Nursing License from Illinois to New Jersey: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does New Jersey accept an Illinois nursing license?
A nursing license transfers from Illinois to New Jersey by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the New Jersey Board of Nursing, verify your Illinois license, and meet New Jersey's endorsement requirements. NCLEX is not retaken; your license is verified through Nursys or directly by your previous state boards.
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
This direction has a silver lining. Illinois is outside the compact, so you have been carrying a single-state license — but New Jersey is a member. Endorse into New Jersey, establish it as your primary residence, meet the uniform licensure requirements, and the license you receive is multistate: one application turns into practice privileges across the whole compact.
What's different between Illinois and New Jersey
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into New Jersey. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Illinois to New Jersey (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
New Jersey to Illinois (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from Illinois matter?
Coming from Illinois matters here: only 11 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get this result for a move into New Jersey.
The others get: compact multistate — already covered (39).
- NLC membership
Illinois is not in the NLC; New Jersey is an NLC member state.
Because they are not both active members, the NLC does not cover this move.
A multistate license issued by New Jersey does not cover practice in Illinois.
- Application fee
New Jersey lists $200 for an out-of-state applicant and Illinois lists $50–$75 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Exam rules on record
New Jersey and Illinois carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- New Jersey (this move): NCLEX is not retaken; your license is verified through Nursys or directly by your previous state boards
- Illinois (the reverse move): NCLEX is not retaken; your license is verified through Nursys
What changes, Illinois → New Jersey
| Illinois (current) | New Jersey (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| NLC status | Licensure by endorsement | NLC member — multistate license honored |
| Application fee | $50–$75 ($50 non-refundable endorsement fee, or $75 with the optional 6-month temporary permit (+$25); fingerprint fee paid separately to a licensed livescan vendor) | $200 (total due at application — $120 license fee + $75 nonrefundable application fee + $5 mandatory Alternative to Discipline fee; + $58.69 Morpho Trust fingerprint-card fee for applicants outside the metropolitan NJ area) |
| Processing time | no processing range stated in IDFPR application materials | board does not publish an endorsement processing timeline |
| Licensing authority | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (Board of Nursing) | New Jersey Board of Nursing |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — New Jersey sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm New Jersey's current requirements on the New Jersey Board of Nursing website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the New Jersey Board of Nursing (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Complete a fingerprint-based criminal history background check.
- Provide verification of licensure in good standing from your original state and every state where you have ever been licensed, via Nursys or directly from those boards.
- Submit a signed passport-style photograph taken within the past six months.
- Submit proof of U.S. citizenship, naturalization, or lawful immigration status.
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Do I retake the NCLEX moving from Illinois to New Jersey?
No — the NCLEX transfers everywhere.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-10-29.
- NJ Board of Nursing — Instructions for Licensure by Endorsement (PDF) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- NJ Board of Nursing — Applications ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- IDFPR — Registered Nurse Instruction Sheet (Examination/Endorsement/Restoration), rev. 4/24 ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- IDFPR — Nurses profession page ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-10-29
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