Many people are asking me on how to apply to New Mexico so I read their application forms and guidelines and tried to make it as simple as possible. Please take note that I made these steps for international nurses applying by examination to New Mexico. Also, please be reminded that I have no experience in applying to New Mexico and just gathered information through their official website.

I hope that the information here can guide you so you can have an easier process in doing your application. So let’s start with the process:

1. The first thing you need to do is download the application form by going to this link: New Mexico Exam Application. To open the document, you must have Adobe Reader and you can download the program for free.
2. Once the document is opened, print a hard copy read through all the information. Reading instructions are VITAL to having a complete, concise and worry free application process.
3. Please be reminded NOT to leave any blanks on the form. If a question is NON APPLICABLE to you write N/A on the question. ALL yes or no questions CANNOT be answered with a N/A.
4. Let’s proceed to the different forms that needs to be accomplished:
   • EXAMINATION PAYMENT FORM (page 7 of downloaded document)
     • Fill in all the necessary information such as LEGAL NAME (follow the order mentioned- Last, First, Middle & Maiden Name)
     • Place N/A on Social Security #, NM Nursing License # & Agency Name.
     • Check on the blank beside REGISTERED NURSES on the examination fees.
     • Check on the appropriate box on your mode of payment.
       • If you are going to pay via U.S. Money Order, Cashier’s Check or Demand Draft drawn on U.S. banks:
         • MAKE SURE it is payable to NEW MEXICO BOARD OF NURSING with the amount of $110.00.
         • Staple the copy of your chosen mode of payment from above in the said area in the application form.
       • If you will pay via Credit Card:
         • Check on the appropriate box if your card is Visa or MasterCard (you can usually see this on the lower right corner in the front of the credit card).
         • Write the Credit Card Number and Expiration Date of the credit card to be used for payment (these are located in the front part of the credit card).
         • Place the signature of the credit card holder. (Please take note that it was not specified in the instructions on whose signature is to be placed but since this is a payment form I assumed that the signature of the card holder would be placed since this is a transaction to his/ her card and this payment form will be used for reference in the payment of the said fees.)
   • EXAMINATION APPLICATION (page 8 of downloaded document)
     • Section 1 (Fees)
       • Check on the box that says $110 RN
       • This section is in relation to the EXAMINATION PAYMENT FORM we discussed above. The mentioned $110 fee here and the one above is one and the same.
     • Section 2 (Personal Information)
       • Fill in the necessary information ACCURATELY.
       • For the U.S. SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER write N/A.
       • Be sure to use the same name and address on all documentation for this will be the basis for your application at PearsonVue and when you take the NCLEX-RN Examination.
     • Section 3 (Education)
       • Answer the questions asked correctly.
       • Please be reminded that aside from answering the questions regarding education provided in the form you are REQUIRED to order a Credentials Evaluation Service (CES) at CGFNS. To learn more about this click here. You can download the 2008 CES Application Handbook by clicking on the link provided. WITHOUT the CES your application form will NOT be processed.
       • Request for the Nursing or Health care profession and science course-by-course credentials and review. All fees for the said processing shall be shouldered by the applicant.
     • Section 4 (Request for Graduate Permit)
       • This is usually non applicable for international applicants so place N/A on the space provided.
     • Section 5 (Disciplinary)
       • Check on the appropriate boxes in response to the questions.
       • If you answered YES, to any of the questions please write a letter of explanation on a separate sheet and certified copies of legal documents.
     • Section 6 (Declaration of Primary State of Residence)
       • I am not so sure about this area since we do not necessarily have “states” here in the Philippines BUT if you based it on what is written in the form as a “Primary State of Residence” it was mentioned there that it was: “Primary state of residence” is defined as the state of a person’s declared fixed permanent and principal home for legal purposes. So probably, you can write what city and country you reside in.
       • Also state the state(s) where you intend to practice as indicated on the form.
     • Section 7 (Applicant’s Signature & Special Accomodations)
       • Sign with your Legal Signature and Date on the space provided.
       • If you have Special Accomodations needed for the exam contact the form for instructions and additional forms.
   • FINGERPRINTING FORM & INFORMATION (click on the link to download the form)
     • Requesting a Fingerprint Card:
       • You can request fingerprint cards by going to this link: Fingerprint Card Request. Fill in the necessary information and wait for the cards to arrive in the mail.
       • Once it arrives in the mail you are supposed to receive at least two (2) fingerprint cards since this is the amount of cards you need to submit to the board.
     • Answering the Fingerprint Card:
       • The following boxes on the fingerprint cards MUST be completed:
         • Signature of Person Being Fingerprinted
         • Name
         • AKA(if applicable)
         • Date of Birth
         • Citizenship
         • Sex
         • Race
         • Height
         • Weight
         • Eyes
         • Hair
         • Place of Birth
         • If these boxes are not completed, fingerprint cards will be sent back to the applicant and the application will not be processed.
     • Processing Fee for the Fingerprint Card & Background Check etc.
       • Has 3 modes of payments: Cashier’s Check , Money Order or Demand Draft (drawn on US Bank).
       • The amount is $40.25 payable to the NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
       • The $40.25 fee may NOT be combined with the licensure fee.
       • Other forms of Payment will not be accepted.
     • Do NOT forget to accomplish and print the FINGERPRINT FORM AND THE AUTHORIZATION FOR RELEASE OF INFORMATION FORM these can be found in the link mentioned above.

