Moving between states / Alaska

Flag of South DakotaSouth DakotatoFlag of AlaskaAlaska, RN or LPN

Moving from South Dakota to Alaska as a registered or practical nurse

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

Endorsement needed. Alaska is not in the Nurse Licensure Compact, so your South Dakota multistate licence does not work there. Apply to the Alaska Board of Nursing for licensure by endorsement before you move; it commonly takes six to twelve weeks. Your South Dakota licence stays valid for compact states.

What the move does to your paycheck

Neither South Dakota nor Alaska taxes wages, so the move changes nothing on the state line of your paycheck.

SalarySouth Dakota state taxAlaska state taxDifference a year
$40,000$0$0$0
$60,000$0$0$0
$90,000$0$0$0

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 Dakota to Alaska

Transfers by reciprocity. Your South Dakota certificate stays on the South Dakota Board of Nursing, Nurse Aide Registry; to work in Alaska you apply to the Alaska Board of Nursing (Certified Nurse Aide program) 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 Dakota to Alaska

Reciprocity likely. Alaska licenses electricians at state level through the Alaska Department of Labor, Mechanical Inspection, and State certificate of fitness for journeymen; Alaska takes part in the western reciprocity group, so a journeyman card from a partner state can be endorsed. Your South Dakota licence comes from the South Dakota Electrical Commission, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: South Dakota to Alaska

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

  • Permanent Fund Dividend: roughly $1,000 to $1,700 a year. For every resident after a full calendar year in the state; not a relocation grant, but paid every year.

Openings filed in Alaska

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

Your own route from South Dakota to Alaska

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 Alaska employers.

Plan my move to Alaska

Same move, by trade

CNA: South Dakota to Alaska · Electrician: South Dakota to Alaska · Truck driver: South Dakota to Alaska · All licences: South Dakota to Alaska

From South Dakota to the states next to Alaska

To Alaska from the states next to South Dakota

North Dakota · Minnesota · Iowa · Nebraska · Wyoming · Montana

Everything about working in Alaska · 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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