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Nurse and Therapy State License Cheat Sheet

Before you hit the road for your next travel nurse or travel therapy assignment, you must be licensed to practice in that state. At Host Healthcare, we will help you and even provide license reimbursements. However, it’s your responsibility to complete the applicable license application process. To help you, we created the below state license cheat sheet. Print out this page or bookmark it. We will continue to update this page as states update their license terms.

State License Cheat Sheet

Paperless (P), ST License*, Certified Techs Only Δ & License Timeframe
Alabama AL First In First Out
Alaska AK 10 business days (temp)
Arizona AZ Walk Thru (w/in 7 days of contract)
Arkansas (P) AR 1-2 weeks (temp)
California CA
Colorado (P)* CO 4 – 6 weeks (no yes answers) & tech
Connecticut CT 2 weeks (temp)
Delaware DE w/in 7 days if docs are in & complete
Dist. of Columbia DC 1 week (temp)
Florida FL up to 30 days
Georgia GA 15 business days
Hawaii HI Walk Thru
Idaho ID 3-4 weeks (temp)
Illinois IL 4 weeks (temp)
Indiana Δ IN 6-8 weeks (temp)
Iowa IA Temp right away once all docs are in
Kansas (P) KS 7-10 days no BG hits (temp)
Kentucky (P) KY Issued once docs are in & complete
Louisiana (P) LA Walk Thru – must have LA address
Maine (P) ME 7 – 14 days
Maryland (P) MD 3 – 5 days / valid 90 days
Massachusetts Δ MA 3 weeks
Michigan MI 8 – 9 weeks
Minnesota (P) MN 1-2 business days (temp)
Mississippi (P) MS 4-6 weeks
Missouri (P) MO Walk Thru
Montana MT 30 days fingerprinting; 3 – 4 wks
Nebraska NE 2 weeks (temp)
Nevada (P) NV 1 week (temp)
New Hampshire (P)* NH Once all docs received (temp & tech)
New Jersey Δ NJ 4-6 weeks
New Mexico (P) NM 5 days once bkgd clears (temp)
New York NY 4 weeks once all docs are in
North Carolina (P) NC 3-4 weeks (temp)
North Dakota* ND 3-4 days (temp) / 1-2 days (tech)
Ohio (P) OH 4-6 weeks (temp or perm)
Oklahoma OK 5 days once bkgd clears
Oregon (P) OR 4-6 weeks
Pennsylvania PA 10 business days (temp)
Rhode Island RI 2 – 3 weeks (temp)
South Carolina (P) Δ SC Walk Thru or 14 business days
South Dakota SD 3-4 weeks (temp)
Tennessee TN 4 – 6 weeks
Texas (P) Δ TX 15 business days (temp)
Utah Δ UT 7-14 days
Vermont VT 3-5 business days
Virginia VA 30 days (temp)
Virgin Islands VI 3-5 business days
Washington (P)* WA 2-3 weeks (temp & tech)
West Virginia (P) WV 3 – 5 days (temp)
Wisconsin (P) WI Same day once all docs recv’d (temp)
Wyoming (P) WY 10-14 business days (temp)