Steps to become a travel nurse
Becoming a travel nurse takes five steps: earn a nursing license, get bedside experience, secure a license for each state you will work in, set up a tax home, and compare contracts on after-tax pay.[ooh_rn][nlc_faq][irs463]
- Become a registered nurse. Finish an approved nursing program and pass the NCLEX-RN; the registration fee is $200 and rises to $350 on February 1, 2027.[ooh_rn][nclex_fee] Program lengths are compared on how long is nursing school. LPNs can travel too, but most contracts are for RNs.
- Build clinical experience. No law sets a minimum, but travel contracts are short and come with little orientation, so hospitals and agencies set their own experience requirement in each posting. Experience in a specialty such as ICU, emergency, labor and delivery or the operating room widens your choices.
- Get licensed where you will work. If your primary state of residence is a compact state, one multistate license lets you practice in every other compact state. For California, New York and the other non-compact states you apply to that state's board for a license by endorsement.[nlc_faq]
- Set up a tax home. Housing and meal stipends are tax-free only if you keep a tax home and the assignment is temporary, meaning expected to last, and lasting, one year or less.[irs463]
- Compare offers on take-home pay. Split each offer into the taxable rate and stipends and compare the result with staff pay using the travel nurse salary calculator.
Nurse Licensure Compact: compact nursing states
The Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) is in effect in 40 states, and a nurse whose primary state of residence is one of them can hold a single multistate license valid in all of them.[nlc][nlc_faq] The NLC reports 43 participating jurisdictions, which adds Guam (partial implementation) and Massachusetts and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which have enacted the compact but not yet implemented it.
| Status | States | Count |
|---|---|---|
| In effect (multistate license valid) | Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming | 40 |
| Enacted, awaiting implementation | Massachusetts | 1 |
| Legislation pending | Michigan, District of Columbia | 2 |
| No pending legislation | Alaska, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oregon | 8 |
Compact membership changes when legislatures act, so check the official NLC map before you accept a contract in a state near the boundary of a change.
Travel nurse requirements in non-compact states
Non-compact states hold 31% of all registered nurse jobs, led by California (338,940) and New York (205,810), so many travelers end up holding at least one single-state license.[oews_api][nlc] A nurse who lives in a non-compact state cannot get a multistate license; they apply for licensure by endorsement in each state where they want to work, and they can keep their home-state license while holding a single-state license elsewhere.[nlc_faq]
| State | Compact status | RN median | RN jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Not a member | $140,270 | 338,940 |
| New York | Not a member | $109,440 | 205,810 |
| Illinois | Not a member | $95,990 | 138,910 |
| Michigan | Bill pending | $94,300 | 104,950 |
| Massachusetts | Enacted, not yet in effect | $104,550 | 88,200 |
| Minnesota | Not a member | $101,510 | 70,110 |
| Oregon | Not a member | $129,010 | 39,730 |
| Nevada | Not a member | $103,670 | 27,070 |
| Hawaii | Not a member | $136,320 | 12,940 |
| District of Columbia | Bill pending | $102,540 | 11,440 |
| Alaska | Not a member | $109,480 | 7,510 |
Several of these states pay staff nurses well above the national RN median of $97,550, which also shapes travel contracts there.[onet_rn] See every state on nurse salary by state.
Moving your primary state of residence
Your primary state of residence is the state where you hold your driver's license, vote and file federal taxes, and it decides which board issues your license.[nlc_faq] Moving to another compact state means applying for a new multistate license there by endorsement; moving to a non-compact state ends multistate privileges, and you need that state's license instead. Travelers should keep the residence that matches their tax home, because a mismatch between the two can raise questions with both a board and the IRS.[irs463]
Travel nurse tax home basics
A tax home is your regular place of business or post of duty, and you must be away from it on a temporary assignment for stipends to be tax-free.[irs463] Keeping a home you pay for and returning to it between assignments supports a tax home; a nurse with no regular base is an itinerant worker whose stipends are taxable. Agencies usually set stipends near the GSA per diem rate for the work location, $113 lodging and $68 meals a day under the FY2027 standard rate.[gsa]
Travel nurse requirements for LPNs and advanced practice nurses
LPNs and LVNs can also hold multistate licenses through the compact, so the same state list applies to them.[nlc_faq] Nurse practitioners and other advanced practice nurses are not covered by the NLC for their advanced license; they need the advanced practice license of each state where they work. For pay benchmarks see LPN salary and nurse practitioner salary.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to become a travel nurse?
The nursing program takes two to four years for an RN, plus the time to pass the NCLEX and build the clinical experience hospitals ask for in travel postings. There is no separate travel nurse license or certificate.
Which states are in the Nurse Licensure Compact?
40 states have the compact in effect, including Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Georgia. Massachusetts has enacted it but not implemented it; California, New York and Illinois are not members.
Do travel nurses need a license in every state?
Not with a multistate license: it covers every compact state. Non-compact states such as California and New York require their own license, obtained by endorsement.
Can you be a travel nurse without a tax home?
Yes, but without a tax home your housing and meal stipends are taxable wages, which lowers take-home pay (IRS Publication 463).
Sources
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Registered Nurses
- NCLEX Fees and Payment ($200 registration; $350 from Feb. 1, 2027)
- Nurse Licensure Compact: participating states map and status data
- NLC FAQs and Nurses & the NLC (multistate license, primary state of residence, noncompact states)
- Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (tax home; temporary assignment of 1 year or less)
- Per diem rates: FY2027 standard CONUS rate ($113 lodging, $68 meals and incidentals)
- OEWS May 2025 employment and median wage series (OEUN/OEUS), Public Data API v2
- Local Wages: 29-1141.00 Registered Nurses (state and metro percentiles)