Practice authority and prescribing by state

Practice authority, transition-to-practice requirements, prescribing and RN compact status for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Maintained by Nehemiah K. Ingram, DNP, FNP-CState profiles reviewed September 19 to October 5, 2026 against statutes, rules and board guidanceSources and methodsReport a correction

Informational guidance only. Holding a license does not by itself authorize every service or prescription. Confirm current requirements with the appropriate licensing authority before applying, renewing or practicing. Read the disclaimer

What the colors show: practice and prescribing combined. Each state takes the more limiting of the two, so a state with independent practice can appear as a transition or restricted state because of a prescribing condition. The table lists practice authority, transition and prescribing separately.

Full practice17: No ongoing physician relationship for practice or prescribing under state NP law, and no transition period.
Transition period21: Independent authority follows a state-defined period of experience, mentorship or approval. In some states it covers prescribing only.
Restricted13: An ongoing physician relationship applies to practice, to prescribing, or to both.

Select a state on the map or in the table. Each state’s category is also listed in the table below.

How practice authority, prescribing and transition set each color

A state’s color reflects the most limiting of two dimensions: practice and prescribing. A transition period or physician relationship that applies only to prescribing still sets the color, so the table and state detail list practice authority, transition and prescribing separately.

Full practice (17): Independent pathway (17) An independent pathway is identified. Licensing, prescribing approvals and other conditions still apply.AK AZ DE DC HI ID IA KS MT NH NM ND OR RI UT WA WY
Transition period (21): Practice transition (15) An initial experience, mentorship or designation requirement applies. The state summary distinguishes supervision from mentorship and explains the permitted setting.AR CA CT FL IL ME MD MN NE NJ NY SD VT VA WI; Prescribing transition (6) A prescribing experience or agreement-removal pathway applies. It may concern only certain drug schedules.CO KY MA NV OK WV
Restricted (13): Prescribing agreement (1) A physician relationship applies to prescribing; drug-specific exceptions may apply.IN; Physician relationship (11) A physician relationship applies to practice and prescribing.AL GA LA MS MO NC OH PA SC TN TX; State-specific conditions (1) Practice recognition and prescribing relationships differ. Read the state-specific summary for the drug or activity affected.MI

Categories summarize state law; they are not an eligibility determination for any individual clinician.

State

ArizonaAZ

Practice authority: Full practice
Transition: None
Prescribing: Independent
Controlled substances: No physician relationship required
RN compact: NLC member
Why this color: Independent pathway, for practice and prescribing
Official board: Arizona State Board of Nursing

NPs can prescribe independently within their authorized scope. Controlled-substance schedules, DEA registration and any state approvals still apply; review the state details before prescribing.

Checked against 6 official sourcesStatute, rule or board guidance, reviewed September 19, 2026. The full detail lists each one.

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Find a statePractice authorityRN compact (NLC)

