Obtaining CA license

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I'm fairly new to travel nursing and I just finished my first assignment in El Paso,TX and re extended till the end of April. I'm looking into going to cali sometime in May. Has anyone applied for a CA license and about how long does it take obtain? Any hiccups along the way to watch out for?

Thanks!

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I'm fairly new to travel nursing and I just finished my first assignment in El Paso,TX and re extended till the end of April. I'm looking into going to cali sometime in May. Has anyone applied for a CA license and about how long does it take obtain? Any hiccups along the way to watch out for?

Thanks!

Usually takes 6-8 weeks as long as you don't have any prior convictions...

https://www.dca.ca.gov/webapps/rn/requests.php

Use that link to request fingerprint cards unless you plan to go to Cali and get fingerprinted in person.

You can now do the endorsement app online. Good luck!

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Specializes in L&D, OR, travel.

My licensing with CA was smooth. Did it online via endorsement. I was working in Miami Beach. Went to the local sheriff office for printing, carrying the appropriate cards with me. License in the mail in 6-7 weeks, at $151.

So, 2 contracts in El Paso, AdriRN? You must have enjoyed that. Tell us about it.

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I moved to San Angelo for nursing school worked in an OR there for 3 years. Decided I wanted to do travel nursing, figured since the first assignment was in Oct. I would have to end up working the holidays. Most of my family is here in El Paso so I decided to come spend some time with them. Hospital isn't bad, though due to some management changed right now it's not exactly the happiest working environment right now.

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I'm working in CA right now on a temporary license. I'm having difficulty obtaining my permanent license because I keep getting told they have not yet received my transcripts and I've paid my university to send them twice... To top it off the license evaluator at the board of nursing won't return my calls to help me figure out another way to get them to them. So frustrating... Has anyone else had these issues or is it just me???

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I'm working in CA right now on a temporary license. I'm having difficulty obtaining my permanent license because I keep getting told they have not yet received my transcripts and I've paid my university to send them twice... To top it off the license evaluator at the board of nursing won't return my calls to help me figure out another way to get them to them. So frustrating... Has anyone else had these issues or is it just me???

Levi, not to sound rude, but the CA BON deals with many licensing issues daily...however, you not being able to get your school to send them is not their problem. You should call your school and see what the problem is.

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I agree with BluntForceTrauma. California will renew your temp, but 6 months should be plenty of time to get transcripts sent. Why did you have to pay twice? I might suggest paying a few bucks more if your school is willing and have them send the transcripts by trackable mail.

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I just got my CA license last week, finally. Took 11 weeks for me. I called at the 8 week mark and they said they had been swamped and it was taking longer than normal to get the background and fingerprint checks done. I'm from NC so I sent in the fingerprint card by mail, but if a trip to California is feasible, doing the Live Scan might save some time.

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They were probably swamped from all of the strike nurses applying for licenses since there were so many strikes during the holidays last year. A few of my Friends flew to Sacramento to do Live Scan and only got their licenses one week before me.

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I'm headed back to San Angelo next week for about a week, I figured I'll take the paperwork I need there in person so hopefully the school doesn't screw it up. I've heard from a few past students that they've had issues with the school sending transcripts to other states. At the very least I want to have the ball rolling so I can hopefully have the license or at least be able to say the ball is rolling and be okay with a temporary license. Thanks for everyone's advice! :)

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I'm fairly new to travel nursing and I just finished my first assignment in El Paso,TX and re extended till the end of April. I'm looking into going to cali sometime in May. Has anyone applied for a CA license and about how long does it take obtain? Any hiccups along the way to watch out for?

Thanks!

Once the California Board of nursing got all of my transcripts and the the fingerprints it was a matter of days before I saw I was approved on the website. About 6 weeks total for them to process everything. The longest part was waiting for them to get all my transcripts.

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Transcripts are not needed for the temp, only for the perm.

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