License requirements by state
What each board asks for at initial licensure and at renewal, step by step, for RN, APRN and prescribing credentials.
Informational guidance only. Confirm current requirements with the appropriate licensing authority before applying, renewing or practicing. Read the disclaimer
Colorado: APRN, initial licensure
Prepare the state-specific education, certification, application and practice documents below. Separate prescribing approvals appear under Prescriptive Authority and State Rx / CS.
NP application checklist
Maintain RN authority and apply for inclusion on the Advanced Practice Registry in the NP role and population focus. Document the qualifying graduate degree and current nationally recognized certification; older registrants have date-specific exceptions. Prescriptive authority requires a separate approval under section 12-255-112.
- Timing
- Before initial state authorization
- Conditions
- Standard NP application. Additional documents apply to international education, reentry, discipline, name changes and other nonstandard routes.
NP practice and prescribing
APRN practice and authorization to prescribe are separate credentials. Provisional prescriptive authority leads to full authority after a qualifying mentorship and attestation.
- Timing
- During practice
- Conditions
- The statute requires three years of combined RN/APRN clinical work before provisional authority. The prescribing mentorship follows provisional authorization and must be completed within three years.
750 Hours of prescribing mentorship
Complete 750 hours of a mutually structured prescribing mentorship under provisional prescriptive authority (RXN-P), within three years, with a mentor practicing in Colorado and in the RXN-P role and population focus, then submit the mentor attestation. Three years of combined RN or APRN clinical experience (student and volunteer work count) precedes provisional authority. Applicants with active prescriptive authority elsewhere may document 750 prescribing hours from another state or the military instead (3 CCR 716-1, Rule 1.15(J)).
- Timing
- Before independent practice or prescribing, as specified
- Conditions
- Clinical practice hours are not continuing-education hours. Board approval may be required.
Coverage and conditions
- Use the checklist for the standard NP route. International education, reentry, military pathways, older educational exceptions and disciplinary history can require additional board documents. Submit the board’s current application; this site does not submit it for you.
Maintained by The Multistate NP from board sources and updated on review. Confirm against the board’s current application before you file. National certification and federal DEA requirements are separate.