What decides whether you need a new license
Two things: whether Tennessee 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 Tennessee on assignment
Working under privilege still means following Tennessee's scope of practice and nurse practice act, and you remain accountable to the Tennessee Board of Nursing while you are here. If any of the assignment is telehealth, remember licensure generally follows the patient’s location — see the Tennessee telehealth guide.
The law that governs this in Tennessee
Taking an assignment in Tennessee is practice in Tennessee, so it is Tennessee’s own nurse practice act that defines what you may do and the Tennessee Board of Nursing that applies it. That act is T.C.A. tit. 63, ch. 7 (Nursing); RNs at §§ 63-7-103, -104, LPNs at §§ 63-7-108, -109.
Tennessee has adopted the compact, but we have not confirmed which section of its code carries it, so we do not cite one — several states replaced an earlier compact and the superseded sections still circulate. The practice act above is the citation we have read.
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 Tennessee Board of Nursing.
Since when has a compact license worked in Tennessee?
Nurses holding another state’s multistate license have been able to practice in Tennessee since January 19, 2018. It has been a member long enough that most guidance you find will be accurate on this point.