Skip to content

For registered nurses moving to Oregon

How to Transfer Your Nursing License to Oregon

Is Oregon a nurse compact state? No. Oregon 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 Oregon license from the Oregon State Board of Nursing, by endorsement for a nurse licensed in another state, even with a multistate license from a compact state.

No
Compact state
758
RN jobs in Oregon
$66.93
Median posted RN pay

What the Oregon State 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
RN license by endorsement is $295 under OAR 851-002-0010(6), plus a $9 surcharge to the Oregon Nursing Advancement Fund for endorsement applications under subsection (5).
Fingerprints
A fingerprint-based criminal background check is required.
State exam or course
A one-hour pain management education program (developed by the Oregon Pain Management Commission or approved by the Board) is required at endorsement licensure under OAR 851-031-0008(1), and the rule also requires two hours of cultural competency CE every other renewal cycle.
Requirements
If the other license is not active, CE based on how long it has been expired.
Renewal
A nursing license is valid for two years; from January 1, 2028, renewal requires the CE in OAR 851-031-0008 (one hour of pain management every 36 months and two hours of cultural competency every other renewal cycle).
“(1) An individual who holds or has held a practical, vocational or registered nurse license in another state, U.S. territory , or a country with comparable nursing educaiton may apply for licensure by endorsement”

From the Oregon State Board of Nursing's own page, read 9 Nov 2026: secure.sos.state.or.us (source: Oregon State 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 Oregon law requires

  • Minimum nurse-to-patient ratios

    Hospital nurse staffing plans must ensure unit ratios such as 1:2 in intensive care and 1:4 in medical-surgical units.

    “In a medical-surgical unit, a direct care registered nurse is assigned to no more than four patients.” ORS 441.765(2)(j) (source: ORS 441.765(2)(j))

  • Nurse staffing committee or plan

    Every Oregon hospital must have a nurse staffing committee, half managers and half direct care nurses, that writes the staffing plan.

    “For each hospital there shall be established a hospital nurse staffing committee.” ORS 441.762(1)(a) (source: ORS 441.762(1)(a))

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

A weekly email with the newest Nurses openings in Oregon, taken from the employers' own careers sites. Free, stop anytime.

Only job openings in your inbox. Leave anytime with one click.

Nursing jobs in Oregon today

758 registered nurse and 109 LPN jobs are open in Oregon on this board, read every night from each employer's own job board.

Transferring a nursing license to Oregon: common questions

Is Oregon a nurse compact state?

No. Oregon 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 Oregon license from the Oregon State 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 Oregon?

Apply to the Oregon State Board of Nursing for a license by endorsement ($295 by its own page): a multistate license from a compact state does not cover Oregon. 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 Oregon?

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

How much do registered nurses make in Oregon?

Open registered nurse jobs in Oregon that post an hourly rate pay $59.24–$70.45 an hour in the middle half, median $66.93 (337 jobs from 48 employers on this board today).

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

Yes: Hospital nurse staffing plans must ensure unit ratios such as 1:2 in intensive care and 1:4 in medical-surgical units. (ORS 441.765(2)(j)) Every Oregon hospital must have a nurse staffing committee, half managers and half direct care nurses, that writes the staffing plan. (ORS 441.762(1)(a)) The law's own words are on this page.

Do employers in Oregon offer relocation assistance?

126 open healthcare jobs in Oregon 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 Oregon?

By open jobs on this board today: Advantis Medical (98), Cross Country Healthcare (86), Kaiser Permanente (61), Providence (59), Adventist Health (44), OHSU (43). Every RN job in Oregon.

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 Oregon.

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

How the board counts