Getting CA license, went to school in another state

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Lactation, Women's Health, Obstetrics.

Hi all,

Just wondering if any of you out there went to nursing school in a state other than CA, and then moved right to CA to take the NCLEX and get a CA license (without ever being licensed anywhere else)?

If so, maybe you can answer my questions...

I already know that graduating from a nursing program outside of CA causes the process of receiving the go ahead to take the NCLEX from the CA BON to take longer because they won't let you test until they have a completed file...and I realize that getting a completed file is dependent on many factors (especially on how long it takes for your school to send off that final transcript).

How long from the day you officially graduated were you notified that you could take the exam (ATT)? (this is assuming that prior to graduation you had sent in all the required paperwork and fingerprinting to the BON)

How long did it take for you to find out your test results? By mail and by seeing your name on the CA BON website?

I have read that you can get a temporary license pretty fast by going directly to the CA BON in Sacramento....but does this mean that you have to wait for the official snail mail paperwork that says that you passed the NCLEX? Or can you go straight to the BON after seeing your name on the website?

Anything else I should know?

Thanks for any info!:nuke:

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I Dont Know About How You Would Test Cause You Went To School Outside Of Ca. But For Myself, My School Sent My Paperwork To Bon And It Took A Month Before I Received My Aprroval Letter To Test. Once I Take The Nclex (which Is Tomorrow) It Will Take Another Month Before I Get The Results Cause Ca Don't Have Quick Results. You Might Want To Call Your School Or The The Ca Bon And Ask Them What To Do

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I Dont Know About How You Would Test Cause You Went To School Outside Of Ca. But For Myself, My School Sent My Paperwork To Bon And It Took A Month Before I Received My Aprroval Letter To Test. Once I Take The Nclex (which Is Tomorrow) It Will Take Another Month Before I Get The Results Cause Ca Don't Have Quick Results. You Might Want To Call Your School Or The The Ca Bon And Ask Them What To Do

You are in a different situation since you are writing the PN exam and not the RN which is handled thru an entirely different board.

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And to the OP, already responded to your question.

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Specializes in Trauma.

I came from NY and had the biggest hassle getting my license here. Let me tell you ways to AVOID the things I ran into. First, MAKE SURE your finger print card is hard copy and DO NOT allow them to BEND the card at the police station. This delayed me by a few weeks with the DOJ. Why, i cannot tell you. Just don't allow them to bend the card:)

Secondly, going directly to the BON will not expedite anything. You can however, pay cash which will allow a quick passing that you would have to go through with the billing if you pay with a check.

You have to file all of the paperwork with the BON and if you want an interim permit to work while you wait to take the boards, it is extra. However, when you sit for the boards, the IP is null and void and if you fail, you cannot get another one. FYI. Your school has to send their completion to the BON and that depends solely on your school.

As far as your ATT, it is pretty fast if they have all the paperwork, the cash, etc. Give them a good, working email and they will usually send the ATT through email much quicker than through mail.

If you pass, the general assumption is that your RN# will be online within 72 hours. However, some people have found that not always to be truth. I have taken the test 3 times and the first two times, I waited and never saw the RN# and had to wait the 4-6 weeks for the big white envelope. The third time, it was up online within 72 hours.

Good luck. I hope this helps, I have no idea how much time I spent on the phone talking with the BON and driving from the city to Sac town to expedite things and learned the hard way.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Lactation, Women's Health, Obstetrics.

Thanks everyone for your helpful responses!!

Does the ATT come directly from the BON or Pearson VUE? Thanks again!

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Specializes in Trauma.

Your ATT comes from Pearson AFTER you pay the $200 for the registration. You pay and then they will send you the ATT and THEN you can register a test date.

Good luck!!

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And they are unable to release the ATT until your state gives permission for them to do so. It is not automatically done when they receive payment for the exam.

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Going to Sacramento and getting a temporary license if you are endorsing, is actually quite fast and can be done in that one morning. Fingerprints can be done via LiveScan at the DOJ as well and then you do not worry about cards at all. As long as they have verification of your license that you hold by either the state sending it in or if the state is on Nursys.com and then you are all set. They will issue the permanent license when they have received your transcripts and reviewed them.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Lactation, Women's Health, Obstetrics.
And they are unable to release the ATT until your state gives permission for them to do so. It is not automatically done when they receive payment for the exam.

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Going to Sacramento and getting a temporary license if you are endorsing, is actually quite fast and can be done in that one morning. Fingerprints can be done via LiveScan at the DOJ as well and then you do not worry about cards at all. As long as they have verification of your license that you hold by either the state sending it in or if the state is on Nursys.com and then you are all set. They will issue the permanent license when they have received your transcripts and reviewed them.

Thanks for the info Suzanne!

If i'm understanding you correctly, going to Sacramento to get a temporary license is only applicable to someone who already has a license in another state who is endorsing and not for someone who has never had a license before?

Thanks!

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Exactly, you cannot get a temporary license if you do not hold a license already from another state. As I told you before, since you are under a deadline, it will be easier for you to go for licensure in your home state and then endorse to CA. You will be able to test quicker where you are, just as Ca grads can test quicker here as well.

Once you have passed the NCLEX-RN and have a license number assigned to you, then you can use the License by Endorsement process and get a temporary license handed to you directly in Sacramento if you have not received something by then.

The key is to have your school send in your transcripts right away, at the same time that they send them in for your state, and then have the BON send verification of the license number to the BRN if they do not participate in Nursys.

That is all that there is to it and you can also get your LiveScan done in Sacramento the day that you go up there at the DOJ (Dept of Justice).

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Specializes in Trauma.

Suzanne is right! It would have been FAR EASIER for me to sit and get my NY state license before coming to Ca, but the hospital who hired me, wanted me to be out to start in the training program less than a month of hiring me. It was mayhem and it would have been way easier to do it all in NY. However, from a far, the state of CA wanted my hard copy prints and not live scan unless I was living in Ca. That's what caused the myriad of events for me was they bent my hard copy. Also, my school was slow sending the paperwork out.

The temp license is far better than the IP. IMO, after the fact:)

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Lactation, Women's Health, Obstetrics.

Well, although taking your advice about endorsing a license from the state i'm living in now may have gotten me a license in CA faster...

At this point I feel like I should just continue on with my journey towards a CA license. I already did the live-scan fingerprinting in CA and sent in my application (including fees) to the CA BON on 3/17 and received confirmation about a week later that they had my application. All of my prior schools (from my previous degree) have already sent transcripts to the CA BON. I have talked with my nursing department's "transcript and degree" person about sending things to the CA BON as soon as possible and she has assured me that they are really good about getting it out right away (she said within a week of our grad day).

She also told me that since I was going to another state (and thus not on the big list of names going to their BON) it would go out faster than all the people staying here for licenses because they have to wait for all the names on the list to be cleared before they send it away.

I also already registered with Pearson VUE and indicated that I wanted my license for CA.

So, no turning back now. Guess i'm just going to have to work on my patience :)....

Thanks again for all your insight! :bow:

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