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
North Carolina: APRN, initial licensure
North Carolina separates one-time NP registration from physician-specific approval to practice. Review the confirmed steps and fees below, then follow the additional document instructions in your application confirmation.
Joint approval and physician prescribing instructions
Obtain current NP approval under the joint nursing/medical-board framework. Before prescribing, establish written supervising-physician instructions on indications, contraindications and periodic review. Pain-clinic targeted-controlled-substance prescriptions exceeding 30 days require personal consultation, then at least every 90 days for continued prescribing.
- Timing
- Before practice and prescribing
- Conditions
- G.S. 90-18.2 verifies the approval framework. Registration and application attachments depend on the board’s submission process.
Register once, then obtain approval to practice
Complete the one-time $25 NP registration through the Nurse Portal. Registration alone does not authorize NP practice. Submit Initial Approval to Practice separately or use the combined registration-and-approval application. Wait for the board’s final approval notification before practicing.
- Timing
- Before North Carolina NP practice
- Conditions
- Nurse Portal: https://portal.ncbon.com/. Registration may be issued or its application submitted before the separate initial-approval application. Approval is reviewed jointly by the nursing and medical boards.
Confirm permanent RN or compact authority
Hold an active permanent North Carolina RN license or a valid multistate RN license from another compact state. If remaining resident in that other compact state, select Submit Multistate RN for APRN Approval in the Nurse Portal; APRN applications become available after verification.
- Timing
- Before North Carolina NP practice
- Conditions
- A temporary RN license does not qualify for NP approval. Use the conditional RN endorsement reference if you need a North Carolina RN license.
Prepare physician and practice information
Provide the supervising physician’s name or license number plus email address. Supply the practice name, address, office phone and email. Identify each approval as paid/non-volunteer or unpaid/volunteer.
- Timing
- Before North Carolina NP practice
- Conditions
- Establish a collaborative practice agreement with a physician licensed by the NC Medical Board. Application submission and fee payment do not themselves authorize practice.
NP registration and approval fees
Registration is $25 once. Initial approval costs $100 per physician for paid practice or $20 per physician for unpaid volunteer practice. For one physician, the combined registration and initial-approval board fees are $125 paid or $45 volunteer.
- Timing
- Before North Carolina NP practice
- Conditions
- Additional physicians add the applicable approval fee. These totals exclude conditional RN endorsement, background checks, verification, DEA and other outside charges. Fees are nonrefundable; Visa or MasterCard credit/debit payments are accepted.
Follow the instructions issued with your application
NCBON says the NP registration confirmation provides additional information about required items. After you apply, read the confirmation and any individualized requests in the Nurse Portal. The confirmation is available under the relevant tile’s Files tab.
- Timing
- Before North Carolina NP practice
- Conditions
- No separate public document checklist has been identified. You do not need to submit an application to use this public guide. RN endorsement forms remain separate from NP registration.
Maintain national NP certification
Maintain national NP certification for approval to practice. If certification has been renewed or updated since the last NP renewal, send the updated copy to NCBON.
- Timing
- Initial approval and renewal
- Conditions
- Certification is an approval requirement. The separate CE page’s certification-or-50-hour rule describes education compliance; it is not permission for a newly applying NP to dispense with certification.
Update supervising physicians and practice sites
Use Physician Maintenance for a new physician, additional practice sites, practice-contact changes or physician removal. A new paid physician approval is $100; volunteer approval is $20. Receive approval with the new physician before seeing patients.
- Timing
- When employment, supervision or RN details change
- Conditions
- Requesting inactive status or removing a physician has no fee. Updating an out-of-state compact RN expiration in the portal is also free.
Maintain the collaborative practice agreement
Review, sign and date the CPA annually with the supervising physician. Hold quality-improvement meetings monthly during the first six months of a new CPA, then every six months. Restart the monthly schedule when the supervising physician changes.
- Timing
- Before practice and throughout each physician relationship
- Conditions
- Retain the required practice and audit records for five years. The CPA may restrict activities within your education, certification and competence; it cannot expand scope beyond them.
RN endorsement: eligibility and timing
When North Carolina RN licensure is needed, apply through the Nurse Portal. Document approved nursing education, NCLEX or SBTPE passage, and an active license within the past five years. Five or more inactive/lapsed years require an approved refresher. The endorsement application and background check remain active for one year; an incomplete process after that requires repayment.
- Timing
- Before North Carolina NP practice
- Conditions
- Conditional RN route, not an additional NP application. Another compact-state primary residence with valid multistate authority changes eligibility for issuance. If moving your primary residence to NC, apply immediately and update your portal address; confirm current compact transition rules.
RN endorsement: history and verification
Prepare basic nursing-school name, location and graduation year; original examination-license state/year/number; current license details; dates and positions for the last two nursing employers; every U.S. member board where ever licensed; and a U.S. Social Security number. Obtain verification from the original state and, if different, the last state practiced.