NP practice authority, transition requirement, prescribing and RN compact status by state. Column headers sort the table.
					Board
AlabamaAL	Restricted	No FPA pathway	Collaborative	NLC member	Alabama Board of Nursing
AlaskaAK	Full practice	None	Independent	Not in NLC	Alaska Board of Nursing
ArizonaAZ	Full practice	None	Independent	NLC member	Arizona State Board of Nursing
ArkansasAR	Transition period	6,240 hours	Independent after transition	NLC member	Arkansas State Board of Nursing
CaliforniaCA	Transition period	4,600 hours per stage	Independent after transition	Not in NLC	California Board of Registered Nursing
ColoradoCO	Transition period	750 mentorship hours (prescribing)	Independent after transition	NLC member	Colorado Board of Nursing
ConnecticutCT	Transition period	2,000 hours + 3 years	Independent after transition	NLC member	Connecticut Department of Public Health
DelawareDE	Full practice	None	Independent	NLC member	Delaware Board of Nursing
District of ColumbiaDC	Full practice	None	Independent	Not in NLC	District of Columbia Board of Nursing
FloridaFL	Transition period	3,000 hours, primary care	Delegated; autonomous primary care pathway	NLC member	Florida Board of Nursing
GeorgiaGA	Restricted	No FPA pathway	Collaborative	NLC member	Georgia Board of Nursing
HawaiiHI	Full practice	None	Independent	Not in NLC	Hawaii Board of Nursing
IdahoID	Full practice	None	Independent	NLC member	Idaho Board of Nursing
IllinoisIL	Transition period	4,000 hours + 250 education hours	Independent after transition	Not in NLC	Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
IndianaIN	Restricted	No FPA pathway	Collaborative	NLC member	Indiana State Board of Nursing
IowaIA	Full practice	None	Independent	NLC member	Iowa Board of Nursing
KansasKS	Full practice	None	Independent	NLC member	Kansas State Board of Nursing
KentuckyKY	Transition period	4 years prescribing	Collaborative; exemption pathways	NLC member	Kentucky Board of Nursing
LouisianaLA	Restricted	No FPA pathway	Collaborative	NLC member	Louisiana State Board of Nursing
MaineME	Transition period	24 months supervised	Independent after transition	NLC member	Maine State Board of Nursing
MarylandMD	Transition period	18-month mentor, first-time NPs	Independent after transition	NLC member	Maryland Board of Nursing
MassachusettsMA	Transition period	2 years supervised	Independent after transition	Not in NLC	Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing
MichiganMI	Restricted	No FPA pathway	Independent noncontrolled / delegated controlled	Not in NLC	Michigan Board of Nursing / LARA
MinnesotaMN	Transition period	2,080 hours	Independent after transition	Not in NLC	Minnesota Board of Nursing
MississippiMS	Restricted	No FPA pathway	Collaborative	NLC member	Mississippi Board of Nursing
MissouriMO	Restricted	No FPA pathway	Collaborative	NLC member	Missouri State Board of Nursing
MontanaMT	Full practice	None	Independent	NLC member	Montana Board of Nursing
NebraskaNE	Transition period	2,000 hours	Independent after transition	NLC member	Nebraska DHHS Licensure Unit
NevadaNV	Transition period	2,000 hours or 2 years (Schedule II)	Independent; Schedule II pathway	Not in NLC	Nevada State Board of Nursing
New HampshireNH	Full practice	None	Independent	NLC member	New Hampshire Board of Nursing
New JerseyNJ	Transition period	More than 5,000 hours	Independent after qualifying transition	NLC member	New Jersey Board of Nursing
New MexicoNM	Full practice	None	Independent	NLC member	New Mexico Board of Nursing
New YorkNY	Transition period	More than 3,600 hours	Independent after transition	Not in NLC	New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions
North CarolinaNC	Restricted	No FPA pathway	Collaborative	NLC member	North Carolina Board of Nursing
North DakotaND	Full practice	None	Independent	NLC member	North Dakota Board of Nursing
OhioOH	Restricted	No FPA pathway	Collaborative	NLC member	Ohio Board of Nursing
OklahomaOK	Transition period	6,240 prescribing hours	Independent after transition	NLC member	Oklahoma Board of Nursing
OregonOR	Full practice	None	Independent	Not in NLC	Oregon State Board of Nursing
PennsylvaniaPA	Restricted	No FPA pathway	Collaborative	NLC member	Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing
Rhode IslandRI	Full practice	None	Independent	NLC member	Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education
South CarolinaSC	Restricted	No FPA pathway	Collaborative	NLC member	South Carolina Board of Nursing
South DakotaSD	Transition period	1,040 hours	Independent after transition	NLC member	South Dakota Board of Nursing
TennesseeTN	Restricted	No FPA pathway	Collaborative	NLC member	Tennessee Board of Nursing
TexasTX	Restricted	No FPA pathway	Collaborative	NLC member	Texas Board of Nursing
UtahUT	Full practice	None	Independent	NLC member	Utah Division of Professional Licensing
VermontVT	Transition period	2,400 hours + 24 months	Independent after transition	NLC member	Vermont Board of Nursing
VirginiaVA	Transition period	5,400 hours (3 full-time years)	Independent after transition	NLC member	Virginia Board of Nursing
WashingtonWA	Full practice	None	Independent	NLC member	Washington State Board of Nursing
West VirginiaWV	Transition period	3 years prescribing	Independent after transition	NLC member	West Virginia RN Board
WisconsinWI	Transition period	3,840 APRN + 3,840 nursing hours, 24 months	Independent after transition	NLC member	Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
WyomingWY	Full practice	None	Independent	NLC member	Wyoming State Board of Nursing

51 of 51 jurisdictions shownReport a correction

RN compact status is not APRN authority. A qualifying multistate RN license may satisfy the RN prerequisite in another NLC state; NP authority in that state is a separate license or approval.

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