What decides whether you need a new license
Two things: whether Iowa 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 Iowa on assignment
Working under privilege still means following Iowa's scope of practice and nurse practice act, and you remain accountable to the Iowa Board of Nursing while you are here. If any of the assignment is telehealth, remember licensure generally follows the patient’s location — see the Iowa telehealth guide.
The law that governs this in Iowa
Taking an assignment in Iowa is practice in Iowa, so it is Iowa’s own nurse practice act that defines what you may do and the Iowa Board of Nursing that applies it. That act is Iowa Code ch. 152 (Nursing).
The compact itself is separate law. Iowa adopted it at Iowa Code ch. 152E (Nurse Licensure Compacts), which is what allows a multistate license issued elsewhere to reach Iowa 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 Iowa Board of Nursing.
Since when has a compact license worked in Iowa?
Nurses holding another state’s multistate license have been able to practice in Iowa since January 19, 2018. It has been a member long enough that most guidance you find will be accurate on this point.
The compact statute in Iowa: Iowa titles the chapter in the PLURAL — "Nurse Licensure Compacts" — because it carries the APRN compact alongside the RN/LPN one in the same place. That is unusual and easy to misread: finding APRN compact language in Iowa law does not mean APRN privilege is available, only that Iowa has legislated for it. Keep the two compacts separate when reading this chapter.