News :Understanding State Licensures

Posted on Friday, January 30, 2009

In the interest of protecting the public, every state has adopted rules and regulations governing the licensure of nurses. Each state’s board of registered nursing regulates the practice of nursing in its home state, sets education and continuing education requirements, conducts licensure examinations, issues licenses and tracks disciplinary measures.

In 1996 the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) began development of a national licensure model. In 2000 the RN and LPN/VN Compact was passed into law by the first participating states. Today, nearly half the nation’s states have passed laws accepting multi-state licensing for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and vocational nurses.

Adoption of the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) allows nurses to pass a single examination, the standardized National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), to obtain a license in their home state that also allows them to practice in other participating states. The compact requires participating states to adopt nationally-applicable administrative rules and regulations. Multi-state licenses through NLC are only available to nurses residing in NLC states and are only accepted in states that have adopted the compact.

NCSBN also operates Nursys (Nurse System), a national computerized data base containing nurse license and license discipline information provided by state boards of nursing. Available to both nurses and recruiters in all states regardless of participation in NLC, Nursys is a frequently used source of license verification.

In many cases, even if they do not participate in NLC, states offer licensure by endorsement (reciprocity) to nurses who hold a current and active license in another state and sometimes in another country. Nurses must meet state education requirements and have taken a licensure examination, either the NCLEX or a state exam. Other requirements may have to be met. Specific licensure information is available from each state’s board of nursing.

For more information on state licensure boards throughout the country, visit Maximnurses.com and click on the interactive map.

The following appeared in an issue of Maxim’s nursing eNewsletter, Nursing Now. To receive news in your e-mail inbox each month, sign up today.