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For registered nurses moving to Florida

How to Transfer Your Nursing License to Florida

Is Florida a nurse compact state? Yes. Florida is in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC): a nurse whose home state is a compact state and who holds its multistate license can work in Florida without another license, and a nurse who lives in Florida applies for the multistate license there. A nurse from a state outside the compact needs a Florida license from the Florida Board of Nursing, by endorsement for a nurse licensed in another state. (NCSBN, read 9 Nov 2026.)

Yes
Compact state
5,707
RN jobs in Florida
$45.56
Median posted RN pay

What the Florida Board of Nursing asks

Licensure by endorsement for a registered nurse licensed in another state, as the board's own page states it (read 9 Nov 2026).

Fee
$110.00 is the Application and Licensing Fee to the Board for the RN MOBILE endorsement; the Livescan fingerprint provider fee and the license verification fee are extra and vary.
Fingerprints
A fingerprint-based criminal background check is required.
License verification
The page says to contact the board of each state where a license was held to request License Verification be sent to Florida; an online verification is accepted if the state has one. Nursys is not mentioned on this tab.
How long it takes
The page says to allow up to 10 business days for initial review of new applications, and that the license is issued within 7 days after all requirements are met (section 456.0145(2)(e), Florida Statutes).
Requirements
Must hold an active, unencumbered license from another state, the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory; must have a passing national licensure exam score (or recognized national certification); must have actively practiced for at least two years in the four years before applying (if not, the page says to apply by examination and transfer NCSBN scores); no NPDB report and no disciplinary action in the last five years.
Good to know
Florida's MOBILE endorsement is the route for a nurse licensed in another state; a nurse holding a multistate license from a compact state uses the separate multistate upgrade tab instead.
“$110.00 Application and Licensing Fee to Board of Nursing”

From the Florida Board of Nursing's own page, read 9 Nov 2026: floridasnursing.gov (source: Florida Board of Nursing). Fees change: the board's page on the day you apply is the one that counts.

The steps

What every move takes; the board's page above says what it asks in each.

  1. Check whether your home state and the new state are both in the Nurse Licensure Compact: if both are and you keep living in your home state, your multistate license already lets you work there.
  2. If you are moving your home to the new state and it is a compact state, apply for its multistate license; if it is outside the compact, apply to its board of nursing for a license by endorsement.
  3. Have your current license verified to the new board, through Nursys where your state takes part in it.
  4. Complete the background check the board asks for (most ask for fingerprints) and any state exam or course it names.
  5. Pay the board's fee and, where the board offers one, ask for a temporary permit so you can start work while the application is processed.

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Nursing jobs in Florida today

5,707 registered nurse and 766 LPN jobs are open in Florida on this board, read every night from each employer's own job board.

Transferring a nursing license to Florida: common questions

Is Florida a nurse compact state?

Yes. Florida is in the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC): a nurse whose home state is a compact state and who holds its multistate license can work in Florida without another license, and a nurse who lives in Florida applies for the multistate license there. A nurse from a state outside the compact needs a Florida license from the Florida Board of Nursing, by endorsement for a nurse licensed in another state. (NCSBN, read 9 Nov 2026.)

How do I transfer my nursing license to Florida?

If your home state is another compact state and you keep living there, your multistate license already lets you work in Florida. If you move to Florida, apply to the Florida Board of Nursing for its multistate license. If your license is from a state outside the compact, apply to the Florida Board of Nursing for a license by endorsement ($110 by its own page): have your license verified through Nursys, complete the background check, and pay the fee.

How do I transfer an LPN or LVN license to Florida?

The same way: the compact covers LPN/VNs too, so a multistate LPN license from a compact home state works in Florida; otherwise apply for a license by endorsement to the Florida Board of Nursing. Its own page states the LPN fee, which differs from the RN fee above. LPN jobs in Florida.

How long does a Florida nursing license by endorsement take?

By the Florida Board of Nursing's own page: The page says to allow up to 10 business days for initial review of new applications, and that the license is issued within 7 days after all requirements are met (section 456.0145(2)(e), Florida Statutes).

How much do registered nurses make in Florida?

Open registered nurse jobs in Florida that post an hourly rate pay $42.31–$49.08 an hour in the middle half, median $45.56 (1,786 jobs from 126 employers on this board today).

Do employers in Florida offer relocation assistance?

381 open healthcare jobs in Florida offer relocation help in their own posting today, each quoting the offer (a set amount, reimbursement or a package); ask for the terms in writing before you accept.

Who is hiring registered nurses in Florida?

By open jobs on this board today: AdventHealth (823), UF Health (401), HealthTrust Workforce Solutions (366), Orlando Health (290), Baptist Health South Florida (284), University of Miami (173). Every RN job in Florida.

Sources and method

The compact status is NCSBN's map on the day read. The board's rules are its own page's words, shown only where the page states them; a sentence of it is checked against the page every week, and a change is read again. The jobs and pay are the registered nurse jobs open on this board in Florida.

  1. NCSBN Nurse Licensure Compact map (nursecompact.com), read 9 Nov 2026, published 9 Nov 2026
  2. Florida Board of Nursing: licensure by endorsement, read 9 Nov 2026; checked again every week for the sentence quoted, published 9 Nov 2026
  3. CareJobs.Now job board: open jobs read every night from each employer's own careers site

Cite this page

CareJobs.Now. (2026). How to Transfer Your Nursing License to Florida. Data as of 9 Nov 2026. https://carejobs.now/transfer-nursing-license/florida

How the board counts