State Nursing License Handbook

A Travel Nurse Guide to RN State Licenses

In our other article, we break down the steps to getting started in travel nursing.  After you’ve made your decision, it’s important to make sure to do the preparation to truly open up all opportunities.  After all, committing to travel nursing also means being comfortable with a level of uncertainty since most contracts are 13 or 26 weeks.  The long term paycheck security (where’s my paycheck going to come from in 9 months?) is obviously quite different than a staff nursing or technologist position.

By applying early for state licensures (both RN and Allied), you’re able to keep more “insurance” options open in the case when something in your primary location is not available.  If you’d like to look at just one state to start, that’s of course okay.  But when the rubber meets the road you want to make sure you have good financial options, even if that means the state next door.  It’s relatively cheap and easy, so a good insurance policy to have!

Walk-through States

Walk-through states are the holy grail.  They allow a nurse to obtain a temporary license within 24-48 hours, with a permanent license following soon after.  However, one thing to remember is that there will be a Nursys verification, so any dings on your license will delay the process.  

States: Arizona, Hawaii, Louisiana, Missouri, South Carolina

Enhanced Nursing Licensure Compact (eNLC) 

Compact nursing states refers to the Nursing Licensure Compact (NLC), which is an agreement between states that allows nurses to have one compact state nursing license that gives them the ability to practice in other states that are part of the agreement. In other words, one state will trust another state’s licensing to allow them to temporarily practice in that state.

States: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, 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, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Non-NLC States: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington

Fingerprinting / Background Check States 

Quite a few states will require very official fingerprints and a background check in order to grant a license, either temporary or permanent.  Try to get on the ball early and get this done as it may take longer than expected and you don’t want this to hold up an assignment or delay a start date.

States: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee

Nursing License Application Time Frame By State

Below is a list of requirements and timeframes to obtain temporary and permanent licensures, as well as fingerprinting and background requirements.  And please keep in mind that Covid emergency licensing greatly changed the process in regards to travel nurse licenses.  So while this list is comprehensive, please also check the source site for updates (links below).