Licensing authority
Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing
Nursing licensure · NLC status table · EMS licensure
MA
Massachusetts
Does this state recognize my multistate license?
Full license requiredMA
No — you need a state license
The PDF table answers No to whether active compact-license holders may practice in Massachusetts. Ordinary Massachusetts licensure is needed while implementation remains pending; the license route itself is independently established by section 76.
Supporting evidence and conditions
The PDF table answers No to whether active compact-license holders may practice in Massachusetts. Ordinary Massachusetts licensure is needed while implementation remains pending; the license route itself is independently established by section 76.
NCSBN · nursecompact.com · verified 9 Oct 2026
- Law enacted
- Yes Acts of 2024, Chapter 238, section 229
- In force
- No not in force
- Issuing multistate licenses
- No not issuing multistate licenses
Each answer links to the state rule it comes from. Open “Source quotation” for the exact wording.
Licensing authority
Board contacts, official applications and governing rules.
Contact
- Phone
- 617.973.0900
- Nclex application phone
- 877.887.9727
- Fax
- 617.973.0984
- Address
- 250 Washington Street, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02108-4619
Source quotation
Phone 617.973.0900 Questions related to NCLEX license application: 877.887.9727 Fax 617.973.0984 Location The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 250 Washington Street, 3rd Floor Boston, MA 02108-4619
ncsbn.org · NCSBN
Governing law
M.G.L. Chapter 112, sections 74, 74A and 76; Chapter 112A for NLC
License requirements
License types, exams, expiration dates and multistate eligibility.
Licence types
RN
- State title
- Registered Nurse
LPN
- State title
- Licensed Practical Nurse
Conditions & source context
RN/LPN statutory titles; multistate operation is assessed separately.
Source quotation
with the right to use the title registered nurse and to practice as such
malegislature.gov · State statute
Multistate licences issued
No
Conditions & source context
The same NCSBN table lists Massachusetts awaiting implementation and a compact-license date to be determined; the observed official map data independently states awaiting implementation.
Source context The retrieved NCSBN PDF contains a Revised: Sept. 6, 2023 footer while its implementation table includes 2025 dates. The table is preserved as a retrieval-date snapshot; the footer does not establish its actual revision date.
Source quotation
Compact license not available until full implementation is complete.
nursecompact.com · NCSBN
Licence term
- Years
- 2
- Expires on
- Your birth month
- By license
RN
- Renewal due
- Birthday in each even-numbered year
LPN
- Renewal due
- Birthday in each odd-numbered year
- Initial exception
- If the birthday occurs within three months of initial registration/licensing, renewal may wait until the next applicable even/odd-year birthday.
Conditions & source context
Renewal is due on the birthday: RN in even-numbered years and LPN in odd-numbered years, with the statutory short-initial-term exception. This is not an issuance anniversary.
Source quotation
on or before his birthday in each even-numbered year, renew his registration for the ensuing two year period
malegislature.gov · State statute
Working across state lines
Compact membership, license privileges and application requirements.
Home-state residence rule
- Keys off home-state residence
- Yes
- If your home state changes
- Meet the applicable statutory requirements to obtain a multistate license from the new home state.
- Detail
- Chapter 112A defines a home-state resident multistate license; these are enacted rules, not evidence Massachusetts is issuing one.
Conditions & source context
Statutory compact design only. The official NCSBN map still lists Massachusetts awaiting implementation.
Source quotation
A multistate license to practice as a nurse issued by a home state to a resident in that state
malegislature.gov · State Board of Nursing
Can I take a contract on privilege alone
No — you need a state license
Conditions & source context
The PDF table answers No to whether active compact-license holders may practice in Massachusetts. Ordinary Massachusetts licensure is needed while implementation remains pending; the license route itself is independently established by section 76.
Source context The retrieved NCSBN PDF contains a Revised: Sept. 6, 2023 footer while its implementation table includes 2025 dates. The table is preserved as a retrieval-date snapshot; the footer does not establish its actual revision date.
If you hold only a single-state licence
- Single-state grants no privilege
- Yes
Conditions & source context
Statutory single-state limitation; no currently available Massachusetts multistate-upgrade pathway is established.
Source quotation
the single-state license granted to these individuals shall not be recognized as granting the privilege to practice nursing in any other party state
malegislature.gov · State Board of Nursing
NLC law enacted
- Status
- Yes
- Enacted
- 2024-11-20
- Citation
- Acts of 2024, Chapter 238, section 229
Conditions & source context
The same enacted act states Approved (in part), November 20, 2024. Enactment is not implementation.
Source quotation
SECTION 229. The General Laws are hereby amended by inserting after chapter 112 the following chapter:- CHAPTER 112A. NURSE LICENSURE COMPACT.
malegislature.gov · State legislature
NLC law in force
- Status
- No
Conditions & source context
Massachusetts has enacted the compact, but NCSBN shows implementation as to be determined; compact licenses are not yet honored there.
