What decides whether you need a new license
Two things: whether Arkansas is a compact state, and whether your own license is multistate rather than single-state. Compact privilege only exists between compact states, and only a multistate license carries it. Run your exact home/assignment pairing through the compact state checker.
Practicing in Arkansas on assignment
Working under privilege still means following Arkansas's scope of practice and nurse practice act, and you remain accountable to the Arkansas State Board of Nursing while you are here. If any of the assignment is telehealth, remember licensure generally follows the patient’s location — see the Arkansas telehealth guide.
The law that governs this in Arkansas
Taking an assignment in Arkansas is practice in Arkansas, so it is Arkansas’s own nurse practice act that defines what you may do and the Arkansas State Board of Nursing that applies it. That act is Arkansas nursing licensure law (Arkansas State Board of Nursing).
The compact itself is separate law. Arkansas adopted it at Ark. Code Ann. §§ 17-87-601 to 17-87-604 (Nurse Practice Act, subch. 6 — Nurse Licensure Compact), which is what allows a multistate license issued elsewhere to reach Arkansas at all — the practice act still decides what you may do once it does.
Before you sign
We are an independent licensing reference — we do not list assignments, agencies, or pay rates, and nothing here is a job offer. For the wider pre-assignment checklist (contract terms, credentialing, housing), see what to check before accepting a travel assignment. Confirm licensure with the Arkansas State Board of Nursing.
Since when has a compact license worked in Arkansas?
Nurses holding another state’s multistate license have been able to practice in Arkansas since January 19, 2018. It has been a member long enough that most guidance you find will be accurate on this point.