Moving between states / North Dakota

Flag of KentuckyKentuckytoFlag of North DakotaNorth Dakota, Truck driver

Moving from Kentucky to North Dakota as a CDL holder

What a CDL holder licensed in Kentucky has to do to work in North Dakota, what the move does to your pay, and who in North Dakota is hiring from out of state.

Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a North Dakota resident you surrender the Kentucky CDL at a North Dakota 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 North Dakota. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary North Dakota leaves you roughly $1,350 a year more than Kentucky does, because North Dakota's rate is lower.

SalaryKentucky state taxNorth Dakota state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,600$700+$900
$60,000$2,400$1,050+$1,350
$90,000$3,600$1,575+$2,025

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. In Kentucky: many cities and counties add an occupational tax. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: Kentucky to North Dakota

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Kentucky certificate stays on the Kentucky Board of Nursing, Nurse Aide Registry; to work in North Dakota you apply to the North Dakota Board of Nursing, Nurse Aide Registry 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.

RN and LPN: Kentucky to North Dakota

Works on day one. Both Kentucky and North Dakota are in the Nurse Licensure Compact. A multistate RN or LPN licence from Kentucky is valid in North Dakota the day you arrive. Once North Dakota is your primary residence, apply there for a North Dakota multistate licence; most boards allow 30 to 60 days.

Electrician: Kentucky to North Dakota

Reciprocity likely. North Dakota licenses electricians at state level through the North Dakota State Electrical Board, and reciprocity with a group of upper-midwest and western states for journeymen. Your Kentucky licence comes from the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, Electrical Licensing, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

No statewide program in North Dakota 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.

Openings filed in North Dakota

67 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by North Dakota employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from Kentucky to North Dakota

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 North Dakota employers.

Plan my move to North Dakota

Same move, by trade

CNA: Kentucky to North Dakota · RN or LPN: Kentucky to North Dakota · Electrician: Kentucky to North Dakota · All licences: Kentucky to North Dakota

From Kentucky to the states next to North Dakota

Minnesota (progressive, top rate 9.85%) · South Dakota (no state income tax) · Montana (progressive, top rate 5.9%)

To North Dakota from the states next to Kentucky

Indiana · Ohio · West Virginia · Virginia · Tennessee · Missouri · Illinois

Everything about working in North Dakota · All moves between states · All 50 states

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