This post does not constitute legal advice and is merely an account of my experience applying for licensure by endorsement in Hawaii. Word of advice - Apply well in advance of moving to Hawaii.
Background:
I am a 27 year old new graduate nurse with an RN license from California.
Where to Find the Application:
The Hawaii department of commerce and consumer affairs:Nursing website is http://hawaii.gov/dcca/pvl/boards/nursing/. On the right side of the page you click "Application Forms and Publications"and then select "Nursing License (without exam) Note: applying by endorsement". Within this category I selected "Requirements and Application" (Note: PDF is required to view these files). Do not forget to also fill out the license verification form in the same category and sent it to your current state board of nursing.
Requirements for applying to Hawaii by endorsement:
1) Completed Application
2) Fee - This part is misleading because the fee is dependent of the time period in which you are applying and to make things worse, the fee you pay does not count toward the next two year licensing cycle. For example, I applied in February 2013 and paid a fee on $180, but if I wanted my license before July 1, 2013 (when the cycle begins) I would need to pay another $135 fee just for the few months at the end of that particular cycle. This did not make much sense to me but that is how it is done in Hawaii.
3) Verification of License - This part would be quicker and easier had I been from a state that utilized NURSYS (an online website that verifies nursing licenses and sends verifications to other state boards). At this point in time, California is not one of those states and so I needed to fill out the verification form under the "Nursing License (without exam) Note:applying by endorsement" category and send it to the California department of nursing with a fee of $60. Information for California license verification can be found at http://www.rn.ca.gov/licensees/verifications.shtml.
4) Disciplinary Action Documents - If you have not been convicted of a crime or it has been annulled or expunged then you do not need to send any documents, but I was unsure whether or not my ticket for "possessing an open container while driving" fell under the definition of a criminal offense. I called the department and they told me that they could not give out legal advice, so I decided to send my certified court documents anyway. This is where things went wrong.
The court that I went to in order to get my certified court documents ($25 per conviction by the way) refused to send the documents directly to the Hawaii nursing board and so I needed to send them on my own. I received a letter from the Hawaii nursing board stating that my application was incomplete and missing documentation after about a month of waiting. I called the board of nursing and they said that they were missing my court documents. I asked the clerk to look for them and she said she found them, but they needed to be sent directly from the court. I told her the situation and so she accepted the court documents.
Then I waited again for a few weeks when I received another letter stating that my application was incomplete because I did not provided a letter explaining my disciplinary offense. I then wrote a letter and sent it to the board the same day. I waited and waited for almost two months or so. I then called the board again and asked them what the status was with regards to my application. They told me that they finally received everything but the clerk still needed to approve it so that it could make it to the next monthly board meeting where they approve licensure. She then told me that I was waiting for the July meeting because that is when I could get my license for the $180 that I paid. She told me that I could pay $135 for my license for the month of June if I wanted it before July. Ughh I was so frustrated because I just wanted my nursing license. I told her that I would just wait for the July meeting. I finally received a notice of licensure on July 4,2013 after waiting for nearly six months for my Hawaii nursing license. My advice to you is to start applying for your Hawaii nursing license well in advance and send a letter explaining your conviction, if you have one, with your original application.
5) Action Against Your License Documents - I did not have any action against my license so I do not have any help for you guys in this department.
