What decides whether you need a new license
Two things: whether Puerto Rico 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 Puerto Rico on assignment
Because Puerto Rico requires its own license, build board processing into your start date. See the Puerto Rico endorsement guide for the route. If any of the assignment is telehealth, remember licensure generally follows the patient’s location — see the Puerto Rico telehealth guide.
The law that governs this in Puerto Rico
Taking an assignment in Puerto Rico is practice in Puerto Rico, so it is Puerto Rico’s own nurse practice act that defines what you may do and the Puerto Rico Board of Nurse Examiners that applies it. That act is Ley para Regular la Práctica de la Enfermería en Puerto Rico, 20 L.P.R.A. ch. 9A (board powers at § 204f).
There is no compact statute to cite for Puerto Rico, which is the substantive point rather than a gap in our research: Puerto Rico has not adopted the compact, so the practice act above is the whole of the law that applies to you here.
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 Puerto Rico Board of Nurse Examiners.
Why compact privilege does not reach Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico has not adopted the compact. Either way the practical answer for taking an assignment in Puerto Rico is the same today: a multistate license from another state does not authorize it, and you generally need a Puerto Rico license from the Puerto Rico Board of Nurse Examiners. Re-check before a start date rather than assuming — this is precisely the fact that changes.