The act that defines APRN practice in Puerto Rico
The compact decides whether you may practice in Puerto Rico. What APRN practice actually means here — scope, titles, what you may do and delegate — is set by Puerto Rico’s own nurse practice act, Ley para Regular la Práctica de la Enfermería en Puerto Rico, 20 L.P.R.A. ch. 9A (board powers at § 204f), and interpreted by the Puerto Rico Board of Nurse Examiners. Two states can both recognize your license and still differ on what you may do with it.
Where Puerto Rico stands on the APRN Compact
We have found no APRN compact law on Puerto Rico’s books. Read that as a floor rather than a census: our own research turned up two jurisdictions that the published member lists we checked had omitted, so “we have not found it” is the honest claim rather than “it is not there”. Either way no APRN is practicing across state lines on that compact today, Puerto Rico included.
The compact does not cover APRN roles
The Nurse Licensure Compact covers RN and LPN/LVN licenses. It does not cover APRN authorization — NPs, CRNAs, CNSs, and CNMs. That has been the case since the compact began and applies in every state.
What that means in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico does not currently issue multistate licenses to residents, so there is no Puerto Rico multistate license, and APRN authority is not portable through the compact either. To practice as an APRN in Puerto Rico, you work through the Puerto Rico Board of Nurse Examiners; to practice as an APRN elsewhere, you use that state’s process.
The separate APRN Compact
A distinct APRN Compact has been drafted to do for advanced practice what the NLC does for RNs and LPNs/LVNs, but it is not yet operational. Until enough states join and it is implemented, APRN privileges do not cross state lines automatically.