Skip to content

For registered nurses moving to Arizona

How to Transfer Your Nursing License to Arizona

Is Arizona a nurse compact state? Yes. Arizona is in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC): a nurse whose home state is a compact state and who holds its multistate license can work in Arizona without another license, and a nurse who lives in Arizona applies for the multistate license there. A nurse from a state outside the compact needs a Arizona license from the Arizona State Board of Nursing, by endorsement for a nurse licensed in another state. (NCSBN, read 9 Nov 2026.)

Yes
Compact state
1,627
RN jobs in Arizona
$46.52
Median posted RN pay

What the Arizona State Board of Nursing asks

Licensure by endorsement for a registered nurse licensed in another state, as the board's own page states it (read 9 Nov 2026).

Fee
The board's fee page lists the RN/LPN endorsement at $150, an endorsement temporary license at $50 and a background check at $50.
Temporary permit
Yes: an endorsement temporary license is available for a $50 fee; the board asks applicants to allow 30 business days for its processing.
Fingerprints
A fingerprint-based criminal background check is required.
Requirements
Fingerprints for State and Federal criminal background checks and an RN/LPN endorsement application submitted through the board's Nurse Portal.
“Submission of a RN/LPN Endorsement application via the Nurse Portal.”

From the Arizona State Board of Nursing's own page, read 9 Nov 2026: azbn.gov (source: Arizona State Board of Nursing). Fees change: the board's page on the day you apply is the one that counts.

The steps

What every move takes; the board's page above says what it asks in each.

  1. Check whether your home state and the new state are both in the Nurse Licensure Compact: if both are and you keep living in your home state, your multistate license already lets you work there.
  2. If you are moving your home to the new state and it is a compact state, apply for its multistate license; if it is outside the compact, apply to its board of nursing for a license by endorsement.
  3. Have your current license verified to the new board, through Nursys where your state takes part in it.
  4. Complete the background check the board asks for (most ask for fingerprints) and any state exam or course it names.
  5. Pay the board's fee and, where the board offers one, ask for a temporary permit so you can start work while the application is processed.

Nurses alerts

Nurses in Arizona: new openings every week

A weekly email with the newest Nurses openings in Arizona, taken from the employers' own careers sites. Free, stop anytime.

Only job openings in your inbox. Leave anytime with one click.

Nursing jobs in Arizona today

1,627 registered nurse and 137 LPN jobs are open in Arizona on this board, read every night from each employer's own job board.

Transferring a nursing license to Arizona: common questions

Is Arizona a nurse compact state?

Yes. Arizona is in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC): a nurse whose home state is a compact state and who holds its multistate license can work in Arizona without another license, and a nurse who lives in Arizona applies for the multistate license there. A nurse from a state outside the compact needs a Arizona license from the Arizona State Board of Nursing, by endorsement for a nurse licensed in another state. (NCSBN, read 9 Nov 2026.)

How do I transfer my nursing license to Arizona?

If your home state is another compact state and you keep living there, your multistate license already lets you work in Arizona. If you move to Arizona, apply to the Arizona State Board of Nursing for its multistate license. If your license is from a state outside the compact, apply to the Arizona State Board of Nursing for a license by endorsement ($150 by its own page): have your license verified through Nursys, complete the background check, and pay the fee.

How do I transfer an LPN or LVN license to Arizona?

The same way: the compact covers LPN/VNs too, so a multistate LPN license from a compact home state works in Arizona; otherwise apply for a license by endorsement to the Arizona State Board of Nursing. Its own page states the LPN fee, which differs from the RN fee above. LPN jobs in Arizona.

Can I work in Arizona while my license is processed?

By the Arizona State Board of Nursing's own page: Yes: an endorsement temporary license is available for a $50 fee; the board asks applicants to allow 30 business days for its processing.

How much do registered nurses make in Arizona?

Open registered nurse jobs in Arizona that post an hourly rate pay $43.08–$51 an hour in the middle half, median $46.52 (239 jobs from 42 employers on this board today).

Do employers in Arizona offer relocation assistance?

119 open healthcare jobs in Arizona offer relocation help in their own posting today, each quoting the offer (a set amount, reimbursement or a package); ask for the terms in writing before you accept.

Who is hiring registered nurses in Arizona?

By open jobs on this board today: Banner Health (195), HonorHealth (117), TRS Healthcare (110), Cross Country Healthcare (106), Advantis Medical (97), CHS (Community Health Systems) (94). Every RN job in Arizona.

Sources and method

The compact status is NCSBN's map on the day read. The board's rules are its own page's words, shown only where the page states them; a sentence of it is checked against the page every week, and a change is read again. The jobs and pay are the registered nurse jobs open on this board in Arizona.

  1. NCSBN Nurse Licensure Compact map (nursecompact.com), read 9 Nov 2026, published 9 Nov 2026
  2. Arizona State Board of Nursing: licensure by endorsement, read 9 Nov 2026; checked again every week for the sentence quoted, published 9 Nov 2026
  3. CareJobs.Now job board: open jobs read every night from each employer's own careers site

Cite this page

CareJobs.Now. (2026). How to Transfer Your Nursing License to Arizona. Data as of 9 Nov 2026. https://carejobs.now/transfer-nursing-license/arizona

How the board counts