Pennsylvania Joins Multi-State Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC)

• Two years after signing a law to join the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), Pennsylvania is now allowing out-of-state nurses to work with their multistate license.
• Pennsylvania joining the NLC will hopefully help assuage the state’s nursing staff shortage and eventually grant the state’s nurses the flexibility to work in other NLC states.
• This partial implementation of the NLC is part of the current governor’s plan to improve the state’s licensing, permitting, and certification process for all workers, including nurses.

Starting September 5th, Pennsylvania welcomed out-of-state nurses with multistate licenses to practice. These multistate licenses are part of the nurse licensure compact, which allows nurses the flexibility of working across multiple states without having to hold a separate license for each one.

While out-of-state nurses are only being welcomed this month, Pennsylvania’s previous governor, Tom Wolf signed the law allowing Pennsylvania to join the nurse licensure compact in July 2021. This multistep implantation will eventually allow nurses from Pennsylvania to obtain a multistate license and practice in other states participating in the nurse licensure compact.

Nurse Licensure Compact

The Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) is an agreement between 41 states and territories, including the Virgin Islands and Guam allowing nurses to practice across state lines under a singular active license.

Some territories have partial implementation of NCL (such as Washington state and Guam), while others have enacted the NLC but are awaiting implementation (such as Rhode Island and the Virgin Islands).

Pennsylvania and other states with partial implementation are waiting for criminal background checks from the FBI before allowing the nurses to practice in other states. The initial law, which Pennsylvania signed in 2021, lacked the specific language required by the U.S. Department of Justice to begin this process, which caused the two-year delay in implementation.

For those convicted of any felony charge, they are unable to receive a multistate license from the NLC. These nurses could obtain single-state licenses from states where they meet the requirements, such as Arizona where they may be licensed after 5 years of finishing their sentence.

Multistate licenses from the NLC are only available for RNs and LPNs. They may apply for a multistate license from their state of residence. However, it is important to know that nurses will need a new multistate license if they move and change their primary state of residency.

For APRNs, there is a separate compact that allows APRNS from Delaware, North Dakota, and Utah to practice in each state under one license. Arizona is considering Senate Bill 1334, which would enable it to join this APRN compact.

Pennsylvania’s Nursing Crisis

The partial implementation of the nurse licensure compact allows for the nursing shortage, which is felt acutely in Pennsylvania, to be filled by nurses with a multistate license and gives the state time to meet other necessary technical and regulatory requirements.

Once the nurse licensure compact tis fully implemented in Pennsylvania, the state’s nurses will be able to apply for a multistate license and work freely across state lines.

Joining the NLC is not the only step Pennsylvania has taken to lessen the state’s nursing shortage. The current governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order to improve the state’s licensing, permitting, and certification process.

An NPR analysis found that Pennsylvania had some of the longest wait times for using nursing licenses in the U.S., with more than half of applied nurses waiting at least three months for a reply. This executive order limits the wait times, which may remove a barrier for nurses looking to practice in the state.

These actions are especially important as Pennsylvania is projected to have a shortfall of 20,345 RNs by 2026, the nation’s most severe loss. This is in addition to the state’s projected shortfall of 277,711 nursing support staff, such as nursing assistants.

The Bottom Line

By joining the nurse licensure compact Pennsylvania opens up new opportunities for nurses nationwide to serve patients within the state and eventually allows state nurses to serve patients elsewhere. This will enable nurses the freedom to treat patients who need them most in the event of disaster or other nationwide crises.

Overall, this is a step towards nurses having the flexibility to work and travel with minimal bureaucracy, giving them more time to spend caring for their patients.

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