Rhode Island General Laws 5-34.3-6. Applications for licensure in a party state
(a) Upon application for a license, the licensing board in a party state shall ascertain, through the coordinated licensure information system, whether the applicant has ever held, or is the holder of, a license issued by any other state, whether there are any restrictions on the multistate licensure privilege, and whether any other adverse action by any state has been taken against the license.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 5-34.3-6
- Adverse action: means a home or remote state action. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-34.3-4
- Alternative program: means a voluntary, nondisciplinary monitoring program approved by a nurse licensing board. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-34.3-4
- Commission: means the interstate commission of nurse licensure compact administrators, the governing body of the nurse licensure compact. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-34.3-4
- Coordinated licensure information system: means an integrated process for collecting, storing, and sharing information on nurse licensure and enforcement activities related to nurse licensure laws, which is administered by a nonprofit organization composed of and controlled by state nurse licensing boards. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-34.3-4
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Home state: means the party state which is the nurse's primary state of residence. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-34.3-4
- Licensing board: means a party state's regulatory body responsible for issuing nurse licenses. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-34.3-4
- Multistate licensure: means a license to practice as a registered nurse (RN) or a licensed practical nurse/vocational nurse (LPN/VN) issued by a home state licensing board, that authorizes the licensed nurse to practice in all party states under a multistate licensure privilege. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-34.3-4
- Multistate licensure privilege: means current, official authority from a remote state permitting the practice of nursing as either a registered nurse or a licensed practical/vocational nurse in such party state. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-34.3-4
- Nurse: means a registered nurse or licensed practical/vocational nurse, as those terms are defined by each party's state practice laws. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-34.3-4
- Party state: means any state that has adopted this compact. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-34.3-4
- Single-state license: means a nurse license issued by a party state that authorizes practice only within the issuing state and does not include a multistate licensure privilege to practice in any other party state. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-34.3-4
- State: means a state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-34.3-4
(b) A nurse in a party state shall hold licensure in only one party state at a time, issued by the home state.
(c) A nurse who intends to change primary state of residence may apply for licensure in the new home state in advance of such change. However, new licenses will not be issued by a party state until after a nurse provides evidence of change in primary state of residence satisfactory to the new home state’s licensing board.
(d) When a nurse changes primary state of residence by;
(1) Moving between two party states, and obtains a license from the new home state, the license from the former home state is no longer valid;
(2) Moving from a non-party state to a party state, and obtains a license from the new home state, the individual state license issued by the non-party state is not affected and will remain in full force if so provided by the laws of the non-party state;
(3) Moving from a party state to a non-party state, the license issued by the prior home state converts to an individual state license, valid only in the former home state, without the multistate licensure privilege to practice in other party states.
History of Section.
P.L. 2007, ch. 50, § 2; P.L. 2007, ch. 62, § 2.
§ 5-34.3-6. Applications for licensure in a party state. [Effective January 1, 2024; Expires January 1, 2027]
(a) Upon application for a multistate license, the licensing board in the issuing party state shall ascertain, through the coordinated licensure information system, whether the applicant has ever held, or is the holder of, a license issued by any other state, whether there are any encumbrances on any license or multistate licensure privilege held by the applicant, whether any adverse action has been taken against any license or multistate licensure privilege held by the applicant, and whether the applicant is currently participating in an alternative program.
(b) A nurse may hold a multistate license, issued by the home state, in only one party state at a time.
(c) If a nurse changes primary state of residence by moving between two (2) party states, the nurse must apply for licensure in the new home state, and the multistate license issued by the prior home state will be deactivated in accordance with applicable rules adopted by the commission.
(1) The nurse may apply for licensure in advance of a change in primary state of residence.
(2) A multistate license shall not be issued by the new home state until the nurse provides satisfactory evidence of a change in primary state of residence to the new home state and satisfies all applicable requirements to obtain a multistate license from the new home state.
(d) If a nurse changes primary state of residence by moving from a party state to a non-party state, the multistate license issued by the prior home state will convert to a single-state license, valid only in the former home state.
History of Section.
P.L. 2007, ch. 50, § 2; P.L. 2007, ch. 62, § 2; P.L. 2023, ch. 338, § 1, effective January 1, 2024; P.L. 2023, ch. 397, § 1, effective January 1, 2024.