Pennsylvania

The pathways, as the board describes them

RN single-state licensure by endorsement. The board states: "A registered nurse who has graduated from an approved professional nursing education program in the United States or Canada that is equivalent to a PA RN program and who obtained RN licensure in another jurisdiction having passed an examination considered by the Board to be equivalent to the examination required for licensure in this Commonwealth but who does not hold a multistate license in another Compact state may be granted Single state licensure by endorsement." RN snapshot.

LPN single-state licensure by endorsement. The corresponding practical-nurse statement is: "A practical nurse who has graduated from an approved practical nursing education program in the United States or Canada that is equivalent to a PA practical nursing program and who obtained LPN  licensure in another jurisdiction having passed an examination considered by the Board to be equivalent to the examination required for licensure in this Commonwealth but who does not hold a multistate license in another Compact state may be granted single state licensure by endorsement." LPN snapshot.

The compact route. Pennsylvania states: "You may apply for a single state license if you will be practicing only in Pennsylvania. Or, if your primary state of residence is Pennsylvania and you want to practice in other NLC member states, you may apply for a multistate license." For a nurse moving in with a multistate license from another compact state, the board says: "you can practice on your multistate license from the other compact state until Pennsylvania issues your multistate license as long as you apply for one within 60 days of your move." For a resident of a non-compact state moving to Pennsylvania, it instead states: "Because you do not hold a multistate license in another state, you may not practice in Pennsylvania until your multistate license is issued." NLC page.

Act 41. The RN snapshot states that Act 41 reaches applicants who are "active, in good standing, have practiced under that license for no less than 3,600 hours in the five years preceding application,  and without discipline against their license and no criminal conviction that constitutes grounds for refusal of a license." It then limits the result: "Licenses issued under Act 41 cannot be the basis for multistate licenses as applicants' specific education have not been reviewed." The LPN snapshot publishes a similar statement with visible wording differences, including "have practice" and "consititutes"; both versions remain in the packet. RN snapshot; LPN snapshot.

The published process

Practice while the application is pending. Pennsylvania publishes a TPP for a defined set of first-time applicants. The current compact page says: "Yes, IF you hold an active single state registered nurse (RN) or licensed practical nurse (LPN) license in another state or you have not taken the NCLEX®.  If you have an active multistate RN or LPN license in another state, a TPP is not necessary as you are permitted to practice in Pennsylvania on a privilege to practice based on the multistate license.  If you have an inactive or expired PA RN or LPN license or are a graduate who has taken the NCLEX®, you are not eligible for a TPP." It limits the permit geographically: "Note that the TPP ONLY permits you to practice in Pennsylvania." The captured current pages do not state the TPP's fee, duration, issuance clock, or expiration triggers. Searched for those terms: the NLC page, Nursing Licensure Guide, RN and LPN snapshots, and Nursing Board Resources and Documents page. An older board FAQ devoted to endorsement with TPP remains indexed but its direct official URL returned 404 on direct HTTPS and is capture-pending; its contents are not evidence for this page.

Verification of the existing license. The guide states: "The Board must receive  verification of licensure from each state or jurisdiction where the applicant holds a license." It defines the record as "an attestation from a licensing body detailing the type of license held, the method by which the license was obtained, the current status of the license, whether any discipline has been imposed, and the education and exam information, if applicable." For participating jurisdictions: "If the applicant’s state participates in NURSYS, the applicant should pay the fee at www.nursys.com to allow the Board to access their verification of licensure." The resource page separately publishes a $30 Nursys verification service for nurses applying out of Pennsylvania; that outbound service is not substituted for the incoming endorsement instruction. Nursing Licensure Guide; Resources and Documents.

Fingerprints and the background check. The endorsement guide is direct: "All new applicants must obtain a fingerprint-based FBI background check for review as part of your application." It instructs: "You must pre-register for fingerprinting services through IdentoGO and use the service code provided during your application process to ensure the Board receives your results." For multistate applicants, Pennsylvania adds: "Applicants for a multistate license issued by the State Board of Nursing must obtain a criminal history record check from the state in which they reside and complete the process for a fingerprint-based FBI background check through IdentoGO." The captured sources state no fingerprint-vendor fee. Nursing Licensure Guide.

