Moving between states / Idaho

Flag of MinnesotaMinnesotatoFlag of IdahoIdaho, RN or LPN

Moving from Minnesota to Idaho as a registered or practical nurse

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

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Minnesota is not in the compact, so your Minnesota licence is single-state. Apply to the Idaho 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 Idaho 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 Idaho leaves you roughly $957 a year more than Minnesota does, because Idaho's rate is lower.

SalaryMinnesota state taxIdaho state taxDifference a year
$40,000$2,758$2,120+$638
$60,000$4,137$3,180+$957
$90,000$6,206$4,770+$1,436

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: Minnesota to Idaho

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Minnesota certificate stays on the Minnesota Department of Health, Nursing Assistant Registry; to work in Idaho you apply to the Idaho Nurse Aide Registry (administered by Prometric for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare) 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: Minnesota to Idaho

Reciprocity likely. Idaho licenses electricians at state level through the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, Electrical Board, and Idaho reciprocates with most western states for journeymen who tested there and worked a year. Your Minnesota licence comes from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: Minnesota to Idaho

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

No statewide program in Idaho 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? Minnesota has Harmony new-home rebate. See moving from Idaho to Minnesota.

Openings filed in Idaho

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

Your own route from Minnesota to Idaho

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 Idaho employers.

Plan my move to Idaho

Same move, by trade

CNA: Minnesota to Idaho · Electrician: Minnesota to Idaho · Truck driver: Minnesota to Idaho · All licences: Minnesota to Idaho

From Minnesota to the states next to Idaho

Washington (no state income tax) · Oregon (progressive, top rate 9.9%) · Nevada (no state income tax) · Utah (flat 4.5% state income tax) · Wyoming (no state income tax) · Montana (progressive, top rate 5.9%)

To Idaho from the states next to Minnesota

North Dakota · South Dakota · Iowa · Wisconsin

Everything about working in Idaho · All moves between states · All 50 states

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

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