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For registered nurses moving to Massachusetts

How to Transfer Your Nursing License to Massachusetts

Is Massachusetts a nurse compact state? Not fully yet. Massachusetts has enacted the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) but not yet implemented it (NCSBN: "NLC enacted: Awaiting implementation."), so for now a nurse needs a Massachusetts license from the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing, by endorsement for a nurse licensed in another state.

No
Compact state
2,415
RN jobs in Massachusetts
$57.54
Median posted RN pay

What the Massachusetts Board of Registration in 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 application fee is $275 per application; the same page lists a license verification fee of $30 per license.
Temporary permit
Massachusetts does not issue temporary licenses.
License verification
Massachusetts charges a license verification fee of $30 per license.
“If you have a nursing license in another state, you have to submit an application by reciprocity to get licensed in Massachusetts.”

From the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing's own page, read 9 Nov 2026: mass.gov (source: Massachusetts Board of Registration in 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 Massachusetts law requires

  • ICU nurse-to-patient ratio

    Every Massachusetts intensive care unit must assign each registered nurse one or two patients depending on stability.

    “in all intensive care units the patient assignment for the registered nurse shall be 1:1 or 1:2 depending on the stability of the patient as assessed by the acuity tool and by the staff nurses in the unit” M.G.L. c. 111, § 231 (source: M.G.L. c. 111, § 231)

From Massachusetts's own code or health department, read 9 Nov 2026. What Massachusetts'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 Massachusetts: new openings every week

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Nursing jobs in Massachusetts today

2,415 registered nurse and 416 LPN jobs are open in Massachusetts on this board, read every night from each employer's own job board.

Transferring a nursing license to Massachusetts: common questions

Is Massachusetts a nurse compact state?

Not fully yet. Massachusetts has enacted the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) but not yet implemented it (NCSBN: "NLC enacted: Awaiting implementation."), so for now a nurse needs a Massachusetts license from the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing, by endorsement for a nurse licensed in another state.

How do I transfer my nursing license to Massachusetts?

Apply to the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing for a license by endorsement ($275 by its own page): a multistate license from a compact state does not cover Massachusetts. Have your current license verified through Nursys, complete the background check it asks for and any state exam or course it names, and pay the fee.

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

The same way: apply for a license by endorsement to the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing. Its own page states the LPN fee, which differs from the RN fee above. LPN jobs in Massachusetts.

Can I work in Massachusetts while my license is processed?

By the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing's own page: Massachusetts does not issue temporary licenses.

How much do registered nurses make in Massachusetts?

Open registered nurse jobs in Massachusetts that post an hourly rate pay $50.56–$63.07 an hour in the middle half, median $57.54 (1,558 jobs from 135 employers on this board today).

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

Yes: Every Massachusetts intensive care unit must assign each registered nurse one or two patients depending on stability. (M.G.L. c. 111, § 231) The law's own words are on this page.

Do employers in Massachusetts offer relocation assistance?

124 open healthcare jobs in Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts?

By open jobs on this board today: Beth Israel Lahey Health (366), Mass General Brigham (184), UMass Memorial Health (179), Cross Country Healthcare (155), Advantis Medical (150), Boston Medical Center (123). Every RN job in Massachusetts.

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 Massachusetts.

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

How the board counts