by endorsementA new application to a new board. The examination is not repeated.
That board's own requirementsThey can differ from the ones you already met. This is the part people do not expect.
Permission to practise thereIt begins when the new board says so, not when you arrive.
Your turn
Name the route by which an already-licensed nurse applies in a second state.
An already-licensed nurse applies to a second state by
Solve one, graded on the server
The trap
Hearing reciprocity and picturing a transfer. Nothing is transferred: a second licence is issued, or it is not, by a board that has never met you. Boards publish their own requirements and change them, so the figure you plan around has to come from your board's own page rather than from here or from anybody who did this a few years ago.