For registered nurses moving to South Dakota
How to Transfer Your Nursing License to South Dakota
Is South Dakota a nurse compact state? Yes. South Dakota 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 South Dakota without another license, and a nurse who lives in South Dakota applies for the multistate license there. A nurse from a state outside the compact needs a South Dakota license from the South Dakota Board of Nursing, by endorsement for a nurse licensed in another state. (NCSBN, read 9 Nov 2026.)
Administrative rule 20:48:06:01 sets $100 for an RN license by endorsement; the fingerprint card, authorization form and background check fee must accompany the application, and a temporary permit as an R.N. App. is a separate $25.
What the South Dakota 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
- Administrative rule 20:48:06:01 sets $100 for an RN license by endorsement; the fingerprint card, authorization form and background check fee must accompany the application, and a temporary permit as an R.N. App. is a separate $25.
- Temporary permit
- A temporary permit (title R.N. App.) is available to an applicant awaiting licensure by endorsement; its fee is $25 and it needs its own fingerprints, and it becomes invalid if licensure is denied.
- Fingerprints
- A fingerprint-based criminal background check is required.
- License verification
- Written evidence satisfactory to the board that the applicant is licensed in another state or territory or foreign country (no Nursys step is described in the rule).
- Requirements
- Application on the board's form with evidence of employment status, a state and federal fingerprint background check, and proof of at least 140 hours of nursing work in any 12-month period in the last 6 years (otherwise 480 hours in 6 years or a refresher course).
- Renewal
- Biennial renewal ($95 plus $10 for the nurses' education scholarship program and $10 for the nursing workforce center, per the fee rule); no CE hours read.
“Each applicant for licensure by endorsement must submit a set of fingerprints on a standard card provided by the board for the purpose of obtaining a state and federal criminal background check through the Division of Criminal Investigation.”
From the South Dakota Board of Nursing's own page, read 9 Nov 2026: sdlegislature.gov (source: South Dakota 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Have your current license verified to the new board, through Nursys where your state takes part in it.
- Complete the background check the board asks for (most ask for fingerprints) and any state exam or course it names.
- 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 South Dakota today
553 registered nurse and 161 LPN jobs are open in South Dakota on this board, read every night from each employer's own job board.
- Avera Health · 178 RN jobs
- Sanford Health · 146 RN jobs
- Monument Health · 80 RN jobs
- TRS Healthcare · 34 RN jobs
- United Surgical Partners International · 14 RN jobs
- Cross Country Healthcare · 13 RN jobs
- Registered nurse jobs in South Dakota →
- Moving to another state as a nurse: license, pay and relocation →
- What registered nurses are paid in South Dakota →
- New grad nurse jobs and residencies in South Dakota →
- Sign-on bonus jobs in South Dakota →
- Travel nurse jobs in South Dakota →
- Jobs in South Dakota with relocation assistance →
Transferring a nursing license to South Dakota: common questions
Is South Dakota a nurse compact state?
Yes. South Dakota 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 South Dakota without another license, and a nurse who lives in South Dakota applies for the multistate license there. A nurse from a state outside the compact needs a South Dakota license from the South Dakota 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 South Dakota?
If your home state is another compact state and you keep living there, your multistate license already lets you work in South Dakota. If you move to South Dakota, apply to the South Dakota Board of Nursing for its multistate license. If your license is from a state outside the compact, apply to the South Dakota Board of Nursing for a license by endorsement ($100 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 South Dakota?
The same way: the compact covers LPN/VNs too, so a multistate LPN license from a compact home state works in South Dakota; otherwise apply for a license by endorsement to the South Dakota Board of Nursing. Its own page states the LPN fee, which differs from the RN fee above. LPN jobs in South Dakota.
Can I work in South Dakota while my license is processed?
By the South Dakota Board of Nursing's own page: A temporary permit (title R.N. App.) is available to an applicant awaiting licensure by endorsement; its fee is $25 and it needs its own fingerprints, and it becomes invalid if licensure is denied.
How much do registered nurses make in South Dakota?
Open registered nurse jobs in South Dakota that post an hourly rate pay $35–$40.50 an hour in the middle half, median $39.38 (388 jobs from 17 employers on this board today).
Do employers in South Dakota offer relocation assistance?
30 open healthcare jobs in South Dakota 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 South Dakota?
By open jobs on this board today: Avera Health (178), Sanford Health (146), Monument Health (80), TRS Healthcare (34), United Surgical Partners International (14), Cross Country Healthcare (13). Every RN job in South Dakota.
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 South Dakota.
- NCSBN Nurse Licensure Compact map (nursecompact.com), read 9 Nov 2026, published 9 Nov 2026
- South Dakota Board of Nursing: licensure by endorsement, read 9 Nov 2026; checked again every week for the sentence quoted, published 9 Nov 2026
- 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 South Dakota. Data as of 9 Nov 2026. https://carejobs.now/transfer-nursing-license/south-dakota