Skip to content

Can I work in Utah with a compact license?

Utah recognizes compact privilege, so an active multistate license can authorize Utah practice. Here is exactly when it does, and what to check first.

Can I work in Utah with a compact nursing license?

YesUtah recognizes compact privilege, so an active multistate (compact) license from your compact home state authorizes you to practice in Utah without a separate Utah license. Your license must be multistate, not single-state — check which you hold on Nursys. You must still follow Utah’s scope of practice and nurse practice act.

Last reviewed 2026-06-17

What compact privilege is

A multistate license from your primary state of residence carries compact privilege — the authority to practice in other compact states without licensing separately in each. It only exists between states that are live in the Nurse Licensure Compact.

Practicing in Utah on privilege

Because Utah participates, an active multistate license lets you work in Utah — common for travel nurses and telehealth. Privilege follows the patient’s location and your home-state license staying active and multistate.

The law that governs this in Utah

Working in Utah on another state’s license is practice in Utah, so it is Utah’s own nurse practice act that defines what you may do and the Utah Board of Nursing that applies it. That act is Utah nursing licensure law (DOPL).

The compact itself is separate law. Utah adopted it at Utah Code tit. 58, ch. 31e (Nurse Licensure Compact — Revised), § 58-31e-102, which is what allows a multistate license issued elsewhere to reach Utah at all — the practice act still decides what you may do once it does.

Utah is the jurisdiction where citing the wrong chapter is easiest, because BOTH compacts are still in the code. Chapter 31c is the PRIOR compact and chapter 31e is the current one — party states to the old compact were deemed withdrawn within six months of the new one taking effect. A citation to 58-31c therefore points at superseded law that still looks live on the page. This is the same trap that produced repealed section numbers for Arizona, except here it is visible if you read the chapter titles.

Confirm before you rely on it

License status changes and the compact evolves. Confirm your own license type on Nursys and check Utah’s current rules with the Utah Board of Nursing. CompactStates.com is an independent guide, not a licensing authority.

Since when has a compact license worked in Utah?

Nurses holding another state’s multistate license have been able to practice in Utah since January 19, 2018. It has been a member long enough that most guidance you find will be accurate on this point.

Where a Utah multistate license reaches

If your Utah license is multistate — not every Utah license is — it carries privilege into these 39 jurisdictions, because each one currently issues and honours multistate licenses. It reaches nowhere else, and a non-compact state needs its own license by endorsement.

Two conditions sit underneath this list and neither is visible on it. Your primary state of residence must actually be Utah — privilege follows residence, not where the license was issued. And the license itself must be multistate rather than single-state, which is a fact about your record that only verification can settle.

Alabama · Arizona · Arkansas · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · Florida · Georgia · Idaho · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming

What usually comes next

Next-step checklist

  • Confirm your home-state license reads multistate on Nursys (nursys.com).
  • Confirm your primary state of residence is a compact state.
  • Follow Utah's scope of practice and nurse practice act.
  • Keep your home-state license active and in good standing.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Utah recognizes compact privilege, so an active multistate license from your compact home state lets you practice in Utah without a separate Utah license. Confirm your license is multistate (not single-state) on Nursys.