Moving between states / Florida

Flag of AlaskaAlaskatoFlag of FloridaFlorida, CNA

Moving from Alaska to Florida as a certified nursing assistant

What a certified nursing assistant licensed in Alaska has to do to work in Florida, what the move does to your pay, and who in Florida is hiring from out of state.

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Alaska certificate stays on the Alaska Board of Nursing (Certified Nurse Aide program); to work in Florida you apply to the Florida Board of Nursing (CNA certification by endorsement) for reciprocity. Endorsement for an active CNA from another state registry; Florida runs its own background screening before it certifies you. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.

What the move does to your paycheck

Neither Alaska nor Florida taxes wages, so the move changes nothing on the state line of your paycheck.

SalaryAlaska state taxFlorida state taxDifference a year
$40,000$0$0$0
$60,000$0$0$0
$90,000$0$0$0

Rough figures for a single filer: exact in the flat-rate and no-tax states, approximated at 70% of the top bracket in the progressive ones. Property and sales tax are not in it.

RN and LPN: Alaska to Florida

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Alaska is not in the compact, so your Alaska licence is single-state. Apply to the Florida board for licensure by endorsement (Nursys verification, fingerprints, the board's fee); six to twelve weeks is normal, so start before you give notice. Because Florida is a compact state, ask for the new licence to be issued as a multistate licence: from then on it works in every compact state.

Electrician: Alaska to Florida

Reciprocity likely. Florida licenses electricians at state level through the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board, and Contractor licences are state-certified or county-registered; journeyman cards are county-issued, and several counties reciprocate with each other. Your Alaska licence comes from the Alaska Department of Labor, Mechanical Inspection, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: Alaska to Florida

Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Florida resident you surrender the Alaska CDL at a Florida driver licence office, pass the vision test, pay the fee, and your endorsements carry over. A hazmat endorsement needs a fresh TSA threat assessment in Florida. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.

No statewide program in Florida pays people to move in. Towns sometimes list an offer through MakeMyMove, and employers in short-staffed trades pay relocation themselves; ask for it in writing before you accept.

Going the other way? Alaska has Permanent Fund Dividend. See moving from Florida to Alaska.

Openings filed in Florida

297 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Florida employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from Alaska to Florida

Tell us your trade and your licence. We write the steps for your case, check the job offer for scams, and keep your resume ready for Florida employers.

Plan my move to Florida

Same move, by trade

RN or LPN: Alaska to Florida · Electrician: Alaska to Florida · Truck driver: Alaska to Florida · All licences: Alaska to Florida

From Alaska to the states next to Florida

Georgia (flat 5.19% state income tax) · Alabama (progressive, top rate 5%)

To Florida from the states next to Alaska

Everything about working in Florida · All moves between states · All 50 states

Moving for a job? Start with your state.

Licence transfer, what the state takes from your pay, and who pays you to come. Free, no account.

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