License Reciprocity Statistics (2026)
Across the 30,600 possible state-to-state moves covered here — every ordered pair of US jurisdictions in 12 licensed professions — only 21.4% of professional license transfers are automatic. 67.8% require an endorsement application, and 8.3% require starting over as a brand-new applicant (2026).
Based on 612 profession-and-jurisdiction records (12 professions ×51 jurisdictions) and30,600 directed state pairs, verified against official state licensing boards and interstate compact commissions. Last updated.
Every figure below is recomputed from the underlying dataset on each build — none of them is typed into this page by hand — and an automated check refuses to publish the site if a rendered number and the data disagree. Quote them freely; the license at the foot of the page grants that in advance.
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The whole dataset behind this page, free and ungated, under CC BY 4.0. No email, no form. Every record carries its own source links and verification date.
Key statistics
- 612
This dataset covers 612 profession-and-jurisdiction records — 12 licensed professions across all 51 US jurisdictions — each carrying at least one primary-source citation from a state licensing board or compact commission plus its own verification date, 1,833 citations in total (2026).
# - 67.8%
Licensure by endorsement is the dominant transfer pathway in the United States, covering 67.8% of state-to-state moves — 20,752 of 30,600 directed state pairs across 12 professions (2026).
# - 8.3%
8.3% of US state-to-state license transfers are dead ends: in 2,550 of 30,600 directed state pairs the destination offers neither reciprocity nor endorsement, so the licensee applies as a brand-new candidate (2026).
# - 9.7%
Interstate licensure compacts resolve just 9.7% of US state-to-state license transfers — 2,966 of 30,600 directed state pairs — because only 3 of 12 professions have an operating compact, and one of those grants telepractice authority rather than a transferable license (2026).
# - 33.3%
California, Hawaii, and New York are the hardest US jurisdictions to bring an existing license into: for each, 200 of the 600 incoming transfer paths measured (33.3%) require a full new application (2026).
# - 37.7%
Vermont is the most reciprocal destination in this dataset: 226 of 600 incoming transfer paths (37.7%) are automatic, the highest share of any US jurisdiction (2026).
# - $125
The median published application fee to move a professional license into another US state is $125, across the 518 of 612 profession-and-jurisdiction records whose board publishes a fee; the mean is $159.96 (2026).
# - $670
The most expensive single license transfer fee in this dataset is Connecticut's $670 real estate license application — 5.4 times the $125 national median (2026).
# - 2
Only 2 of the 518 published transfer fees in this dataset are $0: Georgia and Tennessee charge nothing to accept an out-of-state teaching certificate application (2026).
# - $236
The psychology license is the most expensive credential to move between US states, with a median published transfer fee of $236 across the 45 of 51 jurisdictions that publish one (2026).
# - $77.50
The cheapest credentials to move between US states are the cosmetology license and the plumbing license, tied at a median published transfer fee of $77.50 (2026).
# - 3.0×
Moving a psychology license between US states costs 3.0 times as much as moving the cheapest credential measured, comparing median published fees of $236 and $77.50 (2026).
# - 37.5×
The pharmacist license carries the widest transfer-fee spread of any profession measured: New Hampshire charges $16 and North Carolina charges $600 — a 37.5-fold gap for the same credential (2026).
# - 57
57 of 612 profession-and-jurisdiction records require a state jurisprudence or state-law exam before an already-licensed professional may practice, and 46 of those 57 sit in physical therapy and psychology alone (2026).
# - 19.1%
Only 19.1% of US state licensing boards publish how long an out-of-state transfer takes: 117 of 612 profession-and-jurisdiction records carry any processing-time estimate at all (2026).
# - 41
41 US jurisdictions participate in PSYPACT, yet none of the 2,550 psychology transfer paths in this dataset is automatic — the compact authorizes telepractice and temporary practice, never a relocation (2026).
# - 4
4 US jurisdictions — California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and New York — belong to none of the 3 operating licensure compacts in this dataset, while 31 belong to every one of them (2026).
# - 17
17 compact memberships in this dataset are enacted but not yet operating: 10 awaiting the Cosmetology Licensure Compact, 3 awaiting the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact, 3 awaiting the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact, and 1 awaiting the Nurse Licensure Compact (2026).
