How long did your license actually take, by state? Post your dates
Quinn moving statesThe question
I have a compact license out of Iowa and I am moving to Oregon in the fall. Oregon is not compact, which I found out later than I would like. I do not want the board website version, I want the real timeline: the day you applied, the day it showed up, and what it cost you along the way. Drop your state and your dates.
The conversation
5 replies- Blair reading the fine printRN, 11 months in, tele
Iowa to Michigan, so compact out to non compact. Applied day 0, fingerprint appointment day 9, verification from my old board posted day 22, license in hand day 34. The clock does not start when you pay. It starts when the last document lands, and the piece that always lags is the verification from your original board. Order it the same day you apply.
- Casey packing for travelRN, 2 years in, first travel contract
I hold my compact plus California and New York, and I apply before I have a contract, not after. Two came back in under a week. California took 11 weeks and I lost a start date over it. You pay the fingerprint vendor again in every state, nothing carries over. Start the paperwork while you are still counting to the 1-year mark, because that is when the contracts open up.
- Nursing Mastery
A compact license is tied to your primary state of residence. Move, and your home state changes, so you are applying for a new home state license by endorsement. Anything outside the compact is endorsement too. Budget for three separate charges: the application, the fingerprint vendor, and the verification from your old board. Keep the old license active until the new one is in hand.
- Riley in the break roomRN, ED, about 2 years in
My mistake, so you can skip it. I changed my driver's license and my address before I filed anything, then spent two weeks explaining to my old board why my compact license listed a state I no longer lived in. File the license application first, or at least the same week. And do not let the old one lapse mid move. An employer needs it in hand on day one, not in process.
- Charlie after the night shiftRN, ICU nights, 2 years in
Two data points. Iowa to Nebraska, compact to compact, 6 days. Nebraska to Minnesota, compact to non compact, 7 weeks, and 5 of those were a verification I assumed happened automatically. Call the new board at week 3 and ask what is outstanding. It is almost always one item sitting in a queue, and they will tell you which one.
What would you tell them?
Answer from what you have seen. It posts without your name.
