Skip to content

For registered nurses moving to Washington

How to Transfer Your Nursing License to Washington

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

Yes
Compact state
1,572
RN jobs in Washington
$67.49
Median posted RN pay

What the Washington 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
The apply page lists the initial single-state RN license fee at $138 (the multistate license is $203), and the endorsement packet asks applicants to pay the non-refundable application fee listed on the website; Nursys verification is paid to Nursys (no amount stated).
Temporary permit
A temporary practice permit is issued once all other requirements are met, pending the FBI background check.
Fingerprints
A fingerprint-based criminal background check is required.
License verification
Request verification of the initial license through Nursys (nursys.com, Licensure Verification for Endorsement), with the Nursys fee paid there; Pennsylvania, Michigan and California do not use Nursys and need a direct request to their board.
How long it takes
About 7 business days to process once the application is complete, with all documents and fees.
Requirements
An active license in another state is required to apply by endorsement (otherwise a Nursing Commission refresher program); the multistate license also requires a valid U.S. Social Security number and Washington as primary state of residence, and non-traditional education requires 1,000 hours of practice verification.
Renewal
The apply page lists the RN renewal as annual: $138 single-state and $158 multistate.
“You need to have an active license in order to apply by endorsement.”

From the Washington State Board of Nursing's own page, read 9 Nov 2026: doh.wa.gov (source: Washington 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 Washington law requires

  • Nurse staffing committee or plan (in effect from 2024)

    Each Washington hospital must have a staffing committee, at least half nonsupervisory direct care nursing staff, that develops the hospital staffing plan.

    “By January 1, 2024, each hospital shall establish a hospital staffing committee, either by creating a new committee or assigning the functions of the hospital staffing committee to an existing nurse staffing committee.” RCW 70.41.420(1) (source: RCW 70.41.420(1))

  • Limits on mandatory overtime

    Health care facilities may not require covered employees to work overtime, except for unforeseeable emergent circumstances, prescheduled on-call time within limits and procedures in progress (covers hourly or collectively bargained employees in direct patient care at health care facilities, including nurses (definition

    “No employee of a health care facility may be required to work overtime.” RCW 49.28.140 (source: RCW 49.28.140)

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

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

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

Nursing jobs in Washington today

1,572 registered nurse and 141 LPN jobs are open in Washington on this board, read every night from each employer's own job board.

Transferring a nursing license to Washington: common questions

Is Washington a nurse compact state?

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

If your home state is another compact state and you keep living there, your multistate license already lets you work in Washington. If you move to Washington, apply to the Washington State Board of Nursing for its multistate license. If your license is from a state outside the compact, apply to the Washington State Board of Nursing for a license by endorsement ($138 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 Washington?

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

Can I work in Washington while my license is processed?

By the Washington State Board of Nursing's own page: A temporary practice permit is issued once all other requirements are met, pending the FBI background check.

How long does a Washington nursing license by endorsement take?

By the Washington State Board of Nursing's own page: About 7 business days to process once the application is complete, with all documents and fees.

How much do registered nurses make in Washington?

Open registered nurse jobs in Washington that post an hourly rate pay $58.92–$70.88 an hour in the middle half, median $67.49 (921 jobs from 97 employers on this board today).

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

Not fixed ratios: Each Washington hospital must have a staffing committee, at least half nonsupervisory direct care nursing staff, that develops the hospital staffing plan. (RCW 70.41.420(1)) The law's own words are on this page.

Can a hospital in Washington make nurses work mandatory overtime?

Washington law limits it: Health care facilities may not require covered employees to work overtime, except for unforeseeable emergent circumstances, prescheduled on-call time within limits and procedures in progress (covers hourly or collectively bargained employees in direct patient care at health care facilities, including nurses (definition (RCW 49.28.140) The law's own words are on this page.

Do employers in Washington offer relocation assistance?

236 open healthcare jobs in Washington 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 Washington?

By open jobs on this board today: Providence (199), MultiCare Health System (183), Cross Country Healthcare (147), Advantis Medical (142), CommonSpirit Health (113), TRS Healthcare (104). Every RN job in Washington.

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 Washington.

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

How the board counts