If you, like me, are looking forward to a new life in the Sunshine State, you will also probably have on your to-do list to obtain your Florida nursing license via endorsement. You could visit this website to try to figure out how exactly to do that (Licensed Practical Nurse & Registered Nurse by Endorsement)... Or, you could follow this guideline I have put together after about a month of trying to get everything done for myself.
This will prompt you to choose whether you're an RN or LPN and enter your email address and a password, so you can come back if you don't finish everything at once. Basically this part is just filling out your personal information and paying the Florida BON $175 to get your application started.
STEP 2: Go to your state's BON website and pay whatever fee you have to in order for them to send verification of your current license to Florida.
UNLESS you live in one of those fancy NURSYS states... In that case, go here. That probably costs money too, but I don't know because I didn't have to use it.
STEP 3: Get fingerprinted!
And don't think you can just go on down to your local police station and get your cop buddies to book you for free - the Florida BON no longer accepts paper cards. So, as an out-of-state resident, you have a couple options. (Even if you have been fingerprinted before for your current BON or your current job, you have to get all new fingerprints especially for this purpose.) I found the most painless option to figure out and use to be Fieldprint, an electronic fingerprinting company that seems to be located in almost every UPS store there is, so there's most likely one near you. You have to make an appointment online through their website. ** USE THE SPECIAL FLORIDA FIELDPRINT WEBSITE (CLICK HERE) ** The regular Fieldprint website will NOT work for this purpose, and it won't even allow you to schedule an appointment. **
... Here is the tricky part in an otherwise pretty simple process -- after you click "Schedule An Appointment" and sign up as a new user to the site, you will come to this page asking you "Reason why you need to be fingerprinted." There will be a blank box where you can type in a code, or you can choose from a drop-down box. If you try to just enter in the code (which is EDOH4420Z), it will NOT WORK. Instead, you need to select Florida Dept of Health - Division of Medical Quality (MQA). This is not obvious, because it has no familiar phrases, like "Board of Nursing," anywhere to be found, but it's the right selection. Then, you will enter in some personal information (name, SSN, weight -- and don't lie, this is a level 2 check for Pete's sake ) before coming to another drop-down list where you will select your "Profession." Be sure to select "RN/LPN by Endorsement and ARNP applicants" -- this selection links up to the right code (EDOH4420Z) which ensures your $85 fingerprints make it to the Florida BON. ** If you do not make all of these selections exactly as listed here, your expensive fingerprints will become lost forever somewhere in background check cyberspace and you will have to pay another $85 and have everything done all over again (trust me, I am speaking from experience). **
You will also be asked to enter the name and address of the organization requiring your fingerprints - this is the address the BON told me to list (because they have 2 listed on their site):
Department of Health Board of Nursing 4052 Bald Cypress Way Bin C-02 Tallahassee, FL 32399-3252
Phone: 850-245-4125
STEP 4: Complete a 2 unit CE course about preventing medication errors.
This course has to be "approved" by the Florida BON, and you can find that approved list by going to CEBroker.com, clicking "Course Search" (you don't have to create an account or log-in or anything), selecting your profession (Licensed or Registered Nurse), selecting "Self Study Continuing Education Courses," then finally selecting "Medication Errors" under the Subject Area filter. Or, you could just go HERE ("Prevention of Medical Errors") to the one I ended up choosing for a relatively cheap $14. The PDF of study info is free, but you have to pay $14 to take the test and get the certificate, which is what the BON wants. After you get your certificate that says you completed the course, you can email it right to them ([email protected]).
And that's it!! Sit back, relax, and wait for your freshly minted FL license to be mailed to you. A week or so after you fill out the initial application with the FL BON website, you should receive a letter in the mail, giving you a username and password for you to check the status of your application on the BON's application status website. Logging in there will let you see exactly what they have already received and processed, or what they're missing or still working on.
Maybe all of this will be intuitive to others who are having to go through this process now or in the future, but for me it took a lot of figuring out, and although I found some threads here already, I still had to do a lot of digging on my own (and I sat through more than 1 lengthy hold so I could ask the BON directly ) to figure everything out. I hope this (rather long) post ends up helping someone else out at some point.
