Moving between states / Louisiana

Flag of MichiganMichigantoFlag of LouisianaLouisiana, CNA

Moving from Michigan to Louisiana as a certified nursing assistant

What a certified nursing assistant licensed in Michigan has to do to work in Louisiana, what the move does to your pay, and who in Louisiana is hiring from out of state.

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Michigan certificate stays on the Michigan Nurse Aide Registry (administered by Prometric for the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs); to work in Louisiana you apply to the Louisiana Department of Health, 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.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Louisiana leaves you roughly $750 a year more than Michigan does, because Louisiana's rate is lower.

SalaryMichigan state taxLouisiana state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,700$1,200+$500
$60,000$2,550$1,800+$750
$90,000$3,825$2,700+$1,125

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 Michigan: Detroit and some cities add a local income tax. Property and sales tax are not in it.

RN and LPN: Michigan to Louisiana

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Michigan is not in the compact, so your Michigan licence is single-state. Apply to the Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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.

Electrician: Michigan to Louisiana

Reciprocity likely. Louisiana licenses electricians at state level through the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, and The state licenses electrical contractors; journeyman cards come from parishes and cities. Reciprocity exists at contractor level with a few states. Your Michigan licence comes from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Electrical Administrative Board, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: Michigan to Louisiana

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

No statewide program in Louisiana 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 Louisiana

371 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Louisiana employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from Michigan to Louisiana

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 Louisiana employers.

Plan my move to Louisiana

Same move, by trade

RN or LPN: Michigan to Louisiana · Electrician: Michigan to Louisiana · Truck driver: Michigan to Louisiana · All licences: Michigan to Louisiana

From Michigan to the states next to Louisiana

Texas (no state income tax) · Arkansas (progressive, top rate 3.9%) · Mississippi (flat 4.4% state income tax)

To Louisiana from the states next to Michigan

Ohio · Indiana · Wisconsin

Everything about working in Louisiana · 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.

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