On April 20, the Governor signed the Nurse Licensure Compact bill as passed by the legislature.
The NLC allows a nurse to have one license and practice in their home state and other compact states.
This means that nurses who have an active license in another compact state, will no longer need a separate Washington state nursing license. This is not yet in effect.
Next Steps
- The Nursing Commission will decide the timeframe and process for implementing the new bill. No dates have been set yet.
- The commission will begin addressing it at the next business meeting on May 12, 2023.
What you need to do
- Nothing at this time.
- Nurses in compact states still need a Washington state nurse license to practice in Washington until further notice.
- We will send more information and updates via GovDelivery in the coming weeks. Make sure you're signed up for Nursing Commission News and Alerts.
More Information
Thank you,
The Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission
nursing.wa.gov