Is Colorado a nursing compact state?

What Colorado’s compact status means

Because Colorado is a full compact state, a single multistate license issued by Colorado lets you practice in Colorado and in other compact states without applying for a separate license in each one.

If you live in another compact state and hold an active multistate license there, you can generally practice in Colorado under compact privilege — but you still have to follow Colorado's laws and scope-of-practice rules while you work here.

Compact privilege only works if your license is the multistate type, not single-state. Check this before you rely on it.

What Colorado residents should know

If Colorado is your primary state of residence and you hold an active Colorado multistate license, you can practice in Colorado and in other compact states. If your Colorado license is single-state, ask the Colorado State Board of Nursing about converting it to multistate.

What nurses coming to Colorado should know

Coming from another compact state with an active multistate license? You can generally practice in Colorado under compact privilege — just follow Colorado’s practice rules. Coming from a non-compact state? You’ll apply for a Colorado license by endorsement.

When Colorado joined the Nurse Licensure Compact

Colorado was one of the 29 jurisdictions where the enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact took effect on January 19, 2018, the day the current compact went live nationwide. Many of these jurisdictions had participated in the original compact since 2000; we have not separately verified when Colorado first joined that earlier compact, so we do not publish a date for it.

Sourced from yearinreview2018.ncsbn.org, ncsbn.org. See the full NLC adoption timeline for every jurisdiction’s dates and methodology, or the Nursing Compact States Report 2026 for how far the compact reaches overall.

The law behind Colorado’s status

Compact status is not an opinion or a listing — it is a statute. These are the primary sources that actually govern licensure in Colorado, so you can check our answer against the law rather than taking our word for it.

Compact statute

In force — citation not yet confirmed.

Colorado has adopted the compact, but neither its board nor its code publishes a clean compact-specific citation we have been able to confirm. We would rather say so than print a section number that looks authoritative and is wrong. The Colorado State Board of Nursing is the authority in the meantime, and if you have the citation we will add it.

Nurse practice act

C.R.S. tit. 12, art. 255 (Nurse and Nurse Aide Practice Act) ↗

Colorado adopted the enhanced compact via SB18-027, which repealed the original compact.

Colorado’s own license lookup

Colorado Board of Nursing verification (via Nursys) ↗

Unusually, Colorado does not run a separate state lookup — its board directs verification to Nursys, so for Colorado licences Nursys IS the primary source rather than a national convenience layer.

Board of nursing

Colorado State Board of Nursing ↗

Statutory citations reviewed 2026-07-31. Citations change far more slowly than fees or processing times — which is why we publish these and not those. Enactment is not the same as implementation: check the dates above before relying on the compact here.

RN, LPN/LVN, and APRN coverage in Colorado

The Nurse Licensure Compact covers RN and LPN/LVN licenses. It does not, on its own, cover APRN roles — nurse practitioners, CRNAs, CNSs, and CNMs generally need separate APRN authorization in each state, including Colorado. See the APRN and the compact guide, and confirm specifics with the Colorado State Board of Nursing.

Coverage is the same for both credentials, so the state lists are the same: every RN compact state and every LPN/LVN compact state both include Colorado.

By credential: Colorado RN & the compact, Colorado LPN, and Colorado APRN.

Primary state of residence, moving, and endorsement

Your primary state of residence (PSOR) drives multistate eligibility — you can hold it in only one state at a time. Because Colorado is a compact state, if you make it your PSOR you may qualify for a multistate license issued by Colorado — often more useful than a plain single-state license. Coming from another state, you generally apply to the Colorado State Board of Nursing by endorsement. If you are relocating, the 60-day rule governs the timing.

Verifying a Colorado nursing license

Look any Colorado license up on Nursys QuickConfirm — it shows whether the license is single-state or multistate, its status, and its expiration. For anything Nursys does not show, use the Colorado State Board of Nursing. See the full Colorado verification guide. CompactStates is an independent reference, not a verification service, and holds no license records.

Travel assignments and telehealth in Colorado

Because Colorado recognizes compact privilege, an active multistate license from your compact home state generally covers a Colorado travel assignment, and telehealth to patients located in Colorado, without a separate Colorado license. Telehealth licensure generally follows the patient’s location. See the Colorado travel and telehealth guides.

Renewal and continuing education

Renewal cycles, fees, and continuing-education requirements are set by the Colorado State Board of Nursing and change over time, so we link you to the official source rather than list figures that could go stale. Nursys shows your expiration date and license type. See the Colorado renewal guide. If your Colorado license is multistate, keeping it renewed is what keeps your compact privilege active in every other compact state.