Guam joins Nurse Licensure Compact

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero signed the Nurse Licensure Compact bill into law on Friday allowing registered nurses to practice in participating states and territories.

"It allows over two million registered nurses and licensed practical nurses to quickly mobilize and respond to emergencies without the need for a state declaration," Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero wrote on Bill 13-36. "And it opens the door to critical telehealth services for isolated populations such as our own."

According to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Guam is the first territory to adopt the compact and there are currently 35 states participating. 

According to the NCSBN, Guam’s entry into the compact will enable nurses holding an active, unencumbered multistate license to practice in Guam to assist with the nursing shortage. Residents of Guam will not be able to obtain a multistate license until the NLC is fully implemented in 2022.

Primary bill sponsor Sen. Mary Camacho Torres said, “Today, Guam joins a growing number of states stepping into the future of nurse licensure. With the enactment of the NLC, nurses from other member states can now come here and practice immediately, increasing our people’s access to safe, quality care without the need to apply and wait for a Guam nursing license or disaster declaration.”