Living in Missouri, working in Maryland
Can a Missouri nurse work in Maryland?
If your primary state of residence is Missouri and you hold an active multistate license from Missouri, you may generally practice in Maryland under compact privilege — without applying for a separate Maryland license.
Missouri vs Maryland at a glance
| Missouri (home) | Maryland (work) | |
|---|---|---|
| Compact status | Compact | Compact |
| Multistate license for residents | Yes | Yes |
| Compact nurses can practice here | Yes | Yes |
| Board of nursing | Missouri board ↗ | Maryland 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 Missouri license is multistate in Nursys, then review any Maryland-specific requirements with the Maryland 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 Maryland’s current requirements with the Maryland 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: Missouri is what you will be asked to produce, Maryland is what an employer there will run.
Your home state
Missouri
Missouri Division of Professional Registration licensee search ↗Missouri treats BOTH routes as primary source: Nursys holds data supplied directly by the board, and the Division’s own search is itself a primary-source verification, refreshed nightly. Either satisfies a credentialing file — so unlike states where one system is authoritative, here the choice is genuinely yours.
Where you want to work
Maryland
Maryland CHART license lookup ↗Maryland runs its own lookup through CHART, separate from Nursys, and it is primary-source verification updated daily — printable for the facility file. What makes Maryland unusual is that the board argues AGAINST paper: it warns that paper licenses are only accurate at the moment they are printed, are easy to forge, and are used for identity fraud, and it treats a paper verification form as the fallback for the rare employer who will not accept the online result. That is the opposite instruction to North Carolina, which asks you to print the confirmation because the printout IS your proof. Both are right about their own systems, which is precisely why “just get a copy of the verification” is not portable advice.
How long each has been part of this
Both Missouri and Maryland 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
Missouri
RSMo ch. 335, Nurse Licensure Compact provisions at §§ 335.300 et seq. (incl. §§ 335.365, 335.370, 335.375) ↗Missouri names the board’s executive director as the head of the licensing board for compact purposes, and states plainly that a nurse practicing here on privilege is subject to Missouri discipline — the point that surprises people, since the license itself was issued elsewhere. Note also that the compact sections sit apart from the nurse practice act sections (§§ 335.011–335.096) in the same chapter, so a citation to “chapter 335” alone does not identify compact law.
Scope is set separately. What you may actually do here comes from RSMo ch. 335 (Nurses), §§ 335.011–335.096 ↗.
Where you want to work
Maryland
Md. Code, Health Occupations §§ 8-7A-01 to 8-7A-05 (Nurse Licensure Compact); board authority at § 8-205(a)(1) ↗Maryland gives the compact its own subtitle (8-7A) within the Health Occupations Article, with the operating detail in regulation at COMAR 10.27.22. Worth knowing for anyone tracing the history: Maryland joined the original compact in 1999, before the enhanced NLC existed, so its compact law long predates the 2018 rewrite that most states are working from.
Scope is set separately. What you may actually do here comes from Md. Code, Health Occupations, tit. 8 (Nurses) ↗.
Things to keep in mind
- Compact privilege only applies if your license is multistate, not single-state. Check this in Nursys.
- You must meet Maryland'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.