Fingerprinting in Georgia for TX, FL, and CA RN License

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Specializes in ER.

Hi, I'm getting ready to start traveling and I want to get my licenses in order. I live in Georgia and I'm applying for licenses in California, Florida, and Texas. I'm having a hard time finding a place in Georgia to do electronic (LiveScan) prints for the other states. I don't want to do it in ink if I can avoid that, because it will take longer to process. I went to a place here in GA and the guy told me his company was authorized to submit digitals to FL, but not TX and CA. However, he said that their GA office did not have the equipment to do the digitals for FL so I would have to do ink anyway. If any of you have done out of state prints in GA, please tell me where you went to. thanks in advance

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Go to California and Floridas board of nursing website and request they send you fingerprint cards. You have to do the live scan in the state that you wish to obtain licensure.

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Not necessarily. Both Florida and DC utilize the private company L1 with Livescan offices in many states. L1 can also transfer fingerprint cards by mail to the required electronic format for processing. Florida doesn't specify a Livescan provider but says you can use any one of them.

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Specializes in ER.

Thanks BluntForceTrauma, but I have access to the cards, but I was trying to avoid that route because electronic prints get processed faster. Sorry if I wasn't clear. Thanks NedRN, you don't happen to know anything about TX or CA do you?

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CA requires in state if you want to do live scan. Doing that way can land you a temp in under a week best case (board says 1 - 2 weeks) versus 1 - 2 months for mail in fingerprint cards. I don't know much about TX except that I never want to work there. Horrible working conditions, horrible board (nursing is 8 times the cost of the rest of the country). Their politicians are worse than average as well.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Dialysis, Plasmapheresis.

NedRN: I am surprised to hear you say that about Texas! I'm not a floor nurse, so I guess it's different, but my experience there was pretty good. Have you ever worked there or can you elaborate on why the board or working conditions are horrible? I considered eventually going back, maybe I got lucky.

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Only what I hear from others. Bad managers, high patient nurse ratios, lots of issues with nurses being reported to boards, Dallas Ft Worth Hospital Association blacklist. To me it is like Florida, worth a holiday, but I'd prefer to work elsewhere (yes, I have worked in Florida). But hey, Texas is full of nurses who seem to be able to survive there. But I think the cost of there is cautionary (which is why I had mentioned it previously). I'm not a floor nurse either, I suppose they get dumped on the most.

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That's weird, because I have fingerprints for Alaska and Oregon (those states mailed them to me), and I live in Georgia, metro Atlanta as a matter of fact, and cannot find anyone to do ink scans. All the police departments and the UPS stores that do fingerprints only do the Live Scan.

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Specializes in CTICU/CVICU.
Only what I hear from others. Bad managers high patient nurse ratios, lots of issues with nurses being reported to boards, Dallas Ft Worth Hospital Association blacklist. .[/quote']

Please don't generalize a state that you have never worked in, based on hearsay. A lot of people on this site value your opinion (myself included) so you saying this is kinda like Oprah saying this..lol.

All jokes aside, Texas is the second largest state in the country with such diverse working conditions you can't believe that it is horrible everywhere. Yes, I'm sure on some floors it is horrid (I also don't work on the floor but I have friends who do here in Texas) but there are horrible floors in every state, Florida included! I've actually heard worst stories from friends who work on floors in NJ, my home state.

Please don't base any opinions about a state from someone who has never worked there themselves.

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All my opinions are based on opinions of travelers who have actually worked there. Yes, it is a vast generalization, but if you answer every question with an "it depends", no useful information has been transferred. Then there are dead factual issues like the blacklist I mentioned above that is well and thriving, and even expanding outside of Texas. The high costs are not random, actuaries don't do random. Attitudes by management and physicians are among the worst in the country.

Here is another vast generalization for comparison: California is generally great to work in. Start with the mandated maximum patient ratios. Next try pay.

Try saying something nice like that about Texas. I don't hate Texas, in fact I've worked there before I became a nurse. But nursing sucks there. As a generalization. It is what it is, my opinion. If you think Texas is a great state for travelers to head to, well I respect your opinion (but I noticed you haven't said so)!

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Specializes in Telemetry, Medical Surgical, Dialysis.

Grapenut, have you tried calling the Cherokee County Sheriff's office in Canton, GA? I was able to have my prints done there for California.

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Specializes in CTICU/CVICU.
All my opinions are based on opinions of travelers who have actually worked there. Yes, it is a vast generalization, but if you answer every question with an "it depends", no useful information has been transferred. Then there are dead factual issues like the blacklist I mentioned above that is well and thriving, and even expanding outside of Texas. The high malpractice insurance costs are not random, actuaries don't do random. Attitudes by management and physicians are among the worst in the country.

Here is another vast generalization for comparison: California is generally great to work in. Start with the mandated maximum patient ratios. Next try pay.

Try saying something nice like that about Texas. I don't hate Texas, in fact I've worked there before I became a nurse. But nursing sucks there. As a generalization. It is what it is, my opinion. If you think Texas is a great state for travelers to head to, well I respect your opinion (but I noticed you haven't said so)!

Well, I'd rather someone say it depends on things such as the location, the organizational hospital, the specific floor. Instead you said "bad managers, horrible patient ratio, etc.". How can you say that when you (or the people you reference) haven't experienced every manager or every floor. Something more helpful would be "I have heard in Dallas, some some say the managers are horrible" or "I have heard the patient-nurse ratio on San Antonio sucks". That would be more help.

The blacklist isn't as bad a people who are outside of here thinks and it does not apply all over Texas. There is more than meets the eye there.

And if you have never worked here in Texas as a nurse, how can you say it sucks? Lol! I know lots of nurses, myself included, who actually work here in different units and settings who love it here as a nurse. I actually MOVED here for nursing and the opportunities it has afforded me. I also work agency at HCA hospitals (bet you heard those sucked too, eh?) and I have had all good experiences there. Will everyone have the same experience as me? No, probably not because...it all depends! Lol. I can only offer up my personal experience.

I'll say this..as a new grad, Texas was the only place that was open and welcoming to me as a new grad. I couldn't get the position I had any my own home state and probably not in California. And of course California has a high pay, there is a high cost of living. So, that balances out.

And yes, I believe Texas is a great place for a traveler, given by Texas travelers who I have personally worked with, know and those who say so on this site. A little research on here will show that.

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