- Timing
- Before North Carolina NP practice
- Conditions
- Conditional on needing RN endorsement. Disclose disciplinary history and provide requested explanations, court records and other supporting documents. Listing all licenses is not the same as paying to verify every license.
Send RN verification through Nursys or the board
Request the applicable RN verification through Nursys, selecting North Carolina as the recipient. For a nonparticipating board, request direct verification to NCBON. The endorsement page quotes $30 per license type for each destination state.
- Timing
- Before North Carolina NP practice
- Conditions
- Conditional on RN endorsement. The board’s Part II and Part III forms clarify the original jurisdiction and the current/last employment jurisdiction when different. Use Nursys when available; do not automatically require paper forms in addition to Nursys.
RN endorsement fingerprints and background check
RN endorsement requires an NCBON fingerprint-based SBI/FBI criminal background check. In North Carolina use the Live Scan process; outside the state or country, have authorized personnel take fingerprints and mail the required card according to the confirmation instructions.
- Timing
- Before North Carolina NP practice
- Conditions
- This is an RN endorsement requirement, not an independently verified additional NP-only check. Complete the required forms and fee; endorsement remains incomplete until verification and background-check requirements are processed.
Conditional RN endorsement and background-check fees
The RN endorsement application costs $150 and the board’s criminal background check costs $38, for $188 in these board fees when both are required. Verification and fingerprint-provider charges may be additional.
- Timing
- Before North Carolina NP practice
- Conditions
- Only if the RN endorsement route applies. Do not add $188 automatically for an NP using valid compact RN privileges. The supplied fee schedule shows a last-changed date of February 23, 2024; it is the board’s currently published schedule reviewed September 20, 2026.
A temporary RN license does not authorize NP practice
A qualifying RN endorsement applicant may receive a nonrenewable temporary RN license within the first six months after application. It lasts up to six months or until permanent licensure, whichever occurs first, and may be issued only once in a lifetime.
- Timing
- Before North Carolina NP practice
- Conditions
- NCBON requires permanent RN authority for NP approval. Temporary RN eligibility includes its specified fingerprint submissions, address and existing-license conditions; consult the endorsement instructions before relying on this optional route.
Part II: original license verification
For the paper verification route, complete and sign the applicant section, then send Part II to the state or province of original licensure by examination with that jurisdiction’s processing fee. The licensing board completes, signs and seals its section and sends the form directly to NCBON.
- Timing
- Before North Carolina NP practice
- Conditions
- Use when paper verification is required, such as a non-Nursys board. Board-completed verification is sent to Endorsement Dept., NCBON, PO Box 2129, Raleigh, NC 27602. The applicant does not complete the board-only section; a personal upload is not direct board verification.
Part III: current or last employment state
For the paper verification route, complete and sign the applicant section, then send Part III to the state or province where currently or last employed, if different from the original jurisdiction. Include that board’s fee. The board completes, signs and seals its section and returns it directly to NCBON.
- Timing
- Before North Carolina NP practice
- Conditions
- Use when paper verification is required, such as a non-Nursys board. Board-completed verification is sent to Endorsement Dept., NCBON, PO Box 2129, Raleigh, NC 27602. The applicant does not complete the board-only section; a personal upload is not direct board verification.
Graduate preparation and population focus
Complete a nationally accredited graduate NP program and pass the national certification examination for the population focus. Practice within your education, certification and clinical competence; a job setting or CPA does not expand that scope.
- Timing
- Before NP registration and approval
- Conditions
- Standard current education route. Consult, refer or escalate care when patient needs exceed your scope.
Include prescribing and emergency plans in the CPA
The signed CPA must describe permitted drugs, devices, treatments, tests and procedures and contain a predetermined emergency-services plan. Define physician availability and the consultation, referral and quality-improvement arrangements for the practice.
- Timing
- During North Carolina NP practice
- Conditions
- No single CPA template is required. Keep the agreement at each practice site and document at least annual review with dated signatures. A CPA is distinct from an employment contract.
NP approval includes prescribing within the CPA
NP approval includes legend-drug and Schedule II–V prescribing within the NP’s education, national certification, law and CPA. Obtain DEA registration before prescribing or ordering controlled substances.
- Timing
- During North Carolina NP practice
- Conditions
- Physician collaboration remains required. The board’s phrase full prescriptive authority does not mean independent practice or unrestricted prescribing.
NP practice and prescribing
NPs need joint nursing/medical-board approval and a collaborative practice agreement with a supervising physician. Scope follows graduate preparation, national certification and clinical competence, not the work setting. NP approval includes legend drugs and Schedule II–V prescribing within law, scope and the CPA. Controlled prescribing or ordering also requires DEA registration; dispensing privileges require separate review.
- Timing
- During practice
- Conditions
- Physician collaboration is ongoing, with no hours-based transition to independent practice. Review and sign the CPA at least annually, keep it at each practice site, and include prescribing limits and an emergency-services plan.
Coverage and conditions
- These are NCBON’s published application instructions. Follow any additional or individualized instructions issued after submission. No separate public NP attachment checklist has been identified or reviewed.
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.