Living in Kentucky, working in Delaware
Can a Kentucky nurse work in Delaware?
If your primary state of residence is Kentucky and you hold an active multistate license from Kentucky, you may generally practice in Delaware under compact privilege — without applying for a separate Delaware license.
Kentucky vs Delaware at a glance
| Kentucky (home) | Delaware (work) | |
|---|---|---|
| Compact status | Compact | Compact |
| Multistate license for residents | Yes | Yes |
| Compact nurses can practice here | Yes | Yes |
| Board of nursing | Kentucky board ↗ | Delaware board ↗ |
Status shown as of 2026-06-17. Compact law changes — confirm anything that affects your license with the state board.
Recommended next step
Verify that your Kentucky license is multistate in Nursys, then review any Delaware-specific requirements with the Delaware Board of Nursing.
Verify before you rely on this
Whether you can practice comes down to your actual license type, not just the two states’ status. Look your license up on Nursys to confirm it is single-state or multistate, then check Delaware’s current requirements with the Delaware Board of Nursing.
Where each license is actually checked
These two states do not verify the same way, and the difference matters at different moments: Kentucky is what you will be asked to produce, Delaware is what an employer there will run.
Your home state
Kentucky
Kentucky Board of Nursing verification portal ↗The only state in this cohort whose portal lets you search by NCSBN ID as well as by name or license number. That matters for a common name: the NCSBN ID is the stable cross-state identifier, so it resolves the "is this the same nurse?" question that a name search cannot. Kentucky moved to the ORBS system in March 2023, so guidance describing an older portal is out of date.
Where you want to work
Delaware
Delaware DELPROS search & verify ↗Free lookup with a discipline column — where history exists it reads "Yes" and the Board Orders themselves are downloadable, not just flagged. Delaware does not issue written verifications for RNs and LPNs at all; that route is Nursys only, like Maine. APRNs go through a separate verification process instead — the second jurisdiction in this cohort, after D.C., where RN and LPN traffic rides shared national infrastructure and advanced practice is handled apart from it.
How long each has been part of this
Both Kentucky and Delaware began recognizing compact privilege in 2018. A pairing of two states that arrived together is the simplest case there is: neither has a transitional quirk the other lacks.
The law behind each side
Compact privilege is not a courtesy between states — it is each legislature having enacted the compact into its own code. These are the provisions that do it.
Your home state
Kentucky
KRS 314.475 (Nurse Licensure Compact) ↗Kentucky gives the compact its own titled section inside the nursing chapter rather than a separate act, and names the board’s executive director as the “head of the state licensing board” for compact purposes — so the person with compact authority is identified in statute rather than by internal delegation.
Scope is set separately. What you may actually do here comes from KRS ch. 314 (Nursing); RN licensure at KRS 314.041, APRN at 314.042 ↗.
Where you want to work
Delaware
Del. Code tit. 24, ch. 19A (Nurse Multistate Licensure Compact) ↗Delaware keeps the compact out of the nursing chapter entirely: ch. 19 is Nursing, ch. 19A is the Nurse Multistate Licensure Compact, and ch. 19B is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Compact. The APRN chapter is worth reading carefully — its heading in the code is qualified “[Effective upon …]”, so Delaware has enacted APRN compact law that is contingent rather than in force. That is primary-source confirmation of the general point: a state having APRN compact language on its books does not mean an APRN multistate license exists there.
Scope is set separately. What you may actually do here comes from 24 Del. C. ch. 19 (Board of Nursing) ↗.
Things to keep in mind
- Compact privilege only applies if your license is multistate, not single-state. Check this in Nursys.
- You must meet Delaware's practice requirements (for example, scope of practice and any continuing-education rules).
- APRN roles are generally not covered by the standard compact — APRNs usually need separate authorization in each state.
Frequently asked questions
Related pages
Sources & last reviewed
- NLC frequently asked questions— NCSBN / NurseCompact (nursecompact.com)
Covers multistate licenses, primary state of residence, the 60-day rule, telehealth, and license type coverage.
- NLC member states map & status— NCSBN / NurseCompact (nursecompact.com)
Identifies full members, partial implementation (Guam), and enacted/awaiting implementation (Massachusetts, U.S. Virgin Islands).
- Nursys QuickConfirm license verification— NCSBN / Nursys (nursys.com)
Recommended destination to verify whether a license is single-state or multistate.
Facts on this page were last reviewed against official sources on 2026-06-17. Compact law changes — always verify with your state board of nursing.