Pennsylvania Licensure Requirements
Master's Degree or Higher
1 Examination
No Experience Requirement
3 Hours of Child Abuse Education
$100.00 Initial Fee
$81.00 Renewal Fee
A registered nurse who is certified by the State Board of Nursing in a specialty and who, while functioning in the expanded role as a registered nurse, performs acts of medical diagnosis or prescription of medical therapeutic or corrective measures in collaboration with a licensed physician.
Pre-requisite License Requirement:
As a condition for obtaining Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner certification applicants must hold either a current, unrestricted Pennsylvania single state or multistate registered nurse license or a multistate registered nurse license issued by another Compact state.
Degree Requirement:
Master's Degree or Higher
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.
Additional Coursework Requirment:
Applicants must complete 3 hours of approved training in how to recognize and report child abuse as a requirment for initial licensure.
National Certification Requirement:
National certification from a Board-recognized national certification organization which required passing a nurse practitioner national certifying examination in a recognized specialty consistent with the applicant's nurse practitioner education and the completion of clinical hours.
Experience:
No Experience requirement for licensure.
Professional Liability Insurance:
CRNPs are required to 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.
Education Required for Biennial Renewal:
To renew certification every two years, a licensee must complete 30 hours of continuing education applicable to the licensee's CRNP specialty, which must include 2 hours of approved training in how to recognize and report child abuse.
If licensee has prescriptive authority approval, a minimum of 16 of the 30 hours of continuing education must be completed in pharmacology every two years.
Beginning May 1, 2026, all RNs must complete 2 hours of organ donation and tissue recovery education one time within 5 years.
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
Certification via Endorsement:
An applicant for CRNP certification by endorsement 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.
Certification via Act 41:
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/certifications from other states, territories or jurisdictions (with substantially equivalent licensing requirements) who are active, in good standing, have practiced under that license for no less than 3,600 hours in the five years preceding application, and without discipline against their license or certification and no criminal conviction that constitutes grounds for refusal of a license or certification.