Nursing License from Michigan to Rhode Island: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education ↗
A nursing license transfers from Michigan to Rhode Island by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education, verify your Michigan license, and meet Rhode Island's endorsement requirements. NCLEX is not retaken; your license is verified through Nursys.
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
This direction has a silver lining. Michigan is outside the compact, so you have been carrying a single-state license — but Rhode Island is a member. Endorse into Rhode Island, 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 changes, Michigan → Rhode Island
| Michigan (current) | Rhode Island (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| NLC status | Licensure by endorsement | NLC member — multistate license honored |
| Application fee | $212.9 ($212.90 combined application fee + 2-year license fee; fingerprint background-check vendor fee paid separately) | fee is set in the RIDOH fee schedule (216-RICR-10-05-2); amount could not be verified on an accessible official page (health.ri.gov blocked automated requests) — confirm with RIDOH |
| Processing time | board does not publish an endorsement processing timeline | no processing time stated in the regulation |
| Licensing authority | Michigan Board of Nursing | Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Rhode Island sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Rhode Island's current requirements on the Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Statement of good standing submitted to the Board by the licensing agency of each state where you hold or have held a license.
- Rhode Island BCI criminal records review (submit the BCI no-disqualification notification or authorize a report to the Department).
- Hold a current license as a professional nurse, obtained by examination or endorsement, in another state, territory, or DC.
- Pay the fees (fee is set in the RIDOH fee schedule (216-RICR-10-05-2); amount could not be verified on an accessible official page (health.ri.gov blocked automated requests) — confirm with RIDOH) and allow no processing time stated in the regulation.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Rhode Island accept a Michigan nursing license?
A nursing license transfers from Michigan to Rhode Island by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education, verify your Michigan license, and meet Rhode Island's endorsement requirements. NCLEX is not retaken; your license is verified through Nursys.
Do I retake the NCLEX moving from Michigan to Rhode Island?
No — the NCLEX transfers everywhere. NCLEX is not retaken; your license is verified through Nursys.
What does the move cost?
fee is set in the RIDOH fee schedule (216-RICR-10-05-2); amount could not be verified on an accessible official page (health.ri.gov blocked automated requests) — confirm with RIDOH (fee is set in the RIDOH fee schedule (216-RICR-10-05-2); amount could not be verified on an accessible official page (health.ri.gov blocked automated requests) — confirm with RIDOH).
How long will it take?
no processing time stated in the regulation — no processing time stated in the regulation.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- RI Code of Regulations 216-RICR-40-05-3 — Nurses (licensure by endorsement) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- RI Department of Health — Nurses (licensing) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Michigan LARA/BPL — Michigan Nursing Licensing Guide ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Michigan LARA — Board of Nursing ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]