28 states with full practice authority for NPs 

 

While states like California continue to debate the scope of practice for nurse practitioners, many others have opted to allow NPs to practice without physician supervision. 

Based on a fact sheet from the Healthforce Center at University of California San Francisco and the California Health Care Foundation, 28 states currently allow NPs full practice authority to treat and prescribe without formal oversight. 

In addition to the District of Columbia, the following states grant full practice authority as soon as NPs earn their licenses:

  1. Alaska
  2. Arizona
  3. Hawaii
  4. Idaho
  5. Iowa
  6. Montana
  7. New Hampshire
  8. New Mexico
  9. North Dakota
  10. Oregon
  11. Rhode Island
  12. Utah
  13. Washington
  14. Wyoming

The following states allow NPs to earn full practice authority after practicing with physician oversight for a set number of hours. 

  1. Colorado — 1,000 hours for prescriptive authority 
  2. Connecticut — 3 years and 2,000 hours 
  3. Delaware — 2 years and 4,000 hours
  4. Illinois — 4,000 hours
  5. Kentucky — 4 years
  6. Maine — 2 years
  7. Maryland — 1.5 years 
  8. Minnesota — 2,080 hours
  9. Nebraska — 2,000 hours
  10. Nevada — 2 years or 2,000 hours  
  11. South Dakota — 1,040 hours
  12. Vermont — 2 years and 2,400 hours
  13. Virginia — 5 years and 9,000 hours
  14. West Virginia — 3 years 

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