To qualify for endorsement into California as a registered nurse, you must hold a current and active license in another state or Canada, have completed an educational program meeting all California requirements, and have passed the national licensure examination or acceptable five-part Canadian examination.

There are essentially 2 paths you can take to obtain your California RN license by endorsement. We'll refer to them as the long path and the short path. Under normal circumstances, the long path typically takes six to eight weeks and the short path can take as little as 24 hours.