APRN Licensure vs APRN Certification

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Found at AZ Nurses Assoc website under The Arizona Nurse Practitioner Council- local chapter of the Arizona Nurses Association

APRN Licensure vs APRN Certification

Nancy Chornick, PhD, RN, CAE

JONA'S Healthcare Law, Ethics, and Regulation / Volume 10, Number 4 / October–December 2008

...Today, most boards of nursing use APRN certification as a prerequisite for practice. On the basis of 2007 data (National Council of State Boards of Nursing [NCSBN]), 45 boards of nursing (out of 57jurisdictions in the United States and its territories) use APRN certification examinations as one of the requirements for advanced practice licensure for nurse practitioners, and 38 boards of nursing use APRN certification examinations for clinical nurse specialists.

With the adoption of the APRN Uniform Requirements, the number of boards using certification examinations promises to increase. The APRN Uniform Requirements were developed to serve as a foundation for the APRN Compact. Included in the APRN Uniform Requirements is the criterion of ‘‘being currently certified by national certifying body in the APRN specialty appropriate to educational preparation.'' Thus, for a state to be able to join the APRN Compact, it must require APRN nurses to take a national certification examination.

However, the use of APRN certification examinations as a basis for licensure has caused confuse among APRNs and APRN stakeholders regarding the difference between certification and licensure.

Some nurses have assumed that by taking an APRN certification examination, they are entitled to practice as an APRN. Boards of nursing have reported cases of APRNs neglecting to apply to their board of nursing for licensure and, instead, practicing as an APRN after successfully taking an APRN certification examination. The intent of this article is to clarify the role of APRN certification examinations in the licensure process and to identify regulatory issues that APRNs should be aware of....

[BostonFNP, APRN]

Wow! I have never heard of cases of nurses practicing as APRNs without a license just because they took the test. Scary.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Some states don't require it.. Agree scary

[Bumex, DNP, NP]

There are states that don't require certification to obtain a license? Or don't require the license following APRN certification?

[Bumex, DNP, NP]

Either way, scary indeed.

[PG2018]

I don't know what's what to be honest. I know when I was a paramedic we were "certified," and the year I let it lapse (after maintaining it for a long time and not using it) the state moved to "licensure." The only change, now, instead of a refresher every two years they have the option of doing it all CME or CME+Refresher. No big deal.

For the nurses, we're licensed and dubbed registered nurses (although there's no registry anymore), but when we get a master's from an approved course of study and pass the ANCC or related content exam we're then "certified" nurse practitioners.

IMO, I think it's kind of ridiculous really. I think NPs should be licensed generalists with a board certification in an area of specialty, i.e. everyone train a couple semesters or so for primary care and another year or two for specialty content.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

From the NCSBN, here is the map of states that require certification for APRNs.

Looks like NY, IN, KS, CA do NOT require national certification for APRNs.

Here is a list of states and their licensing requirements for APRNs.

Here is the list of practice restrictions by state.