Moving between states / South Carolina

Flag of AlaskaAlaskatoFlag of South CarolinaSouth Carolina, RN or LPN

Moving from Alaska to South Carolina as a registered or practical nurse

What a registered or practical nurse licensed in Alaska has to do to work in South Carolina, what the move does to your pay, and who in South Carolina is hiring from out of state.

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Alaska is not in the compact, so your Alaska licence is single-state. Apply to the South Carolina board for licensure by endorsement (Nursys verification, fingerprints, the board's fee); six to twelve weeks is normal, so start before you give notice. Because South Carolina is a compact state, ask for the new licence to be issued as a multistate licence: from then on it works in every compact state.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary South Carolina takes roughly $2,604 a year more than Alaska does, because you are leaving a state with no income tax on wages.

SalaryAlaska state taxSouth Carolina state taxDifference a year
$40,000$0$1,736-$1,736
$60,000$0$2,604-$2,604
$90,000$0$3,906-$3,906

Rough figures for a single filer: exact in the flat-rate and no-tax states, approximated at 70% of the top bracket in the progressive ones. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: Alaska to South Carolina

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Alaska certificate stays on the Alaska Board of Nursing (Certified Nurse Aide program); to work in South Carolina you apply to the South Carolina Nurse Aide Registry (Department of Health and Human Services, administered by Credentia) for reciprocity. It accepts an active certificate in good standing from another state; there is no retest if your record is clean. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.

Electrician: Alaska to South Carolina

Reciprocity likely. South Carolina licenses electricians at state level through the South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board and Residential Builders Commission, and Electrical contractors are state-licensed; journeymen are licensed by some cities and counties. Contractor reciprocity with a few states. Your Alaska licence comes from the Alaska Department of Labor, Mechanical Inspection, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: Alaska to South Carolina

Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a South Carolina resident you surrender the Alaska CDL at a South Carolina driver licence office, pass the vision test, pay the fee, and your endorsements carry over. A hazmat endorsement needs a fresh TSA threat assessment in South Carolina. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.

No statewide program in South Carolina pays people to move in. Towns sometimes list an offer through MakeMyMove, and employers in short-staffed trades pay relocation themselves; ask for it in writing before you accept.

Going the other way? Alaska has Permanent Fund Dividend. See moving from South Carolina to Alaska.

Openings filed in South Carolina

78 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by South Carolina employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from Alaska to South Carolina

Tell us your trade and your licence. We write the steps for your case, check the job offer for scams, and keep your resume ready for South Carolina employers.

Plan my move to South Carolina

Same move, by trade

CNA: Alaska to South Carolina · Electrician: Alaska to South Carolina · Truck driver: Alaska to South Carolina · All licences: Alaska to South Carolina

From Alaska to the states next to South Carolina

North Carolina (flat 4.25% state income tax) · Georgia (flat 5.19% state income tax)

To South Carolina from the states next to Alaska

Everything about working in South Carolina · All moves between states · All 50 states

Moving for a job? Start with your state.

Licence transfer, what the state takes from your pay, and who pays you to come. Free, no account.

Pick the state