Hello! I am a newly licensed nurse in the State of NY, fresh out of school and just passed the NCLEX (2 days ago!)

Although I'm licensed in NY, I just moved to south FL and am seeking work here. I was wondering if anyone can shed some light or personal experience on the endorsement process of FL? I was reading up on the FL BON website about it and it was mentioning Livescan Service for fingerprints? (never heard of anything like that before) Where do you find a place that does it and how much? Also some requirement to take a 2 hour Prevention of Medication Error course? Where do you take that? Hoping to find work as soon as possible but need to get this FL license handled first! Thank you to anyone who may have some information!

the information you seek is on the BON website...http://ce.nurse.com/state-nurse-ce-requirements/florida.....For more information, FAQs, and a list of all approved Livescan service providers please visit the Department’s website.

Yes thank you! The BON helped me answer questions for the most part. No information on if there's something like a temporary license available or anything but I think I will call them today and hopefully speak to someone. They listed some numbers on the site so thank you! :)

The Prevention of Medication course you can take online. It won't take you 2 hrs. When I applied for my FL RN lic. it was pretty quick and it didn't take but 2 or 3 weeks to get my license. Since that time I have moved so my license has expired. It cost me I think a little under $200 for everything. Good luck.

Oh cool thank you so much! Relieved to hear the course isn't so long and can be accessed online! I hope it's as quick as 2-3 weeks for me to retrieve my license as well! Thank you for your information!

Oh cool thank you so much! Relieved to hear the course isn't so long and can be accessed online! I hope it's as quick as 2-3 weeks for me to retrieve my license as well! Thank you for your information!

This doesn't mean you can't apply for work now, though. Tell the places you apply that your FL license is pending, and you've taken the online course and sent in your prints (when you have, of course). They see this all the time and will understand.

Absolutely! I was hoping they offered like a temporary license to have while you wait so I could start work immediately but unfortunately they don't. I will deff apply as soon as possible so then maybe I'll have a job lined up and ready as soon as the FL license is available. Now just have to figure out which hospitals here are good to work at. Thank you for your advice!

To find LiveScan in Florida (or if you're still in NY, in New York), check your local directory or Google it. If you don't have LiveScan in your area, you should be able to send in a fingerprint card--those you can usually have done at your local courthouse. But check with the FL BON first.

Yes thank you! The BON helped me answer questions for the most part. No information on if there's something like a temporary license available or anything but I think I will call them today and hopefully speak to someone. They listed some numbers on the site so thank you! :)

They do not issue temporary license in FL that I know of.

Yes you're right I called and asked but they do not offer a temp license. I did some research and learned that often the local police dept offers livescan service so that might work. Just wish my license could be transferred by reprocity (sp?) rather than endorsement. Seems like an easier process.

only if you were licensed in a compact state does reciprocity apply and Florida isn't one of them. apply by endorsement is reciprocity as they are not making you take another test. Florida does take a bit longer and have a few more requirements as they have such a transient seasonal population and have had problems in the past with licensure and transient/seasonal nurses with discipline on their license.

What is a compact state? I will do anything to avoid taking another test, that was torture! I've read from others as well that FL can be slow about endorsements.

Yes you're right I called and asked but they do not offer a temp license. I did some research and learned that often the local police dept offers livescan service so that might work. Just wish my license could be transferred by reprocity (sp?) rather than endorsement. Seems like an easier process.

Same thing, same process. No difference, just a different word. Sorry. :)

I got my fingerprints done at the local state police barracks. I had to get them two or three times one year, and I got to be really friendly with the booking officer. :) But the BoNs that wanted them had particular forms I had to bring with me. Sigh.

You can get your first nursing license in any state (let's call it State 1) by applying to that state's Board of Nursing (BoN) and getting their approval to sit the NCLEX exam in their jurisdiction. You don't have to have gone to school in State 1 to do this. You have to meet whatever criteria they want-- your nursing school has to be accepted by them (some states approve schools that other states won't approve), if there are fingerprinting or other requirements, they'll want a transcript, and they want the money. Then when you pass NCLEX you are granted a State 1 RN license.

So now you want to move to State 2. You write to the State 2 BoN and tell them you want a State 2 license by reciprocity (or by endorsement, same thing for practical intent and purpose). They tell you what they want, which may be all of the above again, and the money, and then they send you a State 2 license. Unlike your driver's license, you don't have to turn in your State 1 license. You can be licensed in as many states as you like (or can afford). :)

24 states are part of a Nursing Licensure Compact*. Compact states grant you the ability to practice within their borders if your license is from another Compact state (a state where you have your primary legal residence) without going through all that process outlined above (though you probably will have to pay something). If your legal residence isn't a Compact state, you can still get a license in State 2, though. And 3, and 4, and 5...

As an example: My primary legal residence is not a Compact state. I have a license there. I do some work in a neighboring state which is a Compact state, but since my home state isn't, I got it by reciprocity/ see above process. Now I have a Compact state license so I should be good to go to any other Compact state and get a license easily, right? Wrong, because my legal residence is in a nonCompact state.

So I have licenses in 8 states and they cost me a bloody fortune because I had to go through that whole process in every single one of them, even though most are Compact states. Order a college transcript (at $10 per) for all. NY wants me to take an online class on recognizing and reporting abuse-- time and money. Two or three states want me to pay for background checks-- a coupla hunnert bucks per. A few others want fingerprints...on their forms only, done by recognized law enforcement (as I said, the local State Police barracks got used to seeing a lot of me there for awhile). Many, but not all, participate in a national licensure verification system called Nursys, so I pay for Nursys to verify my license in all the states they work with to all the rest of them, at $30 each...but California doesn't participate in Nursys, so it's $60 to have them verify my license to everyone else. Each. And so on.

* 24 Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) States (current)

COMPACT STATES / IMPLEMENTATION DATE

Arizona 7/1/2002

Arkansas 7/1/2000

Colorado 10/1/2007

Delaware 7/1/2000

Idaho 7/1/2001

Iowa 7/1/2000

Kentucky 6/1/2007

Maine 7/1/2001

Maryland 7/1/1999

Mississippi 7/1/2001

Missouri 6/1/2010

Nebraska 1/1/2001

New Hampshire 1/1/2006

New Mexico 1/1/2004

North Carolina 7/1/2000

North Dakota 1/1/2004

Rhode Island 7/1/2008

South Carolina 2/1/2006

South Dakota 1/1/2001

Tennessee 7/1/2003

Texas 1/1/2000

Utah 1/1/2000

Virginia 1/1/2005

Wisconsin 1/1/2000