The year 2025 brings more developments around the national Nurse Licensing Compact, through which most nurses nationwide can manage their multistate licensure needs. Call 833.536.8652 now to retain the LLG National Law Group’s highly qualified attorneys if you face multistate or other nurse licensing issues.
Continuing Nationwide Implementation
More states continue to join the Nurse Licensing Compact, without any sign of a reversal in the trend. As of 2025, fully forty-one states count as participating in the Nurse Licensing Compact, although a handful of those states are still in implementation. The latest states to reach or near implementation in 2025 include:
• Pennsylvania, joining the Compact effective in 2023 but expecting full implementation in October 2025;
• Connecticut, enacting the necessary legislation in 2024 but effective in October 2025;
• Massachusetts, enacting the necessary legislation in 2024 but still a year or two from full implementation.
Other states with bills pending, recently introduced, or prepared for submission in the state legislature that, if adopted, would have the state join the Nurse Licensing Compact include California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Nevada, Hawaii, and Alaska. Only a few remaining states have not seen recent bills submitted.
60-Day Rule Implementation
State nursing boards continue to implement the new Nurse Licensing Compact Section 402 final 60-day rule that took effect last year. The 60-day rule represents one of the more significant changes to the Nurse Licensing Compact in recent years. Under the rule, a nurse changing permanent residence from one Compact state to another Compact state must apply for the new state’s nursing license within 60 days of residency, to take advantage of the Nurse Licensing Compact’s reciprocal rights.
The purpose of the 60-day rule was to streamline and hasten the relicensing process, as nurses move permanent residence from state to state. Formerly, nurses might have waited to relicense in their new state, purporting to rely on their former state license, even though that license would not necessarily have covered their practice in the new state. The 60-day rule sought to minimize delays contributing to unauthorized practice and other professional license discipline issues.
Licensing Issues Readily Arise
You can see from the above 2025 changes how easily nurses could confuse the reach, benefit, and impact of the Nurse Licensing Compact. Just because you hold a nursing license in one Compact state does not mean the license is valid in another Compact state. You need to invoke your Compact reciprocal rights in the new state to obtain the new state’s license to practice. Know what to do when you face licensing issues: get our skilled license defense attorney’s help.
Premier License Defense Available
Retain the LLG National Law Group’s premier attorneys if you are a nurse or other professional facing licensing issues, whether from changes to the Nurse Licensing Compact or another licensing act, or other causes. Call 833.536.8652 now for the representation you need for your best professional license issue outcome.