#
Transfer odds and fees by profession
Each row covers every ordered pair of jurisdictions for that profession. Automaticmeans the destination recognizes the existing license outright or a compact privilege carries it.Application means a real endorsement or reciprocity application. Start over means the destination offers neither, so the licensee applies as a new candidate. Contractor figures use the general commercial trade, which is the default the pathway checker uses when no trade is specified; per-trade agreements are on the contractor pages.
| Profession | Automatic | Application | Start over | Median fee | Lowest published | Highest published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPA / Accounting | 96.1% | 3.9% | 0.0% | $15050 of 51 publish | $35 Maine | $650 California |
| Nursing (RN/LPN) | 61.2% | 38.8% | 0.0% | $13046 of 51 publish | $50 Illinois | $350 California |
| Physical Therapy (PT/PTA) | 55.1% | 44.9% | 0.0% | $167.5044 of 51 publish | $25 Missouri | $450 California |
| Real Estate (salesperson/broker) | 13.7% | 74.5% | 11.8% | $12548 of 51 publish | $25 South Carolina | $670 Connecticut |
| Teaching (K-12) | 11.8% | 88.2% | 0.0% | $91.5038 of 51 publish | $0 Georgia | $247 Oregon |
| Pharmacy (pharmacist) | 7.8% | 90.2% | 2.0% | $230.5048 of 51 publish | $16 New Hampshire | $600 North Carolina |
| Electrician (journeyman/master) | 5.9% | 58.8% | 35.3% | $8534 of 51 publish | $18.50 Maryland | $250 Alaska |
| Cosmetology / Barber | 5.5% | 92.5% | 2.0% | $77.5048 of 51 publish | $11 Wisconsin | $330 Alaska |
| Contractor (GC/electrical/plumbing/HVAC) | 0.0% | 80.4% | 19.6% | $10030 of 51 publish | $25 Maryland | $650 California |
| Engineering (PE) | 0.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | $15047 of 51 publish | $50 Pennsylvania | $415 Ohio |
| Plumber (journeyman/master) | 0.0% | 70.6% | 29.4% | $77.5040 of 51 publish | $15 Indiana | $400 Montana |
| Psychology (licensed psychologist) | 0.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | $23645 of 51 publish | $45.75 Nebraska | $600 Wyoming |
How reciprocal each jurisdiction is
Every jurisdiction is scored as a destination: of all the incoming transfer paths measured across every profession, how many arrive automatically and how many require starting over. The median fee column is the midpoint of that jurisdiction's published base fees across the professions it publishes one for.
| Jurisdiction | Incoming paths | Automatic | Start over | Median fee | Fees published | Operating compacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vermont | 600 | 37.7% | 0.0% | $135 | 12 of 12 | 3 |
| Arizona | 600 | 36.2% | 16.7% | $150 | 9 of 12 | 3 |
| Alabama | 600 | 29.3% | 0.0% | $120 | 11 of 12 | 3 |
| Colorado | 600 | 29.3% | 0.0% | $95 | 4 of 12 | 3 |
| Delaware | 600 | 29.3% | 0.0% | $173 | 11 of 12 | 3 |
| Indiana | 600 | 29.3% | 16.7% | $75 | 9 of 12 | 3 |
| Mississippi | 600 | 29.3% | 16.7% | $150 | 8 of 12 | 3 |
| Missouri | 600 | 29.3% | 25.0% | $105 | 9 of 12 | 3 |
| North Carolina | 600 | 29.3% | 0.0% | $100 | 11 of 12 | 3 |
| Ohio | 600 | 29.3% | 8.3% | $81 | 9 of 12 | 3 |
| Virginia | 600 | 29.3% | 0.0% | $171.75 | 11 of 12 | 3 |
| Washington | 600 | 29.3% | 0.0% | $126.30 | 12 of 12 | 3 |
| West Virginia | 600 | 29.3% | 0.0% | $120 | 11 of 12 | 3 |
| Florida | 600 | 23.2% | 8.3% | $205 | 10 of 12 | 2 |
| Idaho | 600 | 23.2% | 0.0% | $75 | 7 of 12 | 2 |
| Maine | 600 | 23.2% | 0.0% | $150 | 11 of 12 | 2 |
| Alaska | 600 | 22.8% | 0.0% | $300 | 12 of 12 | 1 |
| Nevada | 600 | 22.8% | 16.7% | $180 | 10 of 12 | 2 |
| Arkansas | 600 | 21.0% | 0.0% | $87.50 | 12 of 12 | 3 |
| Connecticut | 600 | 21.0% | 8.3% | $180 | 11 of 12 | 3 |
