Licenses used to be worth what they covered. That is changing, and it changes how you choose.
The old arithmetic
A license in one state let you work in that state. Adding a second was worth adding if you had work in the second state. There was no leverage: two licenses bought two states.
The new arithmetic
Under a privilege model, a license in a member state is the qualifying license for privileges across every other member state. Its value is no longer the state on the certificate — it is the reach it unlocks.
Which produces an uncomfortable comparison. A license in a large non-member state, in the market where you actually live and work, is worth exactly that state. A license in a small member state you have never set foot in may be worth considerably more, because it is a key rather than a door.
What follows
Do not let a member-state license lapse for lack of use. The renewal fee is the cheapest option you will ever hold. A license allowed to expire has to be reinstated or reapplied for, and reinstatement is its own process with its own delays.
When adding a license, weigh membership alongside convenience. Two states with similar fees and similar processing times are not equivalent if one is in the compact.
Watch renewal cycles. If one license is going to carry your privileges, its renewal date becomes the most important date in your professional calendar. Some states renew annually, some biennially, and some on your birth month in odd-numbered years.
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