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Discussion

Good Moral Character Application with missing court paperwork :/

13 years ago (in 2001)when I was 18 I received a citation for underage possession of alcohol in the state of VA. I went to court, pled guilty, eventually paid a large fine and forgot about the incident all together. Received a degree in psych/soc, and worked in Human services for almost 7 years without my past record ever being an issue.

5 years ago I decided to become a nurse. I finally applied to nursing school in 2011 and never disclosed the misdemeanor because the application specifically asked if I had any legal issues within the last 5years, which I hadn't. At the time I didn't realize I would need to disclose it to the BORN to sit for the NCLEX.

Well, this past summer (2013) I realized that I would need to file a good moral character application through the BORN in MA, to sit for my exam. I contacted the district court in VA to inquire about getting my record and found out that they destroy their records after 10 years. I was told I should run a background check on myself through the state of VA because that should show the charge. I got this back, and it says that "no convictions on file, but does not preclude arrests", I was never arrested so I have no idea why it said that. I called the state police in VA and talked to them directly, they checked my name and SSN and said there wasn't anything coming up under my name.

My issue is, I can't give the board something that no longer exists. I can provide them with everything they are asking for (personal statement, resume, letter of recommendation from my school, CORI check for MA and receipt of payment for my fines) except I can not give them the certified court documents that they say they HAVE to have.

What I can give them is a letter from the court with my name, DOB and SSN on it stating that they destroy their records after 10 years and I can also provide them with a background check from VA showing that there is no criminal history being reported.

My question is, will this be enough??? I am so concerned this is going to turn into a drawn out mess with the BORN. I worked so hard in nursing school, finished 1st in my class (with a 4.0) and now I am scared I wont be able to take the test because of the missing documents.

Sorry for the long post, I am just really stressed about this. :-(

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    Best bet is to email the board of nursing you want to apply and ask them so you'll have something in writing. I prefer to get things in writing though although a phone call may be easier and quicker.

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    • Author

    Thanks for the reply.

    I have already been in touch with the BON, I have talked to them several times since this summer. They never really give me a straight answer. This week I will be going to their office to fill out an authorization for my CORI, I will ask again when I am there for specific instructions. I will ask my school as well, but they really aren't helpful with most things, so I don't expect them to be helpful with this either...

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    How has it been since your last post? A FRIEND OF MINE :blink: has a similar issue.. nothing shows up on any records from CORI, the state DOJ that the infraction happened in, or from the FBI!!!

    However, that friend :sarcastic: doesn't want to misrepresent themself to the BON. However, it seems as though they are trying to make it all right, but cannot provide any information on an event that doesn't show up on any records anyway!!

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