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How to get a nursing license in Guam by endorsement

If you are already licensed in another state, endorsement is usually how you get licensed in Guam. Here is how it works and when the compact is the better path.

How do I get a nursing license in Guam by endorsement?

You apply to the Guam Board of Nurse Examiners for a Guam license by endorsement, based on your existing license. Guam does recognize compact privilege, so endorsement is not the only route: an active multistate license from your compact home state already authorizes practice here. Endorsement is what you need if your license is single-state, or if you intend to make Guam your primary state of residence.

Last reviewed 2026-06-17

The law that governs this in Guam

Getting licensed in Guam happens under Guam’s own nurse practice act — the same act that defines what practice means here — administered by the Guam Board of Nurse Examiners. That act is Guam nursing licensure law (Guam Board of Nurse Examiners, HPLO).

The compact itself is separate law. Guam adopted it at 10 GCA ch. 12, art. 3A (Nurse Licensure Compact); added by P.L. 36-006:1 (5 March 2021), which is what allows a multistate license issued elsewhere to reach Guam at all — the practice act still decides what you may do once it does.

How verification works in Guam

An endorsement application rests on Guam receiving verification of the license you already hold, and that step is where these applications stall. What we found reading Guam Board of Nurse Examiners’s own material:

Two things to know. Guam’s material spreads across three domains: the board sits at guamhplo.org, its primary-source search at guamnursing.org, and Nursys carries the free public lookup — one more hop than New Mexico’s two-domain split. And an OFFICIAL verification requires a signed authorization to release information from the licensee, plus a $25 fee. That consent requirement is unique in this cohort: an employer cannot obtain an official Guam verification independently, the nurse has to sign first, so it belongs in the hiring timeline rather than being discovered at the end of it. The board licenses RNs, LPNs, APRNs and CNAs.

Its own lookup is Guam Board of Nurse Examiners (via Nursys). Confirm what the receiving board wants before you pay for anything — a printout of a public lookup is rarely the document a board means by “verification”. See the two things called verification.

What licensure by endorsement means

Endorsement is applying for Guam’s own license based on an existing license in good standing. You end up holding a Guam license. It is different from a compact license, which is one multistate license covering all compact states.

Applying through the Guam Board of Nurse Examiners

Applications go through the Guam Board of Nurse Examiners. Requirements and fees are set by the board and change over time, so we point you to the official source rather than listing specifics that could go stale.

Why the compact does not help here

Since Guam is non-compact, there is no Guam multistate license and privilege from other states does not reach Guam. Endorsement is the route. See non-compact states.

Can applying by endorsement in Guam get you a multistate license?

Not yet. Guam has enacted the compact (March 5, 2021) but has not finished implementing it, so the Guam Board of Nurse Examiners is not issuing multistate licenses to Guam residents. Until it does, applying by endorsement here produces a single-state license. Watch the board for an implementation date rather than treating the law passing as the finish line.

What usually comes next

Next-step checklist

  • Confirm your current license is active and unencumbered (Nursys).
  • Open the Guam Board of Nurse Examiners endorsement application.
  • Follow the board's current requirements and fees (do not rely on third-party figures).
  • Plan for processing time before you need to start work in Guam.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Guam recognizes compact privilege, so an active multistate license from your compact home state authorizes practice here without a separate Guam license — even though Guam does not issue multistate licenses to its own residents. Your license must be multistate rather than single-state.