I hope the information placed here helped you guys in understanding the New Mexico Board of Nursing forms. To summarize things here are the things you need to submit to the board:

• Application and fee $110.00
• Two completed fingerprint cards
• One completed Fingerprint Certificate Form
• One notarized Authorization For Release of Information Form
• Background Check Processing Fee of $40.25

Mail your completed application to this address:

NEW MEXICO BOARD OF NURSING 6301 Indian School NE, Suite 710, Albuquerque, NM 87110

In addition to this, please do NOT forget to also request a CES evaluation from CGFNS since New Mexico Board of Nursing does NOT internally evaluate school records anymore. Without the CES evaluation your form will not be processed.

Also, do NOT leave any blanks on your forms write N/A if there are things that are non applicable to you.

Thank you very much for your support to PhilippineNursesInfo. I hope to see more of you here and feel free to leave comments.

Please be reminded that all information placed on these articles are opinions based on different forums, sites, experiences and knowledge. The intention of these articles is to be able to give guidance and idea to the readers. Later on, it will be the reader who will decided on whether or not to push through with the content of this article. In addition, end results vary from person to person and is a case to case basis.

If to be posted elsewhere please credit www.philippinenursesinfo.com.

Welcome to the very first edition of Q&A here in the site. For those people who are quite familiar with me this is how I respond to the comments you post in any of the articles here in the blog. Usually I make it a point to answer comments on a weekly basis and if there is a bulk of comments I try to do it at least twice in a week. So I encourage you to post comments and at the same time check the site often to see updates.

So as a starter the text in bold and italics were the comments written by the people and below it is my response to their queries, comments or opinions. Hope this information helps.

PATRICK

“I cannot verify this but as of now all I know is that PearsonVue Manila is fully booked until June. I haven’t heard of anything as to there will be no more examinations conducted in Manila and if this is true this would have been all over the news or at least announced at PearsonVue’s website.”

-PearsonVue Manila is not fully booked. I was able to schedule an appointment for NCLEX-RN exam. I got my ATT (Texas) last week and I just scheduled an exam today (Feb 25) for May 2008.

Thank you very much for this info like what I mentioned I couldn’t vouch for that info but I think the issue here is that most people are having difficulty scheduling since most of their preferred dates are taken thus thinking the schedules are fully booked. The thing is though since a lot of people are taking the examinations schedules are pretty scattered so if your preferred date is taken ask for the next best dates that fits your schedule and chances are you will be able to guarantee a slot for your examination.

CHRISTINE

helo po..ask ko lang po kung pano gumawa ng application paper.wala pa po akong work experience and this is my first time in making an application letter.. help me po… thanks ,,,more power.

Hi there Christine in order for me to help you out more specifically what type of application letter will you be doing? What is it for? Were you pertaining to a resume? Please respond and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

DENNIS

where can i see the answers regarding their questions? thanks…

Hi Dennis as you can see this is just a new site and I used to write at www.codedmushroom.com most of my previous articles are still there and just click on the Nursing Link. For future queries, comments and articles please visit this site www.philippinenursesinfo.com. Looking forward to seeing more of you here on this site.

