RN License Endorsement= Confusion!

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Jan 30, 2014

Yes you're right I called and asked but they do not offer a temp license. I did some research and learned that often the local police dept offers livescan service so that might work. Just wish my license could be transferred by reprocity (sp?) rather than endorsement. Seems like an easier process.

Same thing, same process. No difference, just a different word. Sorry. :)

I got my fingerprints done at the local state police barracks. I had to get them two or three times one year, and I got to be really friendly with the booking officer. :) But the BoNs that wanted them had particular forms I had to bring with me. Sigh.

You can get your first nursing license in any state (let's call it State 1) by applying to that state's Board of Nursing (BoN) and getting their approval to sit the NCLEX exam in their jurisdiction. You don't have to have gone to school in State 1 to do this. You have to meet whatever criteria they want-- your nursing school has to be accepted by them (some states approve schools that other states won't approve), if there are fingerprinting or other requirements, they'll want a transcript, and they want the money. Then when you pass NCLEX you are granted a State 1 RN license.

So now you want to move to State 2. You write to the State 2 BoN and tell them you want a State 2 license by reciprocity (or by endorsement, same thing for practical intent and purpose). They tell you what they want, which may be all of the above again, and the money, and then they send you a State 2 license. Unlike your driver's license, you don't have to turn in your State 1 license. You can be licensed in as many states as you like (or can afford). :)

24 states are part of a Nursing Licensure Compact*. Compact states grant you the ability to practice within their borders if your license is from another Compact state (a state where you have your primary legal residence) without going through all that process outlined above (though you probably will have to pay something). If your legal residence isn't a Compact state, you can still get a license in State 2, though. And 3, and 4, and 5...

As an example: My primary legal residence is not a Compact state. I have a license there. I do some work in a neighboring state which is a Compact state, but since my home state isn't, I got it by reciprocity/ see above process. Now I have a Compact state license so I should be good to go to any other Compact state and get a license easily, right? Wrong, because my legal residence is in a nonCompact state.

So I have licenses in 8 states and they cost me a bloody fortune because I had to go through that whole process in every single one of them, even though most are Compact states. Order a college transcript (at $10 per) for all. NY wants me to take an online class on recognizing and reporting abuse-- time and money. Two or three states want me to pay for background checks-- a coupla hunnert bucks per. A few others want fingerprints...on their forms only, done by recognized law enforcement (as I said, the local State Police barracks got used to seeing a lot of me there for awhile). Many, but not all, participate in a national licensure verification system called Nursys, so I pay for Nursys to verify my license in all the states they work with to all the rest of them, at $30 each...but California doesn't participate in Nursys, so it's $60 to have them verify my license to everyone else. Each. And so on.

* 24 Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) States (current)

COMPACT STATES / IMPLEMENTATION DATE

Arizona 7/1/2002

Arkansas 7/1/2000

Colorado 10/1/2007

Delaware 7/1/2000

Idaho 7/1/2001

Iowa 7/1/2000

Kentucky 6/1/2007

Maine 7/1/2001

Maryland 7/1/1999

Mississippi 7/1/2001

Missouri 6/1/2010

Nebraska 1/1/2001

New Hampshire 1/1/2006

New Mexico 1/1/2004

North Carolina 7/1/2000

North Dakota 1/1/2004

Rhode Island 7/1/2008

South Carolina 2/1/2006

South Dakota 1/1/2001

Tennessee 7/1/2003

Texas 1/1/2000

Utah 1/1/2000

Virginia 1/1/2005

Wisconsin 1/1/2000

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jan 31, 2014

I wrote an article about compact states and the Nursing Licensure Compact a couple of years ago. Click on the link below if you feel like reading:

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/overview-nursing-compact-763693.html

double_minority · Jan 31, 2014

The Prevention of Medication course you can take online. It won't take you 2 hrs. When I applied for my FL RN lic. it was pretty quick and it didn't take but 2 or 3 weeks to get my license. Since that time I have moved so my license has expired. It cost me I think a little under $200 for everything. Good luck.

