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For registered nurses moving to Minnesota

How to Transfer Your Nursing License to Minnesota

Is Minnesota a nurse compact state? No. Minnesota is not in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) and has no pending bill to join (NCSBN, read 9 Nov 2026), so a nurse needs a Minnesota license from the Minnesota Board of Nursing, by endorsement for a nurse licensed in another state, even with a multistate license from a compact state.

No
Compact state
1,140
RN jobs in Minnesota
$48.56
Median posted RN pay

What the Minnesota 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 and LPN application for licensure by endorsement at $105.00.
Temporary permit
Yes: a temporary permit is valid until the license is granted or for up to 60 days, and it cannot be extended.
Fingerprints
A fingerprint-based criminal background check is required.
Requirements
A fingerprint-based criminal background check is required for licensure by endorsement.
“RN and LPN application for licensure by endorsement $105.00”

From the Minnesota Board of Nursing's own page, read 9 Nov 2026: mn.gov (source: Minnesota 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 Minnesota law requires

  • Public reporting of staffing

    Minnesota hospitals must file unit core staffing plans and quarterly actual direct care hours, which the hospital association publishes.

    “The Minnesota Hospital Association shall include on its website for each reporting hospital on a quarterly basis the actual direct patient care hours per patient and per unit.” Minn. Stat. § 144.7055 subd. 3(b) (source: Minn. Stat. § 144.7055 subd. 3(b))

  • Limits on mandatory overtime

    Partial: a nurse may decline extra consecutive hours beyond a normal work period if unsafe in the nurse's judgment, without retaliation; emergencies excepted. Not a flat ban (covers nurses in hospitals and other licensed health care facilities (not nursing facilities)).

    “is prohibited from taking action against a nurse solely on the grounds that the nurse fails to accept an assignment of additional consecutive hours at the facility in excess of a normal work period” Minn. Stat. § 181.275 (source: Minn. Stat. § 181.275)

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

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Nursing jobs in Minnesota today

1,140 registered nurse and 428 LPN jobs are open in Minnesota on this board, read every night from each employer's own job board.

Transferring a nursing license to Minnesota: common questions

Is Minnesota a nurse compact state?

No. Minnesota is not in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) and has no pending bill to join (NCSBN, read 9 Nov 2026), so a nurse needs a Minnesota license from the Minnesota Board of Nursing, by endorsement for a nurse licensed in another state, even with a multistate license from a compact state.

How do I transfer my nursing license to Minnesota?

Apply to the Minnesota Board of Nursing for a license by endorsement ($105 by its own page): a multistate license from a compact state does not cover Minnesota. 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 Minnesota?

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

Can I work in Minnesota while my license is processed?

By the Minnesota Board of Nursing's own page: Yes: a temporary permit is valid until the license is granted or for up to 60 days, and it cannot be extended.

How much do registered nurses make in Minnesota?

Open registered nurse jobs in Minnesota that post an hourly rate pay $41.82–$55.34 an hour in the middle half, median $48.56 (917 jobs from 98 employers on this board today).

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

Not fixed ratios: Minnesota hospitals must file unit core staffing plans and quarterly actual direct care hours, which the hospital association publishes. (Minn. Stat. § 144.7055 subd. 3(b)) The law's own words are on this page.

Can a hospital in Minnesota make nurses work mandatory overtime?

Minnesota law limits it: Partial: a nurse may decline extra consecutive hours beyond a normal work period if unsafe in the nurse's judgment, without retaliation; emergencies excepted. Not a flat ban (covers nurses in hospitals and other licensed health care facilities (not nursing facilities)). (Minn. Stat. § 181.275) The law's own words are on this page.

Do employers in Minnesota offer relocation assistance?

154 open healthcare jobs in Minnesota 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 Minnesota?

By open jobs on this board today: Sanford Health (141), Fairview Health Services (109), Mayo Clinic (109), Allina Health (90), HealthPartners (74), Essentia Health (64). Every RN job in Minnesota.

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 Minnesota.

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

How the board counts