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 | Get your Graduate Degree in New Jersey |
 | Earn your National Certification in New Jersey |
 | Apply for your Certificate in New Jersey |
 | Renewing your Certificate in New Jersey |
The New Jersey Board of Nursing (phone: 973-504-6430, [email protected]), under the Division of Consumer Affairs division of the Department of Law and Public Safety, regulates the nursing profession in New Jersey and certifies advanced practice nurses (APN) in three categories:
To be approved to work as an APN in New Jersey, you must hold a valid, unencumbered New Jersey RN license.
To work toward APN certification in New Jersey, you must successfully complete a master’s-level program designed to educate and prepare either nurse practitioners or clinical nurse specialists. The school you attend must be accredited by an institutional, programmatic, or specialized nursing accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education.
FIND SCHOOLS Sponsored ContentIf you are an advanced practice nurse specializing in anesthesia, you may be exempt from the master’s degree requirement as long as you can show evidence of the successful completion of a Board-approved advanced practice nursing program for certified registered nurse anesthetists.
You must be able to show evidence that you completed your education no more than two years prior to submitting your application for APN certification to the Board.
Prescriptive Authority
Your education program must include at least 39 hours in pharmacology, as well as 6 contact hours in pharmacology related to controlled dangerous substances, including pharmacologic therapy and addiction prevention and management overseen by:
If you completed your pharmacology course more than five years prior to filing your APN application, you must provide proof of meeting at least one of the following pharmacology requirements:
After you complete your graduate education, you are then eligible to take an exam to become nationally certified in your general area of specialty:
To become eligible for APN state certification in New Jersey, you must pass an advanced practice exam in your specialty through a national certifying agency that is accredited by the American Board of Nursing Specialties and/or the National Commission for Certifying Agencies.
The Board of Nursing currently recognizes 17 advanced practice specialties within the three general areas of specialty:
To apply for your APN certification in New Jersey as a Nurse Practitioner (NP), Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), you must request an application packet from the Board.
If you are an RN in New Jersey, and you meet the educational and examination requirements to become an APN, you must submit a request to the Board for an APN application. Submit the request by email at [email protected].
You must include the following information in your email:
Once the Board has received your email, you can expect a reply with an application for download.
APN Application Initial Certification
Once you have received and completed your APN application for download, you can submit it to the Board, along with the following documents:
Submit the application fee, completed application and all related documents to the New Jersey Board of Nursing, P.O. Box 45010, Newark, NJ 07101.
Prescriptive Authority
All APNs in New Jersey have prescriptive authority and are therefore required to have a joint protocol with a collaborating physician who is licensed in New Jersey before prescribing any medication or medical device.
In addition, if you plan to prescribe controlled dangerous substances after you become certified as an APN, you will need to secure a CDS (Controlled Dangerous Substances) registration and a DEA certification. You can obtain an application for either on the New Jersey’s Drug Control Unit website or by contacting them at 973-504-6351.
Once you have obtained your CDS registration, you can obtain an application for new DEA certification on the DEA Office of Diversion Control’s website.
APN Application by Endorsement
If you are an advanced practice nurse certified in another state, you may practice as an APN in New Jersey, provided the educational requirements of the state in which you are certified are similar to those of New Jersey.
Once you have received and completed your APN application for download, you can submit it to the Board, along with the following documents:
Submit the application fee, completed application, and all related documents to the New Jersey Board of Nursing, P.O. Box 45010, Newark, NJ 07101.
Temporary Work Permit
If you have met the educational requirements for advanced practice nursing in New Jersey, but you are awaiting the completion of your examination for certification as an APN, you may apply for a work permit (without prescriptive practice authority) along with your initial application. You must have already applied to take the examination to be eligible for a temporary work permit. During the work permit stage, you may use the designation “Applicant Advanced Practice Nurse.”
Your APN certificate is issued for a two-year period, and its renewal will coincide with your RN license renewal period.
To renew your APN certificate in New Jersey, you must submit a renewal application online through the Board’s Online Licensing System, along with proof that you are currently certified by a national certifying agency that is accredited by the American Board of Nursing Specialties and/or the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (an APN who was certified before June 16, 2008 does not need to show certification). You must submit a biennial renewal fee in the amount of $160 (which covers both your RN and APN certification), which can be paid with a credit card through the online licensing system.
FIND SCHOOLS Sponsored ContentAny certificate that is not renewed within 30 days of its expiration will automatically become suspended, and you must complete a Reinstatement Application and meet all reinstatement requirements to become licensed again.
The Board will send a renewal notice at least 60 days prior to the expiration of your certificate. If you do not receive your renewal notice at least 60 days prior to the expiration of your certificate, you will not be penalized with late fees. You may also renew your certificate up to 30 days past the expiration date by completing a renewal application online through the Board’s Online Licensing System and paying both the renewal fee of $160 and the late fee of $50.
Continuing Education Requirements
You must complete at least 30 hours of continuing education requirements during each biennial period to maintain an active APN certification. If you complete more than 30 hours of continuing education during a biennial period, you may carry up to 15 of those additional hours over to the next biennial period.
You may satisfy your continuing education from one or more of the following sources:
Reinstatement Application
If your certificate has been automatically suspended for more than 30 days, but less than 5 years due to nonpayment of your renewal fee, you may be reinstated by the Board if you submit the following:
You must request an Advanced Practice Nursing Reinstatement Application via email sent to the Advanced Practice Nursing Department at the Board of Nursing: [email protected] .
If your certificate has been automatically suspended for failure to renew for more than five years, you may have it reinstated by fulfilling all of the initial certification requirements, including retaking the national certification examination. You must contact the Advanced Practice Nursing Department at the Board of Nursing ( [email protected] ) for more information.
Inactive Application
If you want to place your APN certificate on inactive status, you may choose this option on your online renewal application through the Board’s Online Licensing System and pay a fee of $80.
If you have been on inactive status for less than five years, you may be reinstated by the Board by completing the online renewal application through the Board’s Online Licensing System, along with the following:
If you have been on inactive status for more than five years, you must fulfill all initial licensure requirements to return to practice, including retaking the certification examination. Contact the Advanced Practice Nursing Department at the Board of Nursing ( [email protected] ) for more information.
Advanced Practice Nurse Associations in New Jersey
There are a number of professional organizations worth joining that support APNs in New Jersey:
Even for a high-cost state like New Jersey, NPs can make a generous living. In NJ, nurse practitioners make an average salary of $130,890 per year. Those who make it into the top 10 percent make better than $177,010 annually.