2-3 weeks for FL endorsement is good news to my hears!

stephdRN · Jan 31, 2014

Well I am still waiting on my license from NY since I literally just passed the NCLEX 4 days ago. As soon as that comes in the mail and I have a license number I can get the ball rolling with FL. Only 2-3 weeks sounds perfect to me! Thank you for the tips on LiveScan locations as well as the article on Compact states. Too bad neither FL or NY are a compact state! Geez!

shlay51 · Feb 5, 2014

I received my Florida license through endorsement. It took me about 3 months to get through the entire process. The livescan finger prints I had done at my local jail. I ended up having to do it twice because the FL BON said the first ones weren't good enough. It wasn't an overly difficult process, but it just seemed like it took forever with the paperwork, fingerprints, and waiting game. It's been 4 years since I had to go through the endorsement thing so I don't remember all details, but I would be more than happy to help if I can.

Also if you go to Nurse.com | Nursing News, Jobs, Continuing Education you can find the medical errors course, plus others that are required for Fl. You do need 24 hours of CE courses for every renewal period. The website I gave is also a good place to do your CE courses because your hours are automatically reported and you don't have to worry about sending anything in when renewing your license.

stephdRN · Feb 7, 2014

Wow 3 months!?!? Dear Lord I hope it doesn't take that long for me! I can't imagine waiting another 3 months to start working! OY. Thank you for the advice, I will absolutely be utilizing that website for the course! I've already started the application process so hopefully soonish! Will keep ya posted! Thanks for all the advice. I love this site!

double_minority · Feb 27, 2014

Just started the proceedings for FL endorsement from NY/NJ! Application fee is paid, nursys verification is paid! Next up CE course and fingerprints. Let's see how long that'll take.

stephdRN · Feb 27, 2014

Didn't actually take long for me once I paid them, just all the money they wanted! After you pay $15 for fingerprints you have to pay another $65 online to release a background check. The cheapest thing was the CE broker course online for $10 and that was pretty easy too.

double_minority · Feb 28, 2014

Didn't actually take long for me once I paid them just all the money they wanted! After you pay $15 for fingerprints you have to pay another $65 online to release a background check. The cheapest thing was the CE broker course online for $10 and that was pretty easy too.[/quote']
Wait, you got it already? THAT was fast. Took my 2 MONTHS to get my NJ one from NY!
But when it comes to fingerprinting, you are physically in Florida tho?

stephdRN · Feb 28, 2014

Well mine was from NY to FL so maybe NY is slower lol. I have been living in FL for a few months going through the whole process so yes I had the finger prints done here at a local sheriffs office.

calivianya, BSN, RN · Mar 1, 2014

Okay, so we CAN get the fingerprints done at a police station? This was confusing me greatly - the links on the FL BON website are all weird mobile outside companies and things like that. I originally got my LiveScan prints for NC licensure done at a police station, so I wasn't sure why that wasn't listed for the FL BON. They said only Florida Department of Law Enforcement approved providers, so I looked on the Florida DLE site and it lists people with all kinds of weird email addresses as the approved LiveScan providers. It doesn't directly mention law enforcement offices in FLORIDA, let alone in other states!

Why doesn't it say we can get it done at a police station if that's the truth? Please tell me I don't really have to go through one of those weirdo email people. Some of them charge a lot more than I paid the first time I had to get fingerprinted. One that was a mobile company had rates starting at $299. :nailbiting:

stephdRN · Mar 1, 2014

Absolutely not! I have no idea what those emails are but $299 is a rip off don't do it! I'm in palm beach county and there are dozens of police stations but only one that does the livescan so I just picked a nearby station, called them and told them what I needed and the re directed me to the right station that had what I needed. First before you go in you have to make sure you have your ORI number (I think that's what it's called) I had to call Florida BoN and the customer service woman gave me the number, in which I brought it to the sheriffs place to give them. Finger prints were $15 cash there.