Moving between states / Virginia

Flag of South CarolinaSouth CarolinatoFlag of VirginiaVirginia, RN or LPN

Moving from South Carolina to Virginia as a registered or practical nurse

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

Works on day one. Both South Carolina and Virginia are in the Nurse Licensure Compact. A multistate RN or LPN licence from South Carolina is valid in Virginia the day you arrive. Once Virginia is your primary residence, apply there for a Virginia multistate licence; most boards allow 30 to 60 days.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Virginia leaves you roughly $189 a year more than South Carolina does, because Virginia's rate is lower.

SalarySouth Carolina state taxVirginia state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,736$1,610+$126
$60,000$2,604$2,415+$189
$90,000$3,906$3,622+$284

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: South Carolina to Virginia

Transfers by reciprocity. Your South Carolina certificate stays on the South Carolina Nurse Aide Registry (Department of Health and Human Services, administered by Credentia); to work in Virginia you apply to the Virginia Board of Nursing, Certified 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: South Carolina to Virginia

Reciprocity likely. Virginia licenses electricians at state level through the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, Board for Contractors, and reciprocity for journeymen and masters licensed in a state with a comparable exam. Your South Carolina licence comes from the South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board and Residential Builders Commission, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: South Carolina to Virginia

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

No statewide program in Virginia 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 Virginia

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

Your own route from South Carolina to Virginia

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 Virginia employers.

Plan my move to Virginia

Same move, by trade

CNA: South Carolina to Virginia · Electrician: South Carolina to Virginia · Truck driver: South Carolina to Virginia · All licences: South Carolina to Virginia

From South Carolina to the states next to Virginia

Maryland (progressive, top rate 5.75%) · West Virginia (progressive, top rate 4.82%) · Kentucky (flat 4% state income tax) · Tennessee (no state income tax) · North Carolina (flat 4.25% state income tax)

To Virginia from the states next to South Carolina

North Carolina · Georgia

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

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