| Georgia | 600 | 21.0% | 0.0% | $85 | 11 of 12 | 3 |
| Iowa | 600 | 21.0% | 0.0% | $119.50 | 10 of 12 | 2 |
| Kansas | 600 | 21.0% | 25.0% | $150 | 8 of 12 | 3 |
| Kentucky | 600 | 21.0% | 8.3% | $120 | 12 of 12 | 3 |
| Louisiana | 600 | 21.0% | 8.3% | $160 | 8 of 12 | 2 |
| Maryland | 600 | 21.0% | 0.0% | $65.50 | 12 of 12 | 3 |
| Montana | 600 | 21.0% | 0.0% | $180 | 11 of 12 | 2 |
| Nebraska | 600 | 21.0% | 8.3% | $128 | 10 of 12 | 3 |
| New Hampshire | 600 | 21.0% | 0.0% | $120.50 | 10 of 12 | 3 |
| New Jersey | 600 | 21.0% | 16.7% | $110 | 11 of 12 | 3 |
| North Dakota | 600 | 21.0% | 8.3% | $150 | 11 of 12 | 3 |
| Oklahoma | 600 | 21.0% | 0.0% | $142.50 | 10 of 12 | 3 |
| Pennsylvania | 600 | 21.0% | 25.0% | $89 | 9 of 12 | 3 |
| South Carolina | 600 | 21.0% | 0.0% | $107.50 | 10 of 12 | 3 |
| South Dakota | 600 | 21.0% | 0.0% | $110 | 12 of 12 | 3 |
| Tennessee | 600 | 21.0% | 16.7% | $150 | 11 of 12 | 3 |
| Texas | 600 | 21.0% | 8.3% | $100 | 11 of 12 | 3 |
| Utah | 600 | 21.0% | 0.0% | $97.50 | 6 of 12 | 3 |
| Wisconsin | 600 | 21.0% | 0.0% | $80 | 8 of 12 | 3 |
| Illinois | 600 | 16.7% | 25.0% | $110 | 10 of 12 | 1 |
| Michigan | 600 | 16.7% | 16.7% | $112.85 | 10 of 12 | 1 |
| New Mexico | 600 | 14.8% | 8.3% | $150 | 12 of 12 | 1 |
| Rhode Island | 600 | 14.8% | 16.7% | $150 | 11 of 12 | 2 |
| Wyoming | 600 | 14.8% | 8.3% | $212.50 | 10 of 12 | 2 |
| District of Columbia | 600 | 14.5% | 0.0% | $175 | 10 of 12 | 2 |
| Oregon | 600 | 14.5% | 0.0% | $247 | 11 of 12 | 1 |
| California | 600 | 8.3% | 33.3% | $260 | 11 of 12 | 0 |
| Massachusetts | 600 | 8.3% | 0.0% | $208 | 11 of 12 | 0 |
| Minnesota | 600 | 8.3% | 8.3% | $94.50 | 12 of 12 | 1 |
| New York | 600 | 8.3% | 33.3% | $294 | 9 of 12 | 0 |
| Hawaii | 600 | 0.0% | 33.3% | $90 | 10 of 12 | 0 |
What the data actually says
The phrase "license reciprocity" turns up constantly in job postings, relocation guides and recruiter emails. It is almost always wrong. Reciprocity in the strict sense means a destination state accepts the credential you already hold and issues its own without making you prove yourself over again. Measured across every profession and every ordered pair of jurisdictions in this dataset, that outcome is the exception. The ordinary case is licensure by endorsement: a real application, a real fee, a verification request sent to your old board, and a wait whose length most boards decline to publish.
That gap between the word and the mechanism is the most useful thing on this page. A job ad promising reciprocity with your state is, nearly always, describing endorsement. The application is shorter than a first-time candidate's and the national exam is rarely repeated, which is genuine relief. It is still not a transfer. It is a second licensure, granted on evidence of the first.
Compacts help less than their press suggests
Interstate compacts take up most of the oxygen in this subject and they have earned some of it. Where one is operating and grants full practice authority, the move really is automatic, and the professions that have one show it clearly in the table above. The limit is arithmetic. Only a handful of the professions covered here have a compact that is operating at all.
One of those turns out, on inspection, to grant something much narrower than the word compact implies: authority to practice remotely and to visit briefly, and nothing that survives a change of address. A psychologist who reads the participation map and concludes their license travels with them has misread it, and the compact's own rules say so. That single distinction is why this site refuses to paint the psychology map green.
