Moving between states / Tennessee

Flag of New YorkNew YorktoFlag of TennesseeTennessee, RN or LPN

Moving from New York to Tennessee as a registered or practical nurse

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

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. New York is not in the compact, so your New York licence is single-state. Apply to the Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee leaves you roughly $4,578 a year more than New York does, because Tennessee has no state income tax on wages.

SalaryNew York state taxTennessee state taxDifference a year
$40,000$3,052$0+$3,052
$60,000$4,578$0+$4,578
$90,000$6,867$0+$6,867

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 New York: New York City adds up to 3.876%. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: New York to Tennessee

Transfers by reciprocity. Your New York certificate stays on the New York State Nurse Aide Registry (administered by Prometric for the Department of Health); to work in Tennessee you apply to the Tennessee 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.

Electrician: New York to Tennessee

Exam likely. Tennessee licenses at state level through the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors and reciprocates with other state boards, but New York licenses locally through the City and county building departments, which is not a party to those agreements. Expect to document your hours and sit the Tennessee journeyman exam.

CDL: New York to Tennessee

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

No statewide program in Tennessee 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 Tennessee

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

Your own route from New York to Tennessee

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 Tennessee employers.

Plan my move to Tennessee

Same move, by trade

CNA: New York to Tennessee · Electrician: New York to Tennessee · Truck driver: New York to Tennessee · All licences: New York to Tennessee

From New York to the states next to Tennessee

Kentucky (flat 4% state income tax) · Virginia (progressive, top rate 5.75%) · North Carolina (flat 4.25% state income tax) · Georgia (flat 5.19% state income tax) · Alabama (progressive, top rate 5%) · Mississippi (flat 4.4% state income tax) · Arkansas (progressive, top rate 3.9%) · Missouri (progressive, top rate 4.7%)

To Tennessee from the states next to New York

Vermont · Massachusetts · Connecticut · New Jersey · Pennsylvania

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

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