Obtaining a nursing license with a prior felony conviction is possible, but determined by several factors.
Convictions affect everything: jobs, voting, travel, renting or leasing an apartment, and occupational licensing. Nurses are required to submit to a criminal background check and fingerprinting upon applying for a license. Nursing boards are generally pretty forgiving in the case of misdemeanors, but felony convictions are different. Obtaining a nursing license in any state in America is going to be difficult with a felony on your record, but not impossible. It does, however, depend on several factors, such as the crime committed, whether a prison sentence was served or not, how long it has been and what state you are in.
State Nursing Boards
Every state nursing board handles prior convictions differently. Some states are also more forgiving than others. For example, in California, there is no conviction that will result in an automatic denial of nursing licensure. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. In the state of Iowa, if there is a felony on your record, you are allowed to complete all of the nursing education and the licensure examination. After that, you have to appear before the state's nursing board, which will decide whether or not to approve your license. It is important to check with the board to find out the state policy because each will handle it differently.
Complete All Obligations
It is important to complete all sentencing, probation or parole obligations successfully. If you are in a diversion program, finish it per the agreement. Pay off all fines and restitution fees. This says something about character, and will become very significant later. Complete all obligations before contacting the nursing board. If it has been a long time since the conviction, it counts favorably --- provided no additional convictions have been obtained.
Clean Up Criminal Record, If Possible
Certain states will permit some type of sealing, dismissal or expungement of felony convictions, such as California, Illinois and Washington. Typically, the way this works is the defendant petitions the court to reduce the conviction to a lesser charge, vacating the felony on the record. Then the misdemeanor can be dismissed. If granted by the court, it will be as if the conviction never occurred at all. Additionally, this will help when applying for a nursing license. According to the Judicial Council of California, "government employers and licensing agencies (except for police agencies and concessionaire licensing boards) will treat you the same as if you had never been convicted of any crime."
Certificate of Rehabilitation
If you have served time in a state prison facility, a certificate of rehabilitation is required in some states. The certificate of rehabilitation legally certifies that an individual convicted of a felony (or certain misdemeanors) is rehabilitated. It is a court order and usually requires that the defendant have a clear record for a certain number of years after release. It can be helpful with getting an occupational license, depending on the state and type of conviction. Certificates of rehabilitation are offered in six states: New York, Illinois, California, Nevada, New Jersey and Connecticut. New York is probably the most forgiving as its certificates "create a presumption of rehabilitation that must be given effect by employers and licensing boards, and that is judicially enforceable," as reported by the American Bar Association.
Presumed Rehabilitation
Some states "presume rehabilitation" providing a certain number of years have passed. These states cannot deny a nursing license entirely based upon a prior felony conviction unless it is directly related to the occupation. The states are: Arkansas, Montana, Minnesota, New Mexico and North Dakota. However the state of Arkansas is the exception as it will not approve licenses for teaching or nursing based on presumed rehabilitation.
Tags: nursing license, nursing board, certain number, certain number years, certificate rehabilitation
