CHICAGO, Aug. 22, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Interstate Commission of Nurse Licensure Compact Administrators have set Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, as the implementation date for the enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact (eNLC). There are 26 states in the eNLC.*
Allowing nurses to have mobility across state borders, the eNLC increases access to care while maintaining public protection. The eNLC, which is an updated version of the original NLC, allows for registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/VNs) to have one multistate license, with the authority to practice in person or via telehealth in both their home state and other eNLC states.
All applicants for a multistate license are required to meet the same licensing requirements, which include federal and state criminal background checks, which may be biometric.
The implementation date is when nurses with eNLC multistate licenses may begin practicing in eNLC states. In original NLC states that have enacted eNLC legislation, a nurse who holds a multistate license will be grandfathered into the eNLC and will be able to practice in other eNLC states beginning on the implementation date. A nurse residing in a state that is new to the eNLC will be able to practice in other eNLC states contingent upon the board of nursing issuing the nurse a multistate license.
The original NLC will remain in effect with Colorado, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Wisconsin as members until each enacts eNLC legislation. As of the implementation date, the multistate license held by nurses residing in these four states will only be valid in those states. They will not have the authority to practice in the 26 eNLC states without applying for a single-state license in those states, unless the original NLC states join the eNLC by the implementation date.
Likewise, as of the implementation date, nurses with an eNLC multistate license residing in eNLC states will not have the authority to practice in the four states that are still in the original NLC without applying for a single-state license in those states, unless the states join the eNLC by that date.
Additional information about the eNLC can be found at https://www.ncsbn.org/enhanced-nlc-implementation.htm or www.nursecompact.com. For the latest information, follow the eNLC on Twitter or Facebook.
About The Interstate Commission of Nurse Licensure Compact Administrators
The commission is a quasi-governmental and joint public agency of the party states created and established on July 20, 2017. The commission fulfills the compact objectives through a means of joint cooperative action among the party states. The commission engages in rulemaking in order to accomplish its goals.
The commission is the governing body of the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) and its purpose is to:
- Facilitate the states’ responsibility to protect the public’s health and safety;
- Ensure and encourage the cooperation of party states in the areas of nurse licensure and regulation;
- Facilitate the exchange of information between party states in the areas of nurse regulation, investigation and adverse actions;
- Promote compliance with the laws governing the practice of nursing in each jurisdiction;
- Invest all party states with the authority to hold a nurse accountable for meeting all state practice laws in the state in which the patient is located at the time care is rendered through the mutual recognition of party state licenses; and
- Decrease redundancies in the consideration and issuance of nurse licenses and to provide opportunities for interstate practice by nurses who meet uniform licensure requirements.
*eNLC states include: Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.