Moving between states / Florida

Flag of South CarolinaSouth CarolinatoFlag of FloridaFlorida, RN or LPN

Moving from South Carolina to Florida as a registered or practical nurse

What a registered or practical nurse licensed in South Carolina has to do to work in Florida, what the move does to your pay, and who in Florida is hiring from out of state.

Works on day one. Both South Carolina and Florida are in the Nurse Licensure Compact. A multistate RN or LPN licence from South Carolina is valid in Florida the day you arrive. Once Florida is your primary residence, apply there for a Florida multistate licence; most boards allow 30 to 60 days.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Florida leaves you roughly $2,604 a year more than South Carolina does, because Florida has no state income tax on wages.

SalarySouth Carolina state taxFlorida state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,736$0+$1,736
$60,000$2,604$0+$2,604
$90,000$3,906$0+$3,906

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.

CNA: South Carolina to Florida

Transfers by reciprocity. Your South Carolina certificate stays on the South Carolina Nurse Aide Registry (Department of Health and Human Services, administered by Credentia); 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.

Electrician: South Carolina 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 South Carolina licence comes from the South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board and Residential Builders Commission, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: South Carolina 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 South Carolina 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.

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 South Carolina 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

CNA: South Carolina to Florida · Electrician: South Carolina to Florida · Truck driver: South Carolina to Florida · All licences: South Carolina to Florida

From South Carolina 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 South Carolina

North Carolina · Georgia

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

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