NEZZ

hi joan!!!
>just want to know how to apply for nclex exam..
>i want to know the detailed requirements needed to avail the exam
>also i want to know the total fees i have to pay
i just need ur reply asap plssssssss…. tnx God Bless!!!

Hi Nezz thanks for your inquiry. First of all I need to know what US State do you plan on applying to? Since the answer to the rest of your queries will depend on what state you would be applying? (California, Texas, New Mexico, Florida etc.). Leave a comment on the site on what state you want to apply in and I’ll try to answer these questions on my next Q&A.

GELAI

hi po. im a new grad and take po sana ako ng nclex. i just passed the local board exam. sa cali po sana ako apply. i’ve downloaded na the forms and read the instructions. one thing lng po hindi clear, hehe. how do i get hold of the fingerprint card. para kasi walang instructions on how to request for one. should i send my application first, then they’d send me fingerprnt cards, den isend ko ulit ung fingerprnt card? please help. ung cali license expire po daw after 3 yrs? is it faster if i use my cousin’s add there in cali po? hope to hear from you. thnx po. sorry if ever repeat na ung questions ko, hndi ko na mahanap past entries nu po. at tsaka ang hirap read ng lahat entries one by one. hehe. God bless po.

hello po ulit. i saw na po pla ung fingerprnt request. hehe. un na po ba un? online request lng, den wait na ako? fingerprnt card na ung darating? thnx po.

Congratulations on passing the recent PNLE. Regarding the fingerprint card if the link you went in required you to put some basic information especially an address wait for the fingerprint card in the mail to arrive approximately a month or two months after depending on the bulk of requests and mailing services. Wait for the fingerprint card, accomplish it and then mail it together with your application form. If you send in your application without it your application will be considered incomplete.

Regarding the expiration of the California License I am not so sure if their license expire in 2 or 3 years I will need to verify on this first. But if you are pertaining to after passing the NCLEX-RN exam they will give you 3 years to provide them with a SSN to be able to give you an actual license.

As for using your cousin’s address it would definitely be faster mailing wise since correspondence would be done over the same state. The thing is though you have to make sure that your cousin has the time and the willingness to inform or update you just in case anything comes in to their mail regarding your application. In general, application process takes about 4-6 months depending on the bulk of applicants. Hope this information helped

PEM

tumawag napo ako sa Caloifornia and wala naman syang sinabi na kulang documnets, 16-24wks lang daw ung pagprocess. so pede po na ipadala ko na lang magisa ung document na un or lahat pa ulet ng documents coming from school need ur reply asap tnx!

Hi Pem I was reviewing your previous comments from the other site and I am just worried did you ask them directly if you have any incomplete documents? Or atleast explained to them your situation? The thing is that Americans are pretty straight forward and if you do not ask them directly you won’t get a straight answer as well. Also verify with your bank if the bankdraft you made was accepted since I worry that you placed a wrong name in which the draft was made payable to. Because if this is the case then if the fee was not valid then they would not process your forms. I hope you could shed more light on this call you made with California BON so we can analyze this further.

CREZ

 Hi, I couldn’t follow on how to join your group. I know I was able to join the group, but could not post a message there. Anywei, my concern is this: I already requested TOR from my school and they gave it to me for mailing. That was October 2007.  I wasn’t able to mail it then because I haven’t completed yet my personal application to BON which is supposed to arrive there first, right? But now that I have already saved enough for the application fee, I’m quite bothered  that my TOR is still dated 2007.  Would it create problem or confusion to the Calif-BON that my TOR is just mailed now? Would the date matter to them? PLEASE ENLIGHTEN ME.

The mailing group was intended for newsletter so you would not be able to post responses there. Anyways, with regards to your question personally I think it might raise some questions since the school forms are like approximately 4 months ago. And yes you are right the personal forms should arrive first. My best advice that I could give you is that to have the school make another set of forms with a more updated date. I just really fear that doubts might be raised against you. And also please take note that school forms should be sent by the school.

Please be reminded that all information placed on these articles are opinions based on different forums, sites, experiences and knowledge. The intention of these articles is to be able to give guidance and idea to the readers. Later on, it will be the reader who will decided on whether or not to push through with the content of this article. In addition, end results vary from person to person and is a case to case basis.