The three rows above answer the questions an experienced adviser raises first, from the board's own published documents, or record that a question is not answered in them.

Fees, as stated in the sources

All quoted; none totaled.

Single-state endorsement. The RN snapshot states "$120 if the applicant is applying based on having a license from another state" and "$145 if the applicant is applying with a license from another state but needs to take the exam". The LPN snapshot states "$120 if applicant is applying based on having an LPN license from another state" and "$145 if applicant is applying with an LPN license from another state but need to take the exam". RN snapshot; LPN snapshot.

Initial multistate licensure. "The fee for an initial multistate license by endorsement is $180." — "The fee for an initial multistate license by endorsement with examination is $250." The same page states: "The fee to convert an existing Pennsylvania license to a multistate license is $105.00." NLC page.

Renewal. The RN snapshot states "$122.00 every two years"; the LPN snapshot states "$76.00 every two years". RN snapshot; LPN snapshot.

Verification service published on the resource page. "Nurses can verify their licenses by completing the Nursys verification process for $30 per license type, per each board of nursing where the nurse is applying." This is Pennsylvania's published outbound-verification service; the incoming endorsement guide separately instructs applicants to pay the Nursys fee when their licensing state participates without stating an amount there. Resources and Documents.

No TPP fee or fingerprint-vendor fee is stated in the captured current sources. What any of this means for a particular application is for the board to determine.

Timelines, as stated in the sources

All quoted; none calculated.

Compact move. For a move from Pennsylvania to another compact state, the board states: "you must apply for a multistate license in that state within 60 days, but you may practice on your Pennsylvania multistate license until the new application is processed." For a move into Pennsylvania with another compact state's multistate license, it likewise states that practice may continue "as long as you apply for one within 60 days of your move." NLC page.

Renewal. The snapshots state "$122.00 every two years" for RN renewal and "$76.00 every two years" for LPN renewal. RN snapshot; LPN snapshot.

The Nursing Licensure Guide describes "three phases with estimated times for each stage of the process" but the captured current endorsement section publishes no numerical phase estimates. No current TPP duration or issuance clock appears in the captured sources. What any of this means for a particular application is for the board to determine.

Source map

Change log

Aug 26, 2026 · Page created. Captured first-party and appended mechanically by direct HTTPS text transport: Pennsylvania's RN and LPN licensure snapshots, Nurse Licensure Compact page, Nursing Licensure Guide, Nursing Board Resources and Documents page, and Board Contacts page. Findings recorded rather than smoothed: (1) Pennsylvania states that it "fully implemented the NLC on July 7, 2025", so the page must carry both single-state endorsement and multistate routes; (2) the board's current Nursing Licensure Guide visibly contains "ADD LINK HERE." in the endorsement section, preserved in the packet; (3) the current NLC page contains "rpovided" and "In Pennsylvania", and the LPN snapshot contains "have practice" and "consititutes" — all preserved rather than silently corrected inside source captures; (4) the RN and LPN snapshots publish different renewal fees, "$122.00 every two years" and "$76.00 every two years"; (5) the current TPP statement defines who may receive the permit and limits it to Pennsylvania, but the captured current pages state no TPP fee, duration, issuance clock, or expiration trigger; the older endorsement-with-TPP FAQ remains indexed while its direct official URL returned 404, so it is pending rather than used as current evidence; (6) the guide says it provides estimated phase times but its captured endorsement section states no numerical processing estimate; (7) the board requires verification from each jurisdiction where the applicant holds a license and names NURSYS conditionally; (8) Pennsylvania's single-state endorsement fee is stated identically for RN and LPN, while renewal differs by license type. Capture pending: current interactive PALS application checklists, the older TPP FAQ PDF, a current source stating any TPP fee and duration, and the fingerprint vendor's fee. Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter, reviewed Aug 27, 2026. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.