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For registered nurses moving to Maryland

How to Transfer Your Nursing License to Maryland

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

Yes
Compact state
1,012
RN jobs in Maryland
$44
Median posted RN pay

What the Maryland 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 $230 is the permanent license fee; the page states no separate amount for the Live Scan fingerprinting or the Nursys verification.
Temporary permit
A 90-day temporary license costs $70; it is not available to an applicant who holds an active multistate license.
Fingerprints
A fingerprint-based criminal background check is required.
License verification
The page states no fee for this.
Requirements
Licensure by NCLEX exam; a Live Scan fingerprint background check, with the application submitted within 48 hours of completion; foreign-educated nurses need a TruMerit credentials evaluation and proof of English proficiency.
Renewal
RN licenses renew biennially (every two years); the page states the renewal fee but no continuing education hours.
Good to know
A nurse with an active multistate (compact) license may work in Maryland on that license until the Maryland license is issued.
“To be endorsed in the State of Maryland, all applicants must have obtained licensure by NCLEX exam and follow the steps below:”

From the Maryland Board of Nursing's own page, read 9 Nov 2026: health.maryland.gov (source: Maryland 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.

What Maryland law requires

  • Nurse staffing committee or plan (in effect from 2026)

    Maryland's Safe Staffing Act of 2026 requires each licensed hospital to establish a clinical staffing committee and implement a clinical staffing plan.

    “EACH HOSPITAL LICENSED UNDER THIS TITLE SHALL ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN A CLINICAL STAFFING COMMITTEE” Md. Code, Health-General §§ 19-393 to 19-397 (Chapter 235 of 2026, SB 411) (source: Md. Code, Health-General §§ 19-393 to 19-397 (Chapter 235 of 2026, SB 411))

  • Limits on mandatory overtime

    Employers may not require nurses to work beyond scheduled hours, except in a narrow unforeseeable emergency, for on-call rotation or in community-based care (covers licensed practical nurses and registered nurses).

    “an employer may not require a nurse to work more than the regularly scheduled hours according to the predetermined work schedule” Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-421 (source: Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-421)

From Maryland's own code or health department, read 9 Nov 2026. What Maryland's hospitals state for their units is on its nurse-to-patient ratio page, and every state's law is on the ratio hub.

Nurses alerts

Nurses in Maryland: new openings every week

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Nursing jobs in Maryland today

1,012 registered nurse and 145 LPN jobs are open in Maryland on this board, read every night from each employer's own job board.

Transferring a nursing license to Maryland: common questions

Is Maryland a nurse compact state?

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

If your home state is another compact state and you keep living there, your multistate license already lets you work in Maryland. If you move to Maryland, apply to the Maryland Board of Nursing for its multistate license. If your license is from a state outside the compact, apply to the Maryland Board of Nursing for a license by endorsement ($230 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 Maryland?

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

Can I work in Maryland while my license is processed?

By the Maryland Board of Nursing's own page: A 90-day temporary license costs $70; it is not available to an applicant who holds an active multistate license.

How much do registered nurses make in Maryland?

Open registered nurse jobs in Maryland that post an hourly rate pay $40.82–$47.50 an hour in the middle half, median $44 (522 jobs from 79 employers on this board today).

Does Maryland have a nurse-to-patient ratio law?

Not fixed ratios: Maryland's Safe Staffing Act of 2026 requires each licensed hospital to establish a clinical staffing committee and implement a clinical staffing plan. (Md. Code, Health-General §§ 19-393 to 19-397 (Chapter 235 of 2026, SB 411)) The law's own words are on this page.

Can a hospital in Maryland make nurses work mandatory overtime?

Maryland law limits it: Employers may not require nurses to work beyond scheduled hours, except in a narrow unforeseeable emergency, for on-call rotation or in community-based care (covers licensed practical nurses and registered nurses). (Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. § 3-421) The law's own words are on this page.

Do employers in Maryland offer relocation assistance?

69 open healthcare jobs in Maryland 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 Maryland?

By open jobs on this board today: GBMC HealthCare (107), Johns Hopkins Medicine (75), Luminis Health (73), Adventist HealthCare (70), ARMStaffing (47), Trinity Health (46). Every RN job in Maryland.

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 Maryland.

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

How the board counts