Licensure follows the patient
The location that matters for telehealth is generally the patient’s, not yours. Sitting in one state and caring for a patient in Rhode Island generally means you need authority to practice in Rhode Island — via compact privilege or a Rhode Island license. See telehealth: patient in another state.
The law that governs this in Rhode Island
Caring for a patient located in Rhode Island is practice in Rhode Island, so it is Rhode Island’s own nurse practice act that defines what you may do and the Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration & Nursing Education that applies it. That act is R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-34 (Nurse Practice Act); scope adopted under § 5-34-7(3).
The compact itself is separate law. Rhode Island adopted it at R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 5-34.3 (Nurse Licensure Compact), which is what allows a multistate license issued elsewhere to reach Rhode Island at all — the practice act still decides what you may do once it does.
Compact status is not the only consideration
Even where a multistate license reaches Rhode Island, your employer and the Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration & Nursing Education may impose additional requirements, and some roles carry their own rules. Compact status answers one question — it is not a blanket authorization to practice remotely.
APRN telehealth is separate
The compact covers RN and LPN/LVN licenses only. If you work as an APRN, your advanced-practice authority is granted state by state and is not carried by a multistate RN license — a point that catches out a lot of remote NP roles.
Since when has a compact license worked in Rhode Island?
Nurses holding another state’s multistate license have been able to practice in Rhode Island since January 1, 2024. That is recent enough that employer handbooks, agency briefings, and articles written before then still describe Rhode Island as non-compact — so if you are told you need a Rhode Island license, check the date on the guidance.