To get an Arizona nursing license, you must submit a full set of fingerprints to the Arizona Board of Nursing (AZBN) so it can run both state and FBI criminal history checks. The Arizona Board of Nursing fingerprinting requirements come from A.R.S. 32-1606(B)(16) and apply to every initial applicant for registered nurse, practical nurse, and advanced practice certification, including nurses already licensed in another state.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 32-1606 – Powers and Duties of Board No permanent license or certificate is issued until both checks clear, and the requirement cannot be waived.
How the AZBN Fingerprint Process Works
The AZBN runs its own fingerprint submission, separate from the DPS Fingerprint Clearance Card. A copy of a DPS clearance card will not substitute for it. When you start your license application through the Nurse Portal, the AZBN posts a Fingerprint Code to your Nurse Portal Message Center. That code is what you use to register on the DPS Public Services Portal for fingerprinting on behalf of the board.2Arizona State Board of Nursing. Fingerprints
If you paid the AZBN fingerprint fee within the past two years, you do not need to resubmit.
Electronic Fingerprinting
If you are in Arizona, the AZBN strongly prefers electronic submission. After entering your Fingerprint Code and creating a DPS portal account, go to the “My Order” page and select Submit and Pay. Do not choose “Request Employer/Agency Pay,” which delays processing. The portal issues a reference number you use to schedule an appointment with an authorized vendor such as Fieldprint.2Arizona State Board of Nursing. Fingerprints The vendor charges its own service fee on top of the DPS processing fee, so plan for both.
Paper FD-258 Card
If electronic fingerprinting is not available to you, the AZBN accepts the standard FD-258 blue-and-white applicant card. If you initially selected electronic and want to switch, complete the AZBN’s Supplemental/Physical Paper form and pay the associated fees before mailing anything.
The completed card goes to the AZBN, not to DPS:
Arizona State Board of Nursing
1740 W Adams Street, Suite 2000
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Mail it flat in a large envelope. Do not fold the card. The board’s completion rules are strict: black ink, prints inside the printed blocks, and the name on the card matching your application exactly. No more than one correction tab is allowed per fingerprint block, and self-taken prints are rejected outright.2Arizona State Board of Nursing. Fingerprints
Processing Times
Paper FD-258 submissions take roughly 8 to 12 weeks for the AZBN to process.2Arizona State Board of Nursing. Fingerprints Electronic submissions are faster, though the AZBN does not publish a guaranteed turnaround. Your permanent license or certificate will not issue until the state and federal results are both back and cleared.
How Criminal History Affects Your Application
A record does not automatically disqualify you, but the statute draws a hard line on felonies. The AZBN must deny or revoke a license for any applicant with one or more felony convictions unless the applicant received an absolute discharge from all felony sentences at least three years before filing the application. The one exception is a felony that has been formally redesignated as a misdemeanor under A.R.S. 13-604.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 32-1606 – Powers and Duties of Board
Misdemeanors are evaluated case by case. The AZBN’s published guidelines flag aggravating factors including crimes against patients or children, sexual offenses, drug-related convictions, and multiple misdemeanors within a five-year period.3Arizona State Board of Nursing. Guidelines for Criminal Conduct The board interviews applicants, explains possible outcomes, and provides a right to a hearing before making a final determination.
When You Also Need a DPS Fingerprint Clearance Card
Completing the AZBN fingerprint step gets your license issued. It does not, by itself, give you a DPS Fingerprint Clearance Card (FCC), which is a separate credential required by Arizona law for people working with vulnerable populations in nursing care facilities, residential care institutions, and home health agencies.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 36-411 and 36-425.03 The card is valid for six years and is often a condition of employment.5Arizona Department of Public Safety. Fingerprint Clearance Card
There is a useful carve-out in the statute. A.R.S. 36-411 states that a health professional who has already complied with fingerprinting through a regulatory board (such as the AZBN) as a condition of licensure is not required to submit an additional set of prints to DPS under that section.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 36-411 and 36-425.03 Your employer may still require you to hold an active FCC as a separate employment condition, so confirm with the facility before you assume the exemption applies to your job.
If you do need the card, DPS charges $67 for employees and $65 for volunteers, and the fee is non-refundable regardless of outcome.5Arizona Department of Public Safety. Fingerprint Clearance Card Certain offenses listed in A.R.S. 41-1758.07, including homicide, sexual assault, child abuse, exploitation of minors, sex trafficking, and specific domestic violence felonies, preclude issuance of a Level I card.6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 41-1758.07 – Level I Fingerprint Clearance Cards
Compact License Applicants
Arizona participates in the Nurse Licensure Compact, and one of the uniform requirements for a multistate license is state and federal fingerprint-based background checks. Completing the AZBN fingerprint process for your Arizona license satisfies that requirement. If you are applying for an Arizona multistate license from another compact state, confirm with the AZBN whether additional fingerprinting is needed beyond what your home state collected.