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Is Wyoming a nursing compact state?

Full compact stateCompact: Yes

Yes. Wyoming is a Nurse Licensure Compact state. If your primary state of residence is Wyoming, you can generally apply for a multistate nursing license, and nurses who hold an active multistate license from another compact state may practice in Wyoming under compact privilege.

The short version

Wyoming is a full compact state, and every state it borders participates too, so a Wyoming multistate license works smoothly across the Rockies and northern Plains. Residents can hold the multistate license, and visiting compact nurses can practice here under privilege while following Wyoming’s own practice rules.

Wyoming compact license: key facts

Key Nurse Licensure Compact facts for Wyoming
Compact statusFull compact stateYes
Residents can get a multistate licenseYes
Compact nurses may practice hereYes
License types the compact coversRN and LPN/LVN — not APRN
Census regionWest
Compact in force sinceJanuary 19, 2018
Bordering states the compact does NOT reachNone — every neighbor honors compact privilege
Bordering states a multistate license reachesColorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah

A multistate license from Wyoming does not reach every state — where it works depends on the state you are heading to. Check Wyoming against another state

What Wyoming’s compact status means

Because Wyoming is a full compact state, a single multistate license issued by Wyoming lets you practice in Wyoming 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 Wyoming under compact privilege — but you still have to follow Wyoming'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 Wyoming residents should know

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

What nurses coming to Wyoming should know

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

When Wyoming joined the Nurse Licensure Compact

Wyoming 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 Wyoming 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 Wyoming’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 Wyoming, so you can check our answer against the law rather than taking our word for it.

Compact statute
W.S. §§ 33-21-201 to 33-21-202 (Nurse Licensure Compact)

Read from Wyoming’s own compiled Title 33. § 33-21-201 is the short title — "This article shall be known and may be cited as the 'Nurse Licensure Compact.'" — and § 33-21-202 approves and ratifies it, with the compact text itself inside that section. Those are the only 33-21-2xx sections in the title, so the article is those two. The enacted text also settles which compact this is without guessing: it carries the supersession clause deeming party states to have withdrawn from the prior Nurse Licensure Compact, which is the ENHANCED compact’s language.

Wyoming’s own license lookup
Wyoming State Board of Nursing

One caution specific to Wyoming: the board has moved domains, and its own older rule documents still cite state.wy.us addresses that no longer resolve. If you reach a dead link from an official-looking Wyoming PDF, the document is out of date rather than the board being unreachable — start from wsbn.wyo.gov instead. The board licenses registered nurses, practical nurses, advanced practice registered nurses and nursing assistants.

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 Wyoming

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 Wyoming. See the APRN and the compact guide, and confirm specifics with the Wyoming State 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 Wyoming.

By credential: Wyoming RN & the compact, Wyoming LPN, and Wyoming 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 Wyoming is a compact state, if you make it your PSOR you may qualify for a multistate license issued by Wyoming — often more useful than a plain single-state license. Coming from another state, you generally apply to the Wyoming State Board of Nursing by endorsement. If you are relocating, the 60-day rule governs the timing.

Verifying a Wyoming nursing license

Look any Wyoming 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 Wyoming State Board of Nursing. See the full Wyoming verification guide. CompactStates is an independent reference, not a verification service, and holds no license records.

Travel assignments and telehealth in Wyoming

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

Renewal and continuing education

Renewal cycles, fees, and continuing-education requirements are set by the Wyoming State 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 Wyoming renewal guide. If your Wyoming license is multistate, keeping it renewed is what keeps your compact privilege active in every other compact state.

What to do next in Wyoming

  1. How do I actually get a multistate license?Living in a compact state is not the same as holding a multistate license — it has to be issued or upgraded as one.
  2. How do I verify a Wyoming license?Nursys and the Wyoming State Board of Nursing, what each one shows, and what a blank result actually means.
  3. What happens at renewal in Wyoming?The renewal cycle, where it is handled, and what lapsing costs you.
  4. What if I move to another state?A multistate license is tied to your primary state of residence, so it does not travel with you when you move.

Nearby states

Working across a border from Wyoming? Check a neighbor’s compact status.

Every one of Wyoming’s land neighbours is a fully implemented compact state, so a Wyoming multistate license reaches all of them. The usual cross-border questions still apply — where you actually reside, and which state each employer sits in.

Wyoming compact questions

Yes. Yes. Wyoming is a Nurse Licensure Compact state. If your primary state of residence is Wyoming, you can generally apply for a multistate nursing license, and nurses who hold an active multistate license from another compact state may practice in Wyoming under compact privilege.

Why we point you to Nursys

CompactStates explains the state rules. Nursys confirms your individual license. Nursys QuickConfirm is the official, free service where nurses can look up whether their own license is single-state or multistate. We’re an independent guide; Nursys and your board are where personal license status is verified.

Keep reading

Sources reviewed

  • NLC member states map & statusNCSBN / NurseCompact (nursecompact.com)

    Identifies full members, partial implementation (Guam), and enacted/awaiting implementation (Massachusetts, U.S. Virgin Islands).

  • NLC frequently asked questionsNCSBN / NurseCompact (nursecompact.com)

    Covers multistate licenses, primary state of residence, the 60-day rule, telehealth, and license type coverage.

  • Nursys QuickConfirm license verificationNCSBN / Nursys (nursys.com)

    Recommended destination to verify whether a license is single-state or multistate.

Facts on this page were last reviewed against official sources on 2026-06-17. Compact law changes — always verify with your state board of nursing.

Cite this page

Free to use with attribution. Cite the review date shown here rather than today’s — compact status changes as jurisdictions implement, and the figure you are quoting belongs to the date it was checked.

AMA (11th ed.)Used by most nursing and medical journals.

CompactStates.com. Wyoming nursing compact status. Updated June 17, 2026. Accessed [date you accessed it]. https://www.compactstates.com/states/wyoming

APA (7th ed.)Used by most nursing coursework and theses.

CompactStates.com. (2026, June 17). Wyoming nursing compact status. https://www.compactstates.com/states/wyoming

Plain textFor a footnote, a slide, or a message to a colleague.

"Wyoming nursing compact status", CompactStates.com, last reviewed June 17, 2026. https://www.compactstates.com/states/wyoming

Quoting a specific jurisdiction? Cite that jurisdiction’s page rather than this one, so the date travels with the fact.