The Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) allows a nurse (RN and LPN/LVN) to have one compact license in the nurse's primary state of residence (home state) with authority to practice in person or via telehealth in other compact states (remote states). The nurse must follow the nurse practice act of each state. The mission of the Nurse Licensure Compact is: The Nurse Licensure Compact advances public protection and access to care through the mutual recognition of one state-based license that is enforced locally and recognized nationally.
The Explanation of the Nurse Licensure Compact for Nurses video provides a general explanation of the Nurse Licensure Compact. Currently, 39 states are members of the Nurse Licensure Compact. Visit the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) site for more information about the NLC.
Nurses frequently contact the Board of Nursing questioning when Minnesota will join the Nurse Licensure Compact. To address these queries, the Minnesota Board of Nursing (MBN), in collaboration with the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), conducted a web survey of all registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) with an active license in Minnesota to assess nurses' knowledge of and opinions about the NLC. The survey was comprised of 12 questions and was sent in February 2017, to 122,973 nurses of which 20,834 responded.
Overall, more than 80% of respondents to the survey were in favor of Minnesota joining the NLC. Minnesota has not enacted the NLC which requires legislative approval. Let your legislators know your interest in and position on the enactment of the NLC. The complete results of the survey, including a summary PowerPoint, are provided in the links below:
There are a variety of resources available about the NLC, assess the links below for more information.
