Moving between states / North Dakota

Flag of West VirginiaWest VirginiatoFlag of North DakotaNorth Dakota, CNA

Moving from West Virginia to North Dakota as a certified nursing assistant

What a certified nursing assistant licensed in West Virginia has to do to work in North Dakota, what the move does to your pay, and who in North Dakota is hiring from out of state.

Transfers by reciprocity. Your West Virginia certificate stays on the West Virginia Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification, Nurse Aide Registry; to work in North Dakota you apply to the North Dakota Board of Nursing, 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.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary North Dakota leaves you roughly $974 a year more than West Virginia does, because North Dakota's rate is lower.

SalaryWest Virginia state taxNorth Dakota state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,350$700+$650
$60,000$2,024$1,050+$974
$90,000$3,037$1,575+$1,462

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.

RN and LPN: West Virginia to North Dakota

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

Electrician: West Virginia to North Dakota

Reciprocity likely. North Dakota licenses electricians at state level through the North Dakota State Electrical Board, and reciprocity with a group of upper-midwest and western states for journeymen. Your West Virginia licence comes from the West Virginia State Fire Marshal, Electrician Licensing, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: West Virginia to North Dakota

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

No statewide program in North Dakota 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.

Going the other way? West Virginia has Ascend West Virginia. See moving from North Dakota to West Virginia.

Openings filed in North Dakota

67 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by North Dakota employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from West Virginia to North Dakota

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 North Dakota employers.

Plan my move to North Dakota

Same move, by trade

RN or LPN: West Virginia to North Dakota · Electrician: West Virginia to North Dakota · Truck driver: West Virginia to North Dakota · All licences: West Virginia to North Dakota

From West Virginia to the states next to North Dakota

Minnesota (progressive, top rate 9.85%) · South Dakota (no state income tax) · Montana (progressive, top rate 5.9%)

To North Dakota from the states next to West Virginia

Ohio · Pennsylvania · Maryland · Virginia · Kentucky

Everything about working in North Dakota · All moves between states · All 50 states

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