Is Virginia a nursing compact state?

What Virginia’s compact status means

Because Virginia is a full compact state, a single multistate license issued by Virginia lets you practice in Virginia and in other compact states without applying for a separate license in each one.

If you live in another compact state and hold an active multistate license there, you can generally practice in Virginia under compact privilege — but you still have to follow Virginia's laws and scope-of-practice rules while you work here.

Compact privilege only works if your license is the multistate type, not single-state. Check this before you rely on it.

What Virginia residents should know

If Virginia is your primary state of residence and you hold an active Virginia multistate license, you can practice in Virginia and in other compact states. If your Virginia license is single-state, ask the Virginia Board of Nursing about converting it to multistate.

What nurses coming to Virginia should know

Coming from another compact state with an active multistate license? You can generally practice in Virginia under compact privilege — just follow Virginia’s practice rules. Coming from a non-compact state? You’ll apply for a Virginia license by endorsement.

When Virginia joined the Nurse Licensure Compact

Virginia was one of the 29 jurisdictions where the enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact took effect on January 19, 2018, the day the current compact went live nationwide. Many of these jurisdictions had participated in the original compact since 2000; we have not separately verified when Virginia first joined that earlier compact, so we do not publish a date for it.

Sourced from yearinreview2018.ncsbn.org, ncsbn.org. See the full NLC adoption timeline for every jurisdiction’s dates and methodology, or the Nursing Compact States Report 2026 for how far the compact reaches overall.

The law behind Virginia’s status

Compact status is not an opinion or a listing — it is a statute. These are the primary sources that actually govern licensure in Virginia, so you can check our answer against the law rather than taking our word for it.

Compact statute

Va. Code tit. 54.1, ch. 30, art. 6.1 (§ 54.1-3040.2 et seq.) ↗

Virginia codifies the compact as its own article within the nursing chapter, so the compact text sits alongside the nurse practice act rather than in a separate title.

Nurse practice act

Va. Code tit. 54.1, ch. 30 (Nursing) ↗

Virginia’s own license lookup

Virginia DHP License Lookup ↗

Two things employers should know. Virginia states outright that this lookup IS primary-source verification of the credential and meets Joint Commission requirements — few boards commit to that in writing, and it means a printed result can stand as the file copy. But the free tier is RATE-LIMITED, and it is sized for occasional individual checks. Run a batch of hires through it and you will hit an error that looks like a broken system or a missing nurse; it is neither. Volume users are expected to take the subscription or the bulk licence-database download. Covers all 62 professions DHP regulates, not just nursing.

Board of nursing

Virginia Board of Nursing ↗

Statutory citations reviewed 2026-07-31. Citations change far more slowly than fees or processing times — which is why we publish these and not those. Enactment is not the same as implementation: check the dates above before relying on the compact here.

RN, LPN/LVN, and APRN coverage in Virginia

The Nurse Licensure Compact covers RN and LPN/LVN licenses. It does not, on its own, cover APRN roles — nurse practitioners, CRNAs, CNSs, and CNMs generally need separate APRN authorization in each state, including Virginia. See the APRN and the compact guide, and confirm specifics with the Virginia Board of Nursing.

Coverage is the same for both credentials, so the state lists are the same: every RN compact state and every LPN/LVN compact state both include Virginia.

By credential: Virginia RN & the compact, Virginia LPN, and Virginia APRN.

Primary state of residence, moving, and endorsement

Your primary state of residence (PSOR) drives multistate eligibility — you can hold it in only one state at a time. Because Virginia is a compact state, if you make it your PSOR you may qualify for a multistate license issued by Virginia — often more useful than a plain single-state license. Coming from another state, you generally apply to the Virginia Board of Nursing by endorsement. If you are relocating, the 60-day rule governs the timing.

Verifying a Virginia nursing license

Look any Virginia license up on Nursys QuickConfirm — it shows whether the license is single-state or multistate, its status, and its expiration. For anything Nursys does not show, use the Virginia Board of Nursing. See the full Virginia verification guide. CompactStates is an independent reference, not a verification service, and holds no license records.

Travel assignments and telehealth in Virginia

Because Virginia recognizes compact privilege, an active multistate license from your compact home state generally covers a Virginia travel assignment, and telehealth to patients located in Virginia, without a separate Virginia license. Telehealth licensure generally follows the patient’s location. See the Virginia travel and telehealth guides.

Renewal and continuing education

Renewal cycles, fees, and continuing-education requirements are set by the Virginia Board of Nursing and change over time, so we link you to the official source rather than list figures that could go stale. Nursys shows your expiration date and license type. See the Virginia renewal guide. If your Virginia license is multistate, keeping it renewed is what keeps your compact privilege active in every other compact state.