MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF NURSE LICENSURE COMPACT ADDS TWO MORE STATES.
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) has announced that Virginia and New Mexico have recently passed legislation to implement the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC). This brings the total to 20 states that have currently enacted the model legislation providing for participation in the compact.

Boards of nursing worked together to develop the interstate compact, first endorsed in 1997, under which nurses would hold a license in their home state and be able to practice in another compact state, provided that they follow the laws and regulations in the state of practice. Each individual board of nursing decides whether to pursue adoption of mutual recognition in their respective states, and NCSBN supports both the single state and the Compact approach to nurse licensure. Virginia Governor Mark Warner signed the NLC bill on March 16, and it becomes effective January 1, 2005. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson signed the NLC bill on April 8, 2003, with an effective date of January 1, 2004.

Map of Nurse Licensure Compacts