Issuing multistate licences
- Status
- No
Conditions & source context
Observed state-specific NCSBN map data. The accompanying PDF states visiting nurses may not yet practice on compact privilege and resident compact-license date is to be determined.
Source context The retrieved NCSBN PDF contains a Revised: Sept. 6, 2023 footer while its implementation table includes 2025 dates. The table is preserved as a retrieval-date snapshot; the footer does not establish its actual revision date.
Apply from another state
Eligibility, application fees, background checks and temporary licenses.
Endorsement available
Yes
Conditions & source context
Statutory reciprocity route for qualifying out-of-state RN/LPN licensees.
Source quotation
The board may register or license in like manner, without examination, any person who has been registered as a nurse or licensed as a practical nurse
malegislature.gov · State statute
What it is called
Reciprocity registration as nurse or practical nurse
Source quotation
Reciprocity registration as nurse or practical nurse
malegislature.gov · State statute
What you must provide
Registered as a nurse or licensed as a practical nurse in another state
- Detail
- The Board must consider that state to maintain substantially the same standards as Massachusetts for the corresponding license type.
Conditions & source context
Statutory eligibility only.
Source quotation
in another state under laws which, in the opinion of the board, maintain standards substantially the same as those of this commonwealth
malegislature.gov · State statute
Background check
- Required
- Yes
- State check
- Yes
- FBI check
- No
- Fingerprints
- No
- Vendor
- Massachusetts DCJIS criminal offender record information (CORI) check plus a Sex Offender Registry check, through the Board of Registration in Nursing
Conditions & source context
Since December 4, 2023 the Board runs a Massachusetts CORI check on every nursing applicant, by exam or reciprocity, before licensure or an NCLEX Authorization to Test, and checks the Sex Offender Registry. The CORI forms are in the online application; the CORI Acknowledgement Form must be signed before a notary or a Board employee. Fingerprints (state and FBI) apply to multistate licenses under M.G.L. c.112A § 18, not to a single-state Massachusetts license.
Source quotation
all applicants for nursing licensure and advanced practice authorization will be required to have a Massachusetts criminal history background check completed
mass.gov · State Board of Nursing
Renewal and education
Renewal dates, required education and reinstatement options.
Renewal interval (years)
2
Conditions & source context
RN even-year birthday renewal; LPN odd-year birthday renewal.
Source quotation
renew his registration for the ensuing two year period
malegislature.gov · State statute
Renewal competency and CE
RN
- Statutory regulatory minimum hours
- 15
- Alternative
- Board may accept training and experience in lieu of continuing education.
- Mandated topics
Diagnosis, treatment and care of patients with cognitive impairments, including Alzheimer disease and dementia
- Frequency
- One-time course
- Scope
- Nurses who serve adult populations
LPN
- Statutory regulatory minimum hours
- 15
- Alternative
- Board may accept training and experience in lieu of continuing education.
- Mandated topics
Diagnosis, treatment and care of patients with cognitive impairments, including Alzheimer disease and dementia
- Frequency
- One-time course
- Scope
- Nurses who serve adult populations
Conditions & source context
Statutory floor, not a verified current Board CE total. Both statutes permit accepted training/experience instead of CE and limit the cognitive-impairment course to adult-serving nurses.
Source quotation
Said regulations shall provide that the minimum number of hours required shall not be less than fifteen hours.
malegislature.gov · State statute
If your licence lapses
- By license
RN
- Effect
- Failure to renew forfeits practice/title rights until the fee is paid.
LPN
- Effect
- Failure to renew forfeits practice/title rights until the fee is paid.
Conditions & source context
Statutory lapse consequence only; payment is not presented as a complete current Board reinstatement checklist.
Source quotation
In default of such renewal, a person registered hereunder shall forfeit the right to practice as a registered nurse or to hold himself out as such until such fee shall have been paid.
malegislature.gov · State statute
License verification
Official license-verification links and the information available from each source.
Ask the board of nursing
Massachusetts's published rules don't answer these. Ask before you apply — mass.gov.
- Licensing portal. Where do I submit a nursing application in Massachusetts?
- NCLEX required to get licensed. Do I need NCLEX to get licensed in Massachusetts?
- Jurisprudence exam. Does Massachusetts require a jurisprudence or ethics exam?
- Criminal-history requirements. What criminal-history requirements apply to nursing licensure in Massachusetts?
- Conditions for privilege. What do I have to satisfy for multistate privilege to apply in Massachusetts?
- Where to apply. Where do I start an endorsement application for Massachusetts?
- Application fee. What does it cost to get licensed in Massachusetts from out of state?
- How long it takes. How long will Massachusetts take to process my application?
- Temporary licence. Can I start working in Massachusetts before full approval?
- Nursys verification. Do I have to route verification through Nursys for Massachusetts?
- Licence lookup. Where do I look up a Massachusetts licence and its discipline history?