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For registered nurses moving to Iowa

How to Transfer Your Nursing License to Iowa

Is Iowa a nurse compact state? Yes. Iowa 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 Iowa without another license, and a nurse who lives in Iowa applies for the multistate license there. A nurse from a state outside the compact needs a Iowa license from the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing, by endorsement for a nurse licensed in another state. (NCSBN, read 9 Nov 2026.)

Yes
Compact state
1,324
RN jobs in Iowa
$38.25
Median posted RN pay

What the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing 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
Non-refundable; covers the $119 application fee and the $50 criminal history background check (fingerprints through Fieldprint), per the Board's fees page.
Fingerprints
A fingerprint-based criminal background check is required.
License verification
Iowa only requires verification from the original state of licensure and accepts it only through Nursys; a printed online verification from a board website is not accepted. The fees page lists $25 per license verification sent by the Board if Nursys cannot provide it.
Requirements
An official transcript sent directly by the school (a CGFNS report for foreign-educated nurses), verification of the original license, and the fingerprint background check; a nurse who has held no active license in any jurisdiction in the previous five years must also complete a nurse refresher course within 12 months of applying.
Renewal
Licenses renew every three years for $99 (fees page).
Good to know
A nurse who has not held an active license anywhere in the previous five years must finish a refresher course within 12 months of applying.
“Complete an Iowa Board of Nursing application online and pay the fee of $169. This fee is non-refundable.”

From the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing's own page, read 9 Nov 2026: dial.iowa.gov (source: Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing). 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 Iowa: new openings every week

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Nursing jobs in Iowa today

1,324 registered nurse and 274 LPN jobs are open in Iowa on this board, read every night from each employer's own job board.

Transferring a nursing license to Iowa: common questions

Is Iowa a nurse compact state?

Yes. Iowa 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 Iowa without another license, and a nurse who lives in Iowa applies for the multistate license there. A nurse from a state outside the compact needs a Iowa license from the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing, by endorsement for a nurse licensed in another state. (NCSBN, read 9 Nov 2026.)

How do I transfer my nursing license to Iowa?

If your home state is another compact state and you keep living there, your multistate license already lets you work in Iowa. If you move to Iowa, apply to the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing for its multistate license. If your license is from a state outside the compact, apply to the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing for a license by endorsement ($169 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 Iowa?

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

How much do registered nurses make in Iowa?

Open registered nurse jobs in Iowa that post an hourly rate pay $35.79–$42.25 an hour in the middle half, median $38.25 (172 jobs from 41 employers on this board today).

Do employers in Iowa offer relocation assistance?

92 open healthcare jobs in Iowa 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 Iowa?

By open jobs on this board today: UnityPoint Health (249), Trinity Health (228), TRS Healthcare (96), Advantis Medical (89), Cross Country Healthcare (86), Mercy Medical Center - Cedar Rapids (73). Every RN job in Iowa.

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 Iowa.

  1. NCSBN Nurse Licensure Compact map (nursecompact.com), read 9 Nov 2026, published 9 Nov 2026
  2. Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing: 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 Iowa. Data as of 9 Nov 2026. https://carejobs.now/transfer-nursing-license/iowa

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