Wishing to work in California, from another state

U.S.A. California

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since there have been so many threads started on this, thought that a sticky would answer most questions about this.

1. you must endorse to california, you do not transfer a license. you will continue to maintain an active license in the original state until it expires if you do not renew it.

2. you need to follow the license by endorsement application, you can find it on ca brn website.

3. california requires a completed set of transcripts from your nursing school before they will issue you a permanent license.

4. they need verification from your state licensing authority. if ca has received that or the state is part of nursys, then you can actually go to the brn in sacramento and get a temporary license issued that same day.

5. otherwise, expect it to take about one month for you to receive the license once they have received all documents.

On a related note... Has any Excelsior graduates applied for endorsement in CA and had any problems? I've heard CA can reject your endorsement application based on the fact they don't accept Excelsior.

I've read that CA does not accept Excelsior due to lack of clinical hours. Is there work exerience you can get with your LVN license or that out of state RN license that will complete that need. I've contacted the board in CA and seems no one wants to answer.

I am a nursing student in an associate's degree program in Louisiana and I will be graduating in May of 2009. My fiance is already living in Cali due to him getting stationed there because he is in the military. Can't I just take the boards in Cali to get my license there instead of getting a license here and then "endorsing" it to get a Cali one??

I'm learning a lot about this subject, but I'm not am expert. From what I understand, CA will only let you sit for the boards if your education matches their requirements. If you are going to Excelsior, they will not approve your application. I've confirmed this both through CA board and Excelsior. I'm trying to find out now if there is some way to get work experience or other that can be added to the Excelsior educaton that will be acceptable to CA. If you don't go to Excelsior, call the CA board to see if the program you are going to meets their requirement. Good luck!

I've read that CA does not accept Excelsior due to lack of clinical hours. Is there work exerience you can get with your LVN license or that out of state RN license that will complete that need. I've contacted the board in CA and seems no one wants to answer.

Ca does not accept Excelsior training for licensure. And you cannot endorse a license from another state when you trained and obtained your license from Excelsior, unless you got licensed several years ago initially before the ruling went into place.

You will have to complete an approved program in order to get licensed in CA. The NCLEX exam has reciprocity with all of the 50 states and territories, that means that you do not need to write the exam ever but one time if you keep a license current. However, one must meet the education requirements of the new state in order to be able to get licensed or endorse a previous license there. And this is where many are having issues.

Best of luck to you. There are quite a few programs that are actually accepted in CA and will also be accepted in all 50 states. Always recommend that someone go that route.

I would have a good read on the Distance Learning Forum, much has been written on this topic. There is also a statement about it on the website for the BRN, or at least there used to be.

Specializes in OBGYN.
One can easily do a walk-thru in Sacramento and get the temporary license issued that same day, provided that the original state is in Nursys or they have received the verification from the BON beforehand.

If so, it can all be done in just a few hours, including getting the LiveScan done.

hi suzanne

does that work for a foriegn grad too? live scan is done there? not in advance before going to sacramento?

You are so right, If you have all required documents BRN will have your license processed within a month. I applied for mine on october 8th and had one issued on october 22 2008

hi suzanne

does that work for a foriegn grad too? live scan is done there? not in advance before going to sacramento?

This goes for the foreign grad as well. As long as they have your verification from the original state or it can be obtained by them thru Nursys, then there is no issue with going to Sacramento.

LiveScan can be done at the Dept of Justice (DOJ) and on the same day.

Still a little confused.. I am in NY at the Sage Colleges (BSN).

**How do I find out if I meet CA education requirments?

**Also, will training programs have a problem with a temporary license?

I am thinking I will get my license in NY in June then transfer it to CA when I have a job set up.

Until you are able to submit a completed set of transcripts to them , there is no way to find out.

You will not be transferring a license, there is no such thing as that in the US. You will be applying for endorsement if you actually have a license number assigned to you from another state.

Not sure which area of CA that you are considering moving to, but most definitely have a job before you move out here. Unemployment is up to just under 10% and quite a few of the new grads out here are having issues with getting hired. Several facilities that were set to start new grad orientation programs next week have cancelled out and all that were hired by them are without jobs now as well.

Never any issue with a temporary license to get hired, but the issue will be not having any experience.

Best of luck to you.

Do people usually have problems with educational requirements? I will be graduating from the University of Hawaii with my BSN in May. Do they just reject programs or certain classes such as prerequisites? Thanks in advance for any info?

Not all programs in all states meet the requirements everywhere. The BRN will do a review of your credentials and then let you know if you meet their requirements.

But just as a side note, not sure where in CA that you are wishing to work, but you need to be aware that there are many new grads that have actually trained in CA that are out of work at this time. And they are having to move to other locales so that they can start as an RN.

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