Moving between states / Wisconsin

Flag of NevadaNevadatoFlag of WisconsinWisconsin, Truck driver

Moving from Nevada to Wisconsin as a CDL holder

What a CDL holder licensed in Nevada has to do to work in Wisconsin, what the move does to your pay, and who in Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin resident you surrender the Nevada CDL at a Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Wisconsin takes roughly $3,213 a year more than Nevada does, because you are leaving a state with no income tax on wages.

SalaryNevada state taxWisconsin state taxDifference a year
$40,000$0$2,142-$2,142
$60,000$0$3,213-$3,213
$90,000$0$4,819-$4,819

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 Wisconsin

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Nevada certificate stays on the Nevada State Board of Nursing, Certified Nursing Assistant program; to work in Wisconsin you apply to the Wisconsin Nurse Aide Registry (Department of Health Services) 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: Nevada to Wisconsin

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Nevada is not in the compact, so your Nevada licence is single-state. Apply to the Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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: Nevada to Wisconsin

Exam required. Wisconsin licenses electricians through the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services and does not reciprocate with any state. Your Nevada hours count toward eligibility, so get them certified in writing by the Nevada State Contractors Board before you move and book the Wisconsin exam early.

No statewide program in Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin

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

Your own route from Nevada to Wisconsin

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 Wisconsin employers.

Plan my move to Wisconsin

Same move, by trade

CNA: Nevada to Wisconsin · RN or LPN: Nevada to Wisconsin · Electrician: Nevada to Wisconsin · All licences: Nevada to Wisconsin

From Nevada to the states next to Wisconsin

Michigan (flat 4.25% state income tax) · Minnesota (progressive, top rate 9.85%) · Iowa (flat 3.8% state income tax) · Illinois (flat 4.95% state income tax)

To Wisconsin from the states next to Nevada

Oregon · Idaho · Utah · Arizona · California

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

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