Moving between states / Colorado

Flag of NevadaNevadatoFlag of ColoradoColorado, RN or LPN

Moving from Nevada to Colorado as a registered or practical nurse

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

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Nevada is not in the compact, so your Nevada licence is single-state. Apply to the Colorado 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 Colorado 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 Colorado takes roughly $2,640 a year more than Nevada does, because you are leaving a state with no income tax on wages.

SalaryNevada state taxColorado state taxDifference a year
$40,000$0$1,760-$1,760
$60,000$0$2,640-$2,640
$90,000$0$3,960-$3,960

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: Nevada to Colorado

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Nevada certificate stays on the Nevada State Board of Nursing, Certified Nursing Assistant program; to work in Colorado you apply to the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, 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.

Electrician: Nevada to Colorado

Exam likely. Colorado licenses at state level through the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA) and reciprocates with other state boards, but Nevada licenses locally through the Nevada State Contractors Board, which is not a party to those agreements. Expect to document your hours and sit the Colorado journeyman exam.

CDL: Nevada to Colorado

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

No statewide program in Colorado 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 Colorado

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

Your own route from Nevada to Colorado

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 Colorado employers.

Plan my move to Colorado

Same move, by trade

CNA: Nevada to Colorado · Electrician: Nevada to Colorado · Truck driver: Nevada to Colorado · All licences: Nevada to Colorado

From Nevada to the states next to Colorado

Wyoming (no state income tax) · Nebraska (progressive, top rate 5.2%) · Kansas (progressive, top rate 5.58%) · Oklahoma (progressive, top rate 4.75%) · New Mexico (progressive, top rate 5.9%) · Arizona (flat 2.5% state income tax) · Utah (flat 4.5% state income tax)

To Colorado from the states next to Nevada

Oregon · Idaho · Utah · Arizona · California

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

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