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For registered nurses moving to New Mexico

How to Transfer Your Nursing License to New Mexico

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

Yes
Compact state
782
RN jobs in New Mexico
$45.34
Median posted RN pay

What the New Mexico 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
$150 initial licensure fee for examination or endorsement on the board's fee schedule, non-refundable; the Idemia/IdentoGo criminal background check is paid separately and the fee schedule lists license verification at $30.
Temporary permit
The fee schedule lists a temporary license (LPN/RN) at $60, but the RN endorsement page does not say when one is issued.
Fingerprints
A fingerprint-based criminal background check is required.
License verification
Verification of licensure from the state where the applicant was licensed by exam, or through Nursys; the fee schedule lists license verification at $30.
Requirements
Endorsement application and fee filed online through the Nurse Portal, verification of licensure, and a criminal background check through Idemia/IdentoGo; applications are valid for one year, and the page states no practice-hours rule.
Renewal
Licenses are valid for one year plus the months to the birth month, then two years; the fee schedule lists single-state RN renewal at $110 and multistate RN renewal at $160, and CE must be uploaded to CE Broker.
Good to know
The New Mexico board began charging a $50 fee for multistate compact licenses on June 1, 2026, which is separate from this endorsement fee.
“Submit an RN/LPN ENDORSEMENT APPLICATION and fee through the Nurse Portal.”

From the New Mexico Board of Nursing's own page, read 9 Nov 2026: bon.nm.gov (source: New Mexico 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.

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Nursing jobs in New Mexico today

782 registered nurse and 68 LPN jobs are open in New Mexico on this board, read every night from each employer's own job board.

Transferring a nursing license to New Mexico: common questions

Is New Mexico a nurse compact state?

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

If your home state is another compact state and you keep living there, your multistate license already lets you work in New Mexico. If you move to New Mexico, apply to the New Mexico Board of Nursing for its multistate license. If your license is from a state outside the compact, apply to the New Mexico Board of Nursing for a license by endorsement ($150 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 New Mexico?

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

Can I work in New Mexico while my license is processed?

By the New Mexico Board of Nursing's own page: The fee schedule lists a temporary license (LPN/RN) at $60, but the RN endorsement page does not say when one is issued.

How much do registered nurses make in New Mexico?

Open registered nurse jobs in New Mexico that post an hourly rate pay $42.50–$55.09 an hour in the middle half, median $45.34 (81 jobs from 25 employers on this board today).

Do employers in New Mexico offer relocation assistance?

118 open healthcare jobs in New Mexico 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 New Mexico?

By open jobs on this board today: CHRISTUS Health (94), Presbyterian Healthcare Services (64), San Juan Regional Medical Center (64), Advantis Medical (53), CHS (Community Health Systems) (51), TRS Healthcare (45). Every RN job in New Mexico.

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 New Mexico.

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

How the board counts