For the background check, is that separate or is it part of the fingerprint thing? Like, go do your fingerprints and the background check is taken care of?
February 27,2018. Great Post, everything is correct but for the last part when you need to complete 2 credit hours of Medical Errors course. As of two years ago it is no longer required. Just spoke with FL state board representative. Only need 3 steps, application, verification of current license and fingerprinting with picture ( which takes 5 days for out-of-state to be received). Everything else is spot on. Thank you so much.
I live in new York and trying to apply for a Florida license. I have completed all steps but received an address for to fill out. said I needed to provide proof of residency. I didnt think I have to live in Florida to get a license to do travel nursing. can you help?
I live in new York and trying to apply for a Florida license. I have completed all steps but received an address for to fill out. said I needed to provide proof of residency. I didnt think I have to live in Florida to get a license to do travel nursing. can you help?
You checked the wrong box, like I did. Attach a file from the "Check application status" page that says you only want the single state endorsement not the compact state. I'd also submit a copy of your drivers license and the residency declaration page of the application too. And pray they don't want you to do anything else. I submitted my application in March and still don't have my endorsement. I swear Mickey Mouse is running the office there. Everything I asked and reasked how to fill out I am now having to redo because I was told wrong. You should also send the information via email and regular mail, because I called to see what was going on with my application the other day and was told they were waiting on my letter saying I only wanted the single state endorsement which I emailed to them, as I was told to do, and received an email confirming they received it back in April.
I live in new York and trying to apply for a Florida license. I have completed all steps but received an address for to fill out. said I needed to provide proof of residency. I didnt think I have to live in Florida to get a license to do travel nursing. can you help?
I am moving in with my partner in FL and applying for endorsement down there as soon as I pass in Indiana! I was wondering if they will ever require me to send a copy of my "FL driver's license" if I have a FL address? Can I use that address for the endorsement application even though I'll move there after that process is started? I just don't want to get in any trouble or cause the process to take longer. I plan on getting my FL driver's license after I "officially" move down there and settle in. Thank you so much!
This post was beyond amazing!! Thank you for posting all the directions! I followed them exactly, filled out my application on a Wednesday, got fingerprinted Thursday, finished and sent the CE course certificate Friday, and the following Monday I received an email from the BON with my license number! I am endorsing from New York. So surprised by how quick the whole process was!
I'm attempting to start the process to endorse into FL from IN! Did you have to submit anything for schooling, transcripts, etc? I didn't see anything but was curious. Also, what did you do about the address part? Did you have a place/address lined up or not? Currently deciding what to do about that part. Thanks!
I just did this, and I got my endorsed license in four days - all the problems I expected didn't happen! ?
I didn't read this first, unfortunately, as it seems going through 'fieldprint' could be cheaper than 'printscan' (which is likely the same machine in the UPS store).
I am in NY - cost me $110 to apply for the license., $30 for nursys, $120ish for the fingerprints. Nothing to mail in via snail mail- applied on Monday night, did fingerprints on Thursday, got license on Friday. Was amazed it was that quick!
I just did this, and I got my endorsed license in four days - all the problems I expected didn't happen! ?
I didn't read this first, unfortunately, as it seems going through 'fieldprint' could be cheaper than 'printscan' (which is likely the same machine in the UPS store).
I am in NY - cost me $110 to apply for the license., $30 for nursys, $120ish for the fingerprints. Nothing to mail in via snail mail- applied on Monday night, did fingerprints on Thursday, got license on Friday. Was amazed it was that quick!
FeatherzRN did you apply for a multi license or are you moving to that particular state making yourself a permanent resident of that state?
) before coming to another drop-down list where you will select your "Profession." Be sure to select "RN/LPN by Endorsement and ARNP applicants" -- this selection links up to the right code (EDOH4420Z) which ensures your $85 fingerprints make it to the Florida BON. ** If you do not make all of these selections exactly as listed here, your expensive fingerprints will become lost forever somewhere in background check cyberspace and you will have to pay another $85 and have everything done all over again (trust me, I am speaking from experience). **
) to figure everything out. I hope this (rather long) post ends up helping someone else out at some point. 
Anonymous666
138 Posts
For the background check, is that separate or is it part of the fingerprint thing? Like, go do your fingerprints and the background check is taken care of?