Last updated: October 14, 2026.
This is general information from Hawaii DCCA forms dated 2026, not legal advice and not a Board of Nursing decision. Download the current instructions from the Board before you mail a fee. Fees are nonrefundable even if you do not qualify.
Hawaii is not a Nurse Licensure Compact state. An RN who wants to practice in Hawaii needs a Hawaii license, even if they hold a multistate license from another state. “Hawaii RN license by endorsement” means you are asking the Hawaii Board of Nursing to issue a license based on a license you already hold, rather than by taking the NCLEX for the first time in Hawaii.
AANP’s May 2026 map classifies Hawaii as full practice for nurse practitioners. APRN recognition is still a separate application from the RN license. Do not stop after the RN endorsement if you will practice as an NP.
Eligibility
The Board’s endorsement instructions apply to applicants who are already licensed as an LPN or RN in another state, territory, or foreign country. You will be asked for verification of those licenses. The combined temporary-permit application is narrower: it is only for someone who already holds a valid, unencumbered RN or LPN license elsewhere and who has been appointed or accepted employment with a single Hawaii health care entity, as the Board’s form describes. A temporary permit is not the default endorsement.
International graduates should read the Board’s education requirements and use the international education roadmap only as a checklist of questions, not as the Board’s evaluation.
Documents the Board asks for
From the Board’s 2026 RN/LPN endorsement instructions and the criminal-history page:
Fingerprints. Since July 1, 2017, new applicants for an LPN, RN, APRN, or prescriptive-authority credential must submit electronic fingerprints for a Hawaii and FBI criminal-history check. The vendor is Fieldprint. The code is FPHIBrdNursing (not case sensitive). You pay Fieldprint directly. You must file the license application within 30 days of fingerprinting so the Board can retrieve the results. Fingerprints taken for another board or an employer do not substitute. If you skip the code, the Board cannot pull the report and you pay to be reprinted.
NPDB self-query. If you are licensed as an LPN or RN in another state, territory, or foreign country, the endorsement instructions require a self-query from the National Practitioner Data Bank. Order it at npdb.hrsa.gov. The Board accepts the original PDF emailed to nursing@dcca.hawaii.gov or the original hard copy in a still-sealed envelope. Copies, photos, and secured links are not accepted. The instructions list NPDB phone help at 1-800-767-6732.
Verification of licenses. The instructions require verification of licenses you hold. Follow the method the current form names, which may be Nursys for a participating board or a board-to-board form. See how to verify a nursing license for the difference between a public lookup and an official verification.
Application and fee. The Board publishes a mail-in form and an online MyPVL option for the RN license without exam. The combined temporary-permit-plus-endorsement application must be mailed or hand-delivered. It cannot be submitted through the online portal.
Use the document checklist to keep Fieldprint, NPDB, verifications, and the fee in one list.
Fees and processing time
The RN/LPN endorsement instructions set the fee by the date the license will be issued. Pay by check or money order to Commerce and Consumer Affairs, in U.S. dollars from a U.S. institution.
- If the license will be issued between July 1 of an odd-numbered year (2023, 2025, 2027) and June 30 of the following even-numbered year (2024, 2026, 2028), the instructions say $254. The form breaks that into application $40, license $36, Compliance Resolution Fund $100, one-half renewal $18, and Center for Nursing $60.
- If the license will be issued between July 1 of an even-numbered year (2024, 2026, 2028) and June 30 of the following odd-numbered year (2025, 2027, 2029), the instructions say $186.
October 14, 2026 falls in the July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 window, which is the $186 schedule if the license is issued in that window. If your file is not issued until after June 30, 2027, the other schedule can apply. The Board, not the applicant, controls the issue date. The fee is nonrefundable.
The combined temporary permit plus endorsement is a different fee. The 2026 combined-application instructions say $236 if the temporary permit is issued between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027, and $304 if it was issued between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026. That fee covers both the permit and the endorsement application. You still need the employment appointment.
Processing: the endorsement instructions say incomplete applications delay processing “which is normally 15–20 working days.” DCCA’s 2026 general FAQ says the central Licensing Branch typically takes 15 to 20 business days from receipt of a completed application, when Board review is not required. The completed-file estimate does not begin while required items are missing. Individual Board review can take longer; this is not a guaranteed start date. The licensing timeline tool is a planning aid. It does not move a Hawaii file.
Temporary permit
Choose the combined application only if you already have an unencumbered out-of-state license and a Hawaii employer appointment. The employer certification form has to be signed by the Hawaii health care entity. If you do not have that job yet, use the standard endorsement application. A temporary permit is not a shortcut around fingerprints or the NPDB query.
Hawaii APRN practice
Hawaii is full practice on the AANP May 2026 map. That classification is about NP practice authority after you hold Hawaii APRN recognition. It does not waive the RN license, national certification, or the Board’s APRN application. Prescriptive authority is a further authorization. The criminal-history page lists APRN and prescriptive-authority applicants in the same Fieldprint requirement.
If you are coming from California, the California to Hawaii NP requirements page collects the cross-state research. Pair it with this endorsement list for the RN layer.
Delays that show up on these files
- Fieldprint done under the wrong code, or more than 30 days before the application arrives.
- An NPDB screenshot instead of the original PDF or sealed report.
- A verification still sitting at the other state board.
- The temporary-permit form used without an employer, or sent through the online portal.
- The wrong fee for the issue window, or a check the fiscal office cannot process.
Coordinate fingerprints, reports, and the start date
Prepare the application before booking Fieldprint so you can meet the 30-day filing requirement. Request license verification and the NPDB self-query early, keeping the required original format intact. Record when each source sends its item and check the application’s deficiency status before ordering duplicates.
If you need a temporary permit, confirm the employer appointment and use the combined application with employer certification. Keep permit and permanent-license status separate in the tracker. Verify the issued authorization and its conditions before beginning work, and avoid treating the normal processing estimate as an employment guarantee.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a Hawaii RN license by endorsement?
The Board’s 2026 endorsement instructions say $186 or $254 depending on the license issue date. For an issue date from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, the listed amount is $186. Fingerprints and the NPDB self-query are extra.
How long does it take?
The Board says a complete endorsement file is normally processed in 15 to 20 working days. Incomplete files take longer.
Is Hawaii a compact state?
No. You need a Hawaii license to practice nursing there. A multistate license from another state does not cover Hawaii.
Is Hawaii full practice for NPs?
AANP’s May 2026 map says yes. You still complete Hawaii’s APRN application after, or along with, the RN license.
Sources
- Hawaii Board of Nursing, RN/LPN endorsement instructions (2026 PDF).
- Combined temporary permit and endorsement instructions (2026 PDF).
- Criminal history record check, Fieldprint code FPHIBrdNursing.
- Application forms.
- DCCA general FAQ (2026 PDF), 15 to 20 business days for a completed application that does not need Board review.
- NPDB self-query.
- AANP State Practice Environment, May 2026.