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For registered nurses moving to Rhode Island

How to Transfer Your Nursing License to Rhode Island

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

Yes
Compact state
364
RN jobs in Rhode Island
$47.78
Median posted RN pay

What the Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education 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 Department of Health fee structure (216-RICR-10-05-2) lists $135.00 for the RN initial application by endorsement or reciprocity; the national criminal records check fees are paid by the applicant, and the 90-day temporary permit is also listed at $135.00.
Temporary permit
A Professional (Registered) Nurse 90-day temporary permit exists; the fee schedule lists it at $135.00.
Fingerprints
A fingerprint-based criminal background check is required.
Requirements
A current license by examination or endorsement in another state, territory or the District of Columbia, a completed application and fee, and a national criminal records check with fingerprints through the Bureau of Criminal Identification.
Renewal
Renews every two years (license effective 2 March, expiring 1 March two years later) with 10 continuing education hours in the preceding two years; the fee schedule lists RN renewal at $135.00.
“Without Examination by Endorsement.”

From the Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education's own page, read 9 Nov 2026: rules.sos.ri.gov (source: Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education). 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 Rhode Island law requires

  • Public reporting of staffing

    Rhode Island hospitals must file a core staffing plan with the health department each January listing nurses assigned per unit and shift.

    “Annually in the month of January, every licensed hospital shall submit to the Rhode Island department of health, its core-staffing plan.” R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17.17-8(a) (source: R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17.17-8(a))

  • Limits on mandatory overtime

    Hospitals may not require hourly nurses and certified nurse assistants to work beyond the scheduled shift, and never beyond twelve consecutive hours, except in unforeseeable emergencies (covers hourly nurses and certified nurse assistants in hospitals).

    “an employer shall not require an employee to work in excess of an agreed to, predetermined and regularly scheduled daily work shift of eight (8), ten (10), or twelve (12) hours per week except in an unforeseeable emergent circumstance.” 260-RICR-30-05-4, § 4.5(A) (under R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17.20) (source: 260-RICR-30-05-4, § 4.5(A) (under R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17.20))

From Rhode Island's own code or health department, read 9 Nov 2026. Each hospital's own postings state the ratio of its unit, and every state's law is on the ratio hub.

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Nursing jobs in Rhode Island today

364 registered nurse and 51 LPN jobs are open in Rhode Island on this board, read every night from each employer's own job board.

Transferring a nursing license to Rhode Island: common questions

Is Rhode Island a nurse compact state?

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

How do I transfer my nursing license to Rhode Island?

If your home state is another compact state and you keep living there, your multistate license already lets you work in Rhode Island. If you move to Rhode Island, apply to the Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education for its multistate license. If your license is from a state outside the compact, apply to the Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education for a license by endorsement ($135 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 Rhode Island?

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

Can I work in Rhode Island while my license is processed?

By the Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education's own page: A Professional (Registered) Nurse 90-day temporary permit exists; the fee schedule lists it at $135.00.

How much do registered nurses make in Rhode Island?

Open registered nurse jobs in Rhode Island that post an hourly rate pay $47.61–$53.55 an hour in the middle half, median $47.78 (150 jobs from 20 employers on this board today).

Does Rhode Island have a nurse-to-patient ratio law?

Not fixed ratios: Rhode Island hospitals must file a core staffing plan with the health department each January listing nurses assigned per unit and shift. (R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17.17-8(a)) The law's own words are on this page.

Can a hospital in Rhode Island make nurses work mandatory overtime?

Rhode Island law limits it: Hospitals may not require hourly nurses and certified nurse assistants to work beyond the scheduled shift, and never beyond twelve consecutive hours, except in unforeseeable emergencies (covers hourly nurses and certified nurse assistants in hospitals). (260-RICR-30-05-4, § 4.5(A) (under R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17.20)) The law's own words are on this page.

Do employers in Rhode Island offer relocation assistance?

16 open healthcare jobs in Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island?

By open jobs on this board today: Brown University Health (110), Care New England (108), South County Hospital (23), Maxim Healthcare Services (11), Advantis Medical (8), UnitedHealth Group (8). Every RN job in Rhode Island.

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 Rhode Island.

  1. NCSBN Nurse Licensure Compact map (nursecompact.com), read 9 Nov 2026, published 9 Nov 2026
  2. Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education: 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 Rhode Island. Data as of 9 Nov 2026. https://carejobs.now/transfer-nursing-license/rhode-island

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