Nursing
License Requirements: Nurse Practitioner
General Requirements
Use of the title "Nurse Practitioner" within New York requires a certificate issued by the New York State Education Department.
To receive a certificate to practice as a nurse practitioner in New York State you must:
- have a currently registered New York State license as a Registered Professional Nurse (RN); and
- meet education requirements
A nurse practitioner is certified to practice in a specific specialty area. You may be authorized in more than one specialty. Current specialty areas are: Acute Care, Adult Health, College Health, Community Health, Family Health, Gerontology, Holistic Care, Neonatology, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Oncology, Pediatrics, Palliative Care, Perinatology, Psychiatry, School Health, Women's Health.
You must file an Application for a Certificate (Form 1) for each specialty area you want to be authorized in and all other forms indicated to demonstrate that you have satisfied the education requirements specific to that specialty area, along with the appropriate fee, to the Office of the Professions at the address specified on each form. It is your responsibility to follow up with anyone you have asked to send us material. Once authorized, you must maintain the registration of your RN license and your NP certificate in order to practice as a nurse practitioner.
The specific requirements for certification are contained in Title 8, Article 139, Section 6910 of New York's Education Law and Part 64 of the Commissioner's Regulations. For additional information regarding legal requirements for licensed professionals, see the section below on professional conduct.
You should also read the general licensing information applicable for all professions.
Fees
The fee for a certificate in each nurse practitioner specialty area is $85. ($50 certificate application fee plus a $35 fee for initial registration.)
Fees are subject to change. The fee due is the one in law when your application is received (unless fees are increased retroactively). You will be billed for the difference if fees have been increased.
- Do not send cash.
- Make your personal check or money order payable to the New York State Education Department. Your cancelled check is your receipt.
- Mail your application and fee to:
NYS Education Department, Office of the Professions
PO Box 22063
Albany, NY 12201
Partial Refunds
Individuals who withdraw their licensure application any time prior to a determination may be entitled to a partial refund.
- For the procedure to withdraw your application, contact the Nurse Practitioner unit at opunit3@mail.nysed.gov or by calling 518-474-3817 ext. 270 or by fax at 518-402-5354.
- The State Education Department is not responsible for any fees paid to an outside testing or credentials verification agency.
If you withdraw your application, obtain a refund, and then decide to seek New York State certification at a later date, you will be considered a new applicant, and you will be required to pay the certification and registration fees and meet the certification requirements in place at the time of reapplication.
Address or Name Changes
If your mailing address or name changes, you must contact the Department to update your records and provide the following information: your full name, social security number, profession and date of birth. Failure to provide the Department with your change of address or name will delay processing your application.
For address changes you may phone, fax or e-mail:
For name changes a Fax or E-mail is not acceptable. You must provide written notification of any name change with an original notarized signature to:
NYS Education Department, Office of the Professions
Division of Professional Licensing Services
Nurse Practitioner Unit
89 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12234-1000
Professional Conduct
All licensed practitioners must adhere to rules of professional conduct. The Education Law includes definitions of professional misconduct, and the Board of Regents has adopted rules defining unprofessional conduct for all professions. Every licensee is also governed by a set of laws, rules, and regulations for the practice of that specific profession.
See Title 8 of the NYS Education Law and Part 29 of the Rules of the Board of Regents for specific information.
Education Requirements
To satisfy the education requirements for certification as a nurse practitioner, you must present evidence of satisfying the requirements of A or B or C below. Additionally, you must meet the requirements for D below.
- Completion of a nurse practitioner educational program
registered by the New York State Education Department as
qualifying for certification, or a program determined by the
Department to be equivalent to a registered program, which is
designed and conducted to prepare graduates to practice as nurse
practitioners.
- Certification as a nurse practitioner by one of the following national certifying organizations:
American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
P.O. Box 12846
Austin, TX 78711
Phone: 512-442-4262
Web: www.aanp.org
American Holostic Nurses Certification Corporation
811 Linden Loop
Cedar Park, Tx. 78610
Phone: 512-528-9210
E-mail: AHNCC@Flash.net
American Nurses Credentialing Center
Attn: Verification Specialist
P.O. Box 791321
Baltimore, MD 21279-1321
Web: http://nursingworld.org/ancc/
National Board for Certification of Hospice and Palliative Nurses
One Penn Center West
Pittsburgh, Pa 15276-0100
Phone: 412-787-1057
E-mail: nbchpn@hpna.org
National Certification Corporation
(Formerly NAACOG)
P.O. Box 11082
Chicago, IL 60611-0082
Phone: 312-951-0207
Web: www.nccnet.org
(Certification for women's health, neonatal and gynecologic/reproductive nurse practitioners.)
Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation
125 Enterprise Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15275
Phone: 877-769-6622
Web: www.oncc.org
Pediatric Nursing Certification Board
800 South Frederick Avenue, Suite 204
Gaithersburg, MD 20877-4152
Phone: 301-330-2921 or 888-641-2767
Web: www.pncb.org - Satisfaction of alternative certification requirements for
graduates of nurse practitioner programs prior to April 1, 1989,
as follows:
- completion of at least a four-week long (full-time) nurse
practitioner program prior to April 1, 1989;
and either
- two years of experience prior to April 1, 1989, of which one
year must be after April 1, 1986, in the provision of primary
health care services in a health care facility licensed pursuant
to Article 28 of the Public Health Law or in a school health
demonstration project;
or
- completion of a supplemental educational program culminating
in the successful completion of a comprehensive examination or
clinical evaluation. (Registered nurses should contact currently
registered nurse practitioner programs for information about
admission to their programs with advanced placement.)
- completion of at least a four-week long (full-time) nurse
practitioner program prior to April 1, 1989;
AND
- Satisfaction of the pharmacotherapeutic requirement
(for all applicants, regardless of whether A, B, or C above was
completed). You must document:
- completion of not less than three semester hours, or the
equivalent, in pharmacotherapeutics to include instruction in
drug management of clients in the nurse practitioner specialty
area and instruction in New York State and Federal laws and
regulations relating to prescriptions and record keeping;
or
- completion of an educational program or a combination of
courses which is the substantial equivalent in content and scope
to the pharmacotherapeutics course listed above;
or
- satisfactory completion of an examination in
pharmacotherapeutics acceptable to the Department;
or
- satisfactory completion of a nationally recognized
examination acceptable for licensure in New York State as a
physician assistant or for certification as a nurse
midwife.
Please Note: If you have completed a program other than a New York State licensure-qualifying program and/or your pharmacotherapeutics course did not include instruction in New York State and Federal laws and regulations related to prescriptions and record keeping, you may contact the following professional association's for required instruction:The Nurse Practitioner Association of New York State
12 Corporate Drive
Clifton Park, NY 12065
Phone: 518-348-0719
Web: www.thenpa.orgThe New York State Nurses Association
11 Cornell Road
Latham, NY, 12210-1499
Phone: 518-782-9400 ext. 288
Web: www.nysna.org
Online course: New York Prescribing Information for Nurse Practitioners
- completion of not less than three semester hours, or the
equivalent, in pharmacotherapeutics to include instruction in
drug management of clients in the nurse practitioner specialty
area and instruction in New York State and Federal laws and
regulations relating to prescriptions and record keeping;
Prescription Forms
If you satisfy all requirements for a certificate as a nurse practitioner, you will be authorized to issue prescriptions pursuant to Section 6902 (3) (b) of the Education Law.
New York State Prescription Forms may be obtained from:
New York State Department of Health
Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement
433 River Street, Suite 303
Troy, NY 12180
Phone: 866-811-7957 or 518-402-0708
National Provider Identifier (NPI)
All health care providers - including those serving Medicare beneficiaries - are now required to apply for a new National Provider Identifier (NPI) that will be used in all electronic health care transactions. The NPI will replace all other provider identifiers currently being used. The National Provider Identifier initiative was mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and requires that NPIs be used by health plans, health care clearinghouses, and health care providers that process claims, handle claim status inquiries/responses and eligibility inquiries/responses, as well as other transactions. Nurse practitioners can apply for an NPI by going to http://nppes.cms.hhs.gov. Applications can be submitted online or via regular mail.
Federal Drug Enforcement Administration Number (DEA)
A Federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Number is required to prescribe and dispense narcotic and controlled substances. A DEA number may be obtained from:
United States Department of Justice
Drug Enforcement Administration
99 10th Avenue
New York, NY 10011
Phone: 877-883-5789, 800-882-9539 or 212-337-1593
Fax: 212-337-2867 or 2895
Web: www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov
Collaborative Agreements and Protocol Text
Collaborative Agreement
You are required to establish a collaborative agreement with one physician prior to beginning practice and maintain that agreement in the practice setting(s) where it will be available for inspection by the State Education Department (SED). New practitioners are also required to submit Form 4NP-Verification of Collaborative Agreement and Practice Protocol only once to the SED's Office of the Professions no later than 90 days after beginning professional practice.
The collaborative agreement shall include provisions for referral and consultation, coverage for absences of either the nurse practitioner or the collaborating physician, resolution of disagreements between the nurse practitioner and the collaborating physician regarding matters of diagnosis and treatment, the review of a representative sample of patient records every three months by the collaborating physician, record keeping provisions and any other provisions jointly determined by the nurse practitioner and the physician to be appropriate. You may use this sample agreement (PDF) as a model.
Protocol Text as Practice Protocol
You are also required to identify a protocol text, from the approved list, as your official practice protocol which must reflect the specialty area of practice as identified on your State Education Department issued nurse practitioner certificate. The approved protocol texts include provisions for case management, diagnosis and treatment of pathology in the specialty area. Additional protocols or textbooks which may be appropriate to the practice and/or employment setting may be used but need not be reflected in the collaborative agreement.
Questions about collaborative agreements and practice protocols may be referred to the State Board for Nursing by e-mailing nursebd@mail.nysed.gov or by calling 518-474-3817 ext. 120, or by faxing 518-474-3706.
