Indiana Compact Nursing License: Eligibility, Fees, and Renewal

An Indiana compact nursing license is a multistate license issued through the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) that lets a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse whose primary residence is Indiana practice in any other NLC member state without obtaining a separate license there. Indiana adopted the compact under House Enrolled Act 1344, codified at Indiana Code Title 25, Article 42, and all applications run through the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency (PLA).¹ The license covers both in-person care and telehealth to patients in the roughly 40 other participating jurisdictions.²

Who the Compact Covers

Only RNs and LPNs qualify. Advanced practice registered nurses, including nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, and clinical nurse specialists, are not covered and still need individual state licenses wherever they practice.²

The threshold rule is residency. Indiana must be your primary state of residence (PSOR), meaning the state you legally call home. If you live in Indiana but currently hold a multistate license from another compact state, that license becomes invalid once you establish Indiana residency, and you have to apply through Indiana instead.³

Eligibility Requirements

Indiana Code 25-42-3-3 sets the uniform licensure requirements every applicant must meet:⁴

Graduation from (or eligibility to graduate from) a board-approved nursing program.
Passage of the NCLEX-RN or NCLEX-PN.
An active, unencumbered Indiana license or eligibility for one.
Fingerprints submitted for state and federal criminal history checks.
No felony conviction, finding of guilt, or agreed disposition under state or federal law.
No misdemeanor conviction related to nursing practice (evaluated case by case).
No current enrollment in an alternative-to-discipline or monitoring program.
A valid Social Security number.

The criminal history rules are strict. A single felony of any kind is disqualifying, regardless of how old. Nursing-related misdemeanors are weighed individually. If you are currently in an alternative-to-discipline program for substance use or another issue, the multistate privilege is off the table until you complete it.

Foreign-Educated Nurses

If you trained outside the United States, two extra requirements apply. Your foreign nursing program must have been approved by the accrediting body in the country where you studied, and an independent credentials review agency must verify it is comparable to a U.S. board-approved program. If English is not your native language or your program was not taught in English, you must also pass an English proficiency exam covering reading, speaking, writing, and listening.⁴

How to Apply

Applications go through the PLA’s online portal at mylicense.in.gov. Create an account and submit everything digitally. You can request the multistate compact privilege as an add-on during either an initial license application or a licensure-by-endorsement application.⁵

You will need proof that Indiana is your primary residence. Accepted documents include a current Indiana driver’s license, a voter registration card, or a W-2 showing an Indiana address. A valid Social Security number is also required, since the compact uses it for credential tracking across member states.⁶

Fees

Initial license by examination: $50 application fee plus $25 for the NLC multistate add-on, totaling $75.
Licensure by endorsement with multistate privilege: $75.
Licensure by endorsement, single-state only: $50.

Application fees are nonrefundable, even if your application is denied, and they do not cover fingerprinting, which you pay directly to the vendor.⁵

Background Check and Processing Time

The fingerprint-based criminal background check is mandatory for every multistate applicant. Indiana uses IdentoGO as its fingerprinting vendor; you schedule an appointment at one of their locations, and your prints go to both the Indiana State Police and the FBI, with results returned directly to the licensing board. The Indiana State Police advises allowing at least 30 business days for its portion of the processing.⁴

That check is usually the bottleneck. Once the PLA has your application, fee, and completed background results, the rest moves relatively quickly. You can track status for free through Nursys e-Notify, the national database that sends email or text updates whenever your license status changes.⁷

What the License Lets You Do in Other States

Once your Indiana multistate license is active, you can practice in any other NLC member state without a separate license. The critical rule: you must follow the nursing practice laws of the state where your patient is located, not the state where you happen to be sitting. That applies equally to bedside care and telehealth.⁸

For telehealth, your multistate license covers remote care to patients in any NLC state with no separate registration. If the patient is in a non-compact state, you still need a license from that state. Any compact state can revoke your privilege to practice there if you violate its nursing laws, even though your home license remains with Indiana.

Renewing the License

Indiana nursing licenses run on a two-year cycle, but RNs and LPNs renew in different years. RN licenses expire October 31 of every odd-numbered year; LPN licenses expire October 31 of every even-numbered year. The renewal window opens roughly 90 days before expiration.⁵

Indiana does not currently require continuing education hours for RN or LPN renewal. At each renewal, you must confirm Indiana is still your primary state of residence. If you have moved out of state since your last renewal, your multistate privilege through Indiana may no longer be valid.

Reporting Convictions After Licensure

If you are convicted of a misdemeanor or felony after receiving your license, Indiana law requires written notice to the board within 90 days. Include a certified copy of the court order or judgment along with a letter explaining what happened. Traffic misdemeanors are excluded, with one exception: DUI convictions must be reported.⁹

Missing the 90-day window can itself become grounds for discipline, even when the underlying conviction might not have affected your license.

Moving In or Out of Indiana

If you permanently relocate from Indiana to another NLC member state, you have 60 days from the move to apply for a new multistate license in that state. Your Indiana multistate privilege becomes invalid once you establish residency elsewhere, so quick action protects your ability to keep working.¹⁰ You file the new declaration of primary state of residence with the destination board as part of its endorsement application; fees and processing times vary.

Moving the other way, nurses who live in a state that has not joined the NLC cannot hold a multistate license from any state. Once you establish Indiana residency, you become eligible to apply here through the standard endorsement process: submit credentials through the PLA portal, prove Indiana residency, pay the $75 endorsement fee, and complete the fingerprint-based background check.⁶ Your prior single-state license remains valid in that state until it expires, but it will not carry multistate privileges. You can start the endorsement application before the move, though the multistate license will not issue until your Indiana residency declaration is complete.

1
Justia. Indiana Code Title 25 Article 42 – Interstate Nurse Licensure Compact
2
National Council of State Boards of Nursing. NLC States Map
3
Nurse Licensure Compact. Nurse Licensure Compact – How It Works
4
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 25 Section 25-42-3-3
5
Indiana Professional Licensing Agency. Nursing Licensing Information
6
Nurse Licensure Compact. Frequently Asked Questions
7
Nursys. Nursys e-Notify
8
Nurse Licensure Compact. Nurses and the NLC
9
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 25-1-1.1-1 – Denial, Revocation, or Suspension of License or Certification
10
National Council of State Boards of Nursing. What If I Move to Another Compact State