The uniform licensure requirements, in plain English
The uniform licensure requirements (ULRs) come from the Nurse Licensure Compact itself, so they’re the same no matter which compact state issues your license. To qualify for a multistate license, you must:
- Have graduated from a board-approved (or otherwise qualifying) nursing education program — or an international program verified as equivalent, with an English-proficiency requirement where applicable.
- Have passed the NCLEX-RN or NCLEX-PN exam (or a recognized predecessor exam).
- Hold an active, unencumbered license — no discipline restricting your practice — or be eligible for one if you’re applying for initial licensure.
- Submit to a fingerprint-based criminal background check at both the state and federal level.
- Have no state or federal felony convictions, and no misdemeanor convictions related to the practice of nursing (as determined on a case-by-case basis).
- Not currently be enrolled in an alternative-to-discipline program (for example, a substance-use monitoring program used in lieu of formal discipline).
- Have a valid U.S. Social Security number.
- Declare a primary state of residence that is a compact state.
Meet all of these and your home compact state’s board of nursing can issue your license as multistate. Miss any one of them and the board can still issue a single-state license if you otherwise qualify under that state’s own rules — you just won’t have compact privileges.
Requirement 1 — Residency: your home state must be a compact state
This is the requirement people miss most often. A multistate license is issued only by the board of nursing in your primary state of residence — your one legal home state — and that state must be a compact state. If your legal home is a non-compact state, you cannot hold a multistate license no matter how clean your record is, even if you also hold licenses in compact states. Those would all be single-state licenses. Not sure where you stand? Use the compact state checker first.
Requirements 2–3 — Education and the NCLEX
You must have graduated from a nursing program approved by a board of nursing (or one that otherwise qualifies under the compact), and you must have passed the NCLEX-RN (for RNs) or NCLEX-PN (for LPN/VNs) — or a predecessor exam if you were licensed before the NCLEX era. Internationally educated nurses can qualify too, but the foreign program must be verified as equivalent to an approved U.S. program, and an English-proficiency exam may be required. Long-licensed nurses generally satisfy these requirements automatically; they matter most for new graduates and internationally educated applicants.
Requirements 4–6 — Background check, criminal history, and discipline
The compact sets a higher screening bar than many states use for single-state licenses:
- Fingerprint-based background check. You must submit fingerprints for both a state and a federal criminal records check. A name-based check isn’t enough. Your board tells you where and how to get fingerprinted when you apply.
- No felony convictions. A state or federal felony conviction is disqualifying for a multistate license under the ULRs.
- Certain misdemeanors can disqualify. Misdemeanor convictions related to the practice of nursing are evaluated case by case — the board decides whether a particular conviction blocks multistate eligibility.
- Unencumbered license, no alternative program. Your license can’t carry active discipline that restricts practice, and you can’t currently be enrolled in an alternative-to-discipline program.
If any of this applies to you, don’t self-disqualify — and don’t assume you’re fine either. Contact your board of nursing directly before applying; only the board can tell you how your history will be treated.
Already licensed? Check what you actually hold
Meeting the requirements isn’t the same as holding the license. Many nurses in compact states carry a single-state license without realizing it — often because they were licensed before their state joined the compact, or before they met a requirement like the fingerprint background check. Look up your license in Nursys QuickConfirm and confirm it says multistate; see is my license compact? for how to read the result. If it’s single-state and you meet the ULRs, your board can usually convert it. Fees and processing times for that are set by each state board, so confirm them on your board’s official site.