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CompactStates

Compact nursing states in the South

The South is the most compact-friendly region in the country. Here is where each Southern jurisdiction stands and what it means for practicing across state lines.

Which Southern states are compact nursing states?

Nearly all of them. As of 2026, the large majority of Southern states are fully implemented compact nursing states — including Texas, Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Virginia, and Maryland — so a multistate license generally lets you practice across most of the region. The main exception is the District of Columbia, which is not a compact jurisdiction. Check the current status of each below.

NLC member states ↗Last reviewed 2026-06-17

South (17)

AlabamaFull compact stateArkansasFull compact stateDelawareFull compact stateDistrict of ColumbiaNon-compact stateFloridaFull compact stateGeorgiaFull compact stateKentuckyFull compact stateLouisianaFull compact stateMarylandFull compact stateMississippiFull compact stateNorth CarolinaFull compact stateOklahomaFull compact stateSouth CarolinaFull compact stateTennesseeFull compact stateTexasFull compact stateVirginiaFull compact stateWest VirginiaFull compact state

When this region joined

14 of them began recognizing compact privilege on January 19, 2018, the day the enhanced compact took effect: Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Two arrived later: Louisiana in 2019 and Alabama in 2020 — the most recent being Alabama on January 1, 2020.

Dates are the day incoming privilege began, which is not always the day the board started issuing multistate licenses to its own residents — see how a state joins. Members without a verified date are omitted rather than guessed at; the full record is on the adoption timeline.

Where a multistate license stops at a state line here

These are the land borders in this region where a compact state meets one that has never joined. Each is a line people cross without thinking, and licensure changes at it — which matters most to whoever lives on one side and picks up shifts on the other. Each neighbour below links through to what that particular pairing means.

  • Maryland (compact) meets one state that never joined: District of Columbia. A Maryland multistate license does not reach across that line.
  • Virginia (compact) meets one state that never joined: District of Columbia. A Virginia multistate license does not reach across that line.
  • Kentucky (compact) meets one state that never joined: Illinois. A Kentucky multistate license does not reach across that line.

Borders with jurisdictions that have enacted the compact but not yet implemented it are deliberately excluded: that is a temporary state of affairs rather than a standing one, and tracked separately. Every seam in the country, mapped.

Status shown as of 2026-06-17. Compact law changes — always confirm with the relevant board of nursing.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Texas is a fully implemented Nurse Licensure Compact state, so residents can hold a multistate license and compact nurses from other states can practice there under privilege.

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