Compacts also stall. Several memberships in this dataset exist only on paper: a legislature passed the bill and the state duly appears on the map, while no multistate license has actually been issued to anybody. The difference is invisible in most secondary coverage and decisive for someone planning a move this year.
The closed states are closed for structural reasons
The hardest destinations are not a random scatter. They cluster among the largest states, and the pattern holds across trades and professions that otherwise share nothing. A state that has run its own licensing bureaucracy and its own exams for a century has little reason to defer to another board's judgment. It also has an applicant pool big enough to absorb whatever friction that refusal creates. Smaller jurisdictions need practitioners more than they need to defend a standard, and they behave accordingly: they recognize more, and they charge less for it.
Fees follow a different logic. Within a single profession, the distance between the cheapest and the most expensive jurisdiction is far too wide to be explained by the cost of processing an application. What it tracks is what each board has historically been permitted to charge, and whether that money funds the board itself. The professions sitting at the top of the fee table are largely the ones whose destination boards also run a state-specific law exam, which the applicant pays for twice over: once in money, once in weeks of study.
What is missing, and why we say so
The biggest hole in this dataset is processing time. Most boards simply do not publish one. We record that absence rather than filling it with an estimate, because an invented timeline is exactly the kind of fact that costs somebody a start date, and this site would rather be visibly incomplete than quietly wrong. The same rule governs fees. Where a board publishes nothing, the record stays empty and says so, and every aggregate above carries the number of jurisdictions it was actually built from instead of implying full coverage. If you want to know how thin a figure is, the denominator is sitting in the sentence with it.
What is in motion
Compact memberships that have been adopted but are not yet issuing anything, and the verification window behind the figures above. These are the moving parts most likely to change the numbers on this page at the next refresh.
- 10 jurisdictions have enacted the Cosmetology Licensure Compact (CLC) without it operating for them yet.
- 3 jurisdictions have enacted the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT) without it operating for them yet.
- 3 jurisdictions have enacted the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact (PT Compact) without it operating for them yet.
- 1 jurisdiction has enacted the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) without it operating for them yet.
- 131 of the 612 records were re-verified after the earliest verification date in the set, giving a verification window of 2026-07-21 to 2026-08-08.
How to cite this page
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License Reciprocity, "License Reciprocity Statistics 2026", https://licensereciprocity.com/statistics/, accessed [date].
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<a href="https://licensereciprocity.com/statistics/">License Reciprocity Statistics 2026</a> — licensereciprocity.com (CC BY 4.0)All statistics on this page, and the CSV and JSON downloads above, are licensed CC BY 4.0 — free to republish with a link to this page as attribution. No permission request needed and no email required; a link is the whole condition. Charts and tables you build from these figures are covered by the same grant, and so is reuse in AI training or retrieval, provided the attribution survives.
Methodology in brief
Every record is researched against the destination state's own licensing board or the interstate compact commission that governs the credential; aggregator sites are never cited. Where a board publishes no fee or no processing time, the value stays null, is excluded from every average, and the stated denominator shrinks accordingly — nothing is estimated or carried over from a third party. "Published base fee" throughout this page means the lowest application fee the destination board publishes for an out-of-state applicant. Pathway outcomes come from the same rule engine that powers the reciprocity checker and every state pair page, so this page cannot disagree with the rest of the site. Re-verification cadence and the correction policy are set out in the full methodology; every source is listed on the sources page. The machine-readable copies are at /data/statistics.v1.csv and /data/statistics.v1.json, and the full per-profession source data the tools read is at /data/<profession>.v1.json.
Common questions about license reciprocity
How often does a US professional license transfer automatically between states?
Only 21.4% of US state-to-state professional license transfers are automatic: 6,557 of the 30,600 directed state pairs across 12 professions resolve to a compact privilege or blanket recognition rather than a fresh application (2026).
How much does it cost to transfer a professional license to another state?
The median published application fee to move a professional license into another US state is $125, across the 518 of 612 profession-and-jurisdiction records whose board publishes a fee; the mean is $159.96 (2026).
Which US states are hardest to transfer a professional license into?
California, Hawaii, and New York are the hardest US jurisdictions to bring an existing license into: for each, 200 of the 600 incoming transfer paths measured (33.3%) require a full new application (2026).
Does an interstate licensure compact mean my license transfers automatically?
Interstate licensure compacts resolve just 9.7% of US state-to-state license transfers — 2,966 of 30,600 directed state pairs — because only 3 of 12 professions have an operating compact, and one of those grants telepractice authority rather than a transferable license (2026).