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For registered nurses moving to Kentucky

How to Transfer Your Nursing License to Kentucky

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

Yes
Compact state
1,217
RN jobs in Kentucky
$44.65
Median posted RN pay

What the Kentucky 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 $165 is the application fee and is non-refundable; the page also names a state and federal criminal background check through IdentoGO (no fee stated) and a $30 Nursys verification fee paid to Nursys, not the board.
Temporary permit
A temporary permit can be issued while the board waits for the original verification, lasts six months and is valid only in Kentucky; the page states no fee for it.
Fingerprints
A fingerprint-based criminal background check is required.
State exam or course
Pass the Kentucky Jurisprudence Exam with a score of 80% or higher, taken after the application is on file.
License verification
Verification of licensure is requested through Nursys if the original state participates ($30 paid to Nursys, not the board); other states need their own verification form.
How long it takes
Licenses may be issued within 14 business days after all documents have been received and reviewed; up to three months if a disciplinary or conviction question is answered yes.
Requirements
Complete the application, pay the fee, complete the criminal background check and submit transcripts if applicable. Nurses licensed more than five years who have not practiced 500 hours in the past five years must complete 120 CE hours; within three years of a Kentucky license, one-time content hours apply (3 domestic violence, 1.5 pediatric abusive head trauma, 2 suicide prevention, 1 Alzheimer's and dementia).
Renewal
All nurses must complete annual CE for renewal; the page does not state the hour count.
Good to know
The application expires after one year, so every requirement must be met within that year.
“Pay application fee of $165 (ALL FEES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE).”

From the Kentucky Board of Nursing's own page, read 9 Nov 2026: kbn.ky.gov (source: Kentucky 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 Kentucky: new openings every week

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Nursing jobs in Kentucky today

1,217 registered nurse and 162 LPN jobs are open in Kentucky on this board, read every night from each employer's own job board.

Transferring a nursing license to Kentucky: common questions

Is Kentucky a nurse compact state?

Yes. Kentucky 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 Kentucky without another license, and a nurse who lives in Kentucky applies for the multistate license there. A nurse from a state outside the compact needs a Kentucky license from the Kentucky 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 Kentucky?

If your home state is another compact state and you keep living there, your multistate license already lets you work in Kentucky. If you move to Kentucky, apply to the Kentucky Board of Nursing for its multistate license. If your license is from a state outside the compact, apply to the Kentucky Board of Nursing for a license by endorsement ($165 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 Kentucky?

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

Can I work in Kentucky while my license is processed?

By the Kentucky Board of Nursing's own page: A temporary permit can be issued while the board waits for the original verification, lasts six months and is valid only in Kentucky; the page states no fee for it.

How long does a Kentucky nursing license by endorsement take?

By the Kentucky Board of Nursing's own page: Licenses may be issued within 14 business days after all documents have been received and reviewed; up to three months if a disciplinary or conviction question is answered yes.

How much do registered nurses make in Kentucky?

Open registered nurse jobs in Kentucky that post an hourly rate pay $36.69–$51.98 an hour in the middle half, median $44.65 (180 jobs from 27 employers on this board today).

Do employers in Kentucky offer relocation assistance?

123 open healthcare jobs in Kentucky 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 Kentucky?

By open jobs on this board today: Baptist Health (Kentucky) (236), Norton Healthcare (113), Advantis Medical (98), UofL Health (71), TRS Healthcare (57), CommonSpirit Health (50). Every RN job in Kentucky.

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 Kentucky.

  1. NCSBN Nurse Licensure Compact map (nursecompact.com), read 9 Nov 2026, published 9 Nov 2026
  2. Kentucky 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 Kentucky. Data as of 9 Nov 2026. https://carejobs.now/transfer-nursing-license/kentucky

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