​Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner

Pennsylvania Licensure Requirements

A professional nurse who is certified by the State Board of Nursing in a specialty and who, while functioning in the expanded role as a professional nurse, performs acts of medical diagnosis or prescription of medical therapeutic or corrective measures in collaboration with a licensed physician.

Degree Requirement: 

Master's Degree
An applicant for certification shall have completed an accredited, Board-approved master's or postmaster's nurse practitioner program or other Board-approved program that awarded an advanced degree, or a course of study considered by the Board to be equivalent to that required for certification in this Commonwealth at the time the course was completed.

The CRNP student shall receive sufficient clinical experience to provide depth and breadth in a given specialty or with designated populations, geared to nurse practitioner practice. Clinical hours must meet at least national certification requirements with a minimum of 500 hours. Additional hours must be provided for specialties that provide care to multiple age groups (for example, family CRNPs) or for those who will practice in multiple care settings. When defining additional clinical hours, the complexity of the specialty content, as well as the need for clinical experience to enhance retention and skills shall be considered.

Examination Requirement: 

1 Exam
National certification—Certification by a Board-recognized national certification organization which required passing a nurse practitioner national certifying examination in a specialty.

Experience: 

No Experience requirement for licensure 

Professional Liability Insurance: 

CRNP  - Act 48 of 2007 requires CRNPs to maintain professional liability insurance in order maintain the CRNP designation. 

The law require that CRNPs maintain professional liability insurance coverage at a level required of nonparticipating health care providers under the MCARE Act (Act 13 of 2002), which is currently $1 million per occurrence and $3 million in annual aggregate.  

Continuing Education: 

3 Hours

Applicants must complete 3 hours of Board-approved continuing education in child abuse recognition and reporting for initial licensure. 

30 hours of continuing education is required for biennial renewal of license. Of those 30 hours, 2 hours must be Board-approved continuing education in child abuse recognition and reporting. 

Initial Licensing Fee: 

$100.00 – Fee for applicants educated in-state

$140.00 – Fee for applicants educated in another state or jurisdiction 

Licensure Renewal Fee: 

$81.00

Biennial renewal fee - $81
Biennial renewal of prescriptive authority - $41

Licensure By Endorsement & Licensure By Act 41:

An applicant for certification who holds a current, unrestricted license or certificate as a nurse practitioner from another state, territory or possession of the United States or a foreign country, shall meet the certification requirements that were effective at the time the applicant was licensed or certified as a nurse practitioner by the other jurisdiction. Applicants who were initially licensed or certified by another state, territory or possession of the United States or a foreign country shall hold current National certification in the specialty in which the nurse is seeking certification. Nurse practitioners applying for certification from a jurisdiction that does not designate the nurse practitioner's specialty will be required to present evidence satisfactory to the Board to demonstrate the nurse practitioner's specialty.

Act 41 allows for portability of out-of-state professional licensees coming to work in Pennsylvania. Act 41 does this by granting all boards and commissions within the Commonwealth the authority to endorse licensees from other states, territories or jurisdictions (with substantially equivalent licensing requirements) who are active, in good standing and without discipline against their license or criminal conviction.