Connecticut implemented the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) on Oct. 1, 2025, the Department of Public Health told the state’s Board of Examiners for Nursing during the board’s meeting. The department said nurses with Connecticut single‑state licenses may now apply to convert to a multistate license and nurses who hold an active multistate license from another compact state may practice in Connecticut immediately.

Key points from the department presentation
- Dana Dalton (DPH) said the implementation date was Oct. 1 and that nurses who want to convert should apply through the department website; the only required charge for conversion is the state and federal background check fee (DPH cited an example fee of $89.61 for the background check vendor plus any local processing fee).
- The department will provide outreach materials and a toolkit to employers and schools; Carter Johnson, the outreach contractor, offered to present to organizations and provide templates for sharing information.

Training and rules described
- The board received a presentation and video from the Nurse Licensure Compact Commission. Jim Puente, executive director of the NLC Commission, described the compact as an interstate agreement that issues a multistate license (sometimes called a compact license) from a nurse’s primary state of residence (PSOR). The multistate license authorizes practice in any other compact state in person or via telehealth, but it is not a national license.
- Uniform licensure requirements for a multistate license include: graduation from a board‑approved nursing program or approved credentials review for foreign grads; NCLEX (or predecessor) passage; an unencumbered status on other licenses; state and federal background checks; no felony convictions (unless expunged); proof of primary state residency; and no current enrollment in alternatives to discipline programs.
- Puente emphasized the 60‑day rule for nurses who permanently change residency: a nurse changing PSOR must apply for a new multistate license in the new state within 60 days of establishing residency; while that application is pending, the nurse may continue to practice under the existing multistate license until the new license is issued.
- Employers were urged to use Nursys (nurses.com) to confirm license status and to ask whether a nurse is changing residency because employers can face audit and reimbursement risks when staff lack an appropriate active license.

Why it matters
- The compact reduces administrative friction for nurses and increases workforce mobility; it also adds new mechanisms for cross‑state information sharing and discipline coordination: remote states can restrict privilege to practice in their state, and home states can take action that affects multistate privileges nationally.

Ending note
- DPH said it will roll out outreach and training materials and encouraged employers and schools to request presentations.