Advanced Practice Registered Nurse - Licensure by Alternate Education

If you have completed your national board examination and pharmacology hours, it is recommended that you apply by Examination.

To apply for an APRN license via Licensure by Alternate Education, you must:

1. Hold a Wisconsin RN License, a RN multi-state license through the nurse licensure compact or apply for a Wisconsin RN license at the same time.

2. Maintain the malpractice liability insurance required by Wisconsin law.

3. Complete an application and pay the applicable fees.

AND

1. You were licensed as a Wisconsin Registered Nurse as of January 1, 2026, were practicing in a recognized role, AND:

   1. Have completed a master's or doctoral degree in Nursing that is substantially equivalent to a master's or doctoral degree from a college or university accredited by an organization approved by the board

   2. Have current certification by a national certifying body approved by the board in the recognized role or specialized designation

   3. Have experience in clinical practice of at least 3,840 hours approved by the board as a registered nurse in a designated recognized role.

Note: Applicants may apply for Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) certification and Registered Nurse (RN) licensure simultaneously

An applicant must complete and submit proof of at least 45 contact hours in clinical pharmacology/therapeutics. Continuing education certificates must include the title of course, number of pharmacology hours per course, and date of completion. A transcript that contains a 3-credit pharmacology/therapeutics course is also acceptable. Proof of contact hours in pharmacology must be completed within 5 years preceding the date of APNP application. If needed, a list of possible online programs to assist in the completion of pharmacology hours is provided below.

Please note: Applicants applying by Alternate Education are ineligible for prescriptive authority without satisfying the following

1. Provide evidence of completion of a master’s or doctoral degree in nursing granted by a college or university accredited by an organization approved by an accreditation agency approved by the board and that prepared the applicant for the practice of advanced practice registered nursing in a recognized role.

AND

1. Provide evidence of completion of 45 contact hours in clinical pharmacology or therapeutics within 5 years preceding the date of application for licensure.

Below are some general instructions for applying for a credential on LicensE. 

1. Create or log into your LicensE account. Please visit LicensE account Information page for detailed guidance on selecting your account type.

2. Select "Apply for a License."

3. Select your Category.

4. Select your License Type.

5. Select your Application Method, then "Next."

6. Review your Personal Information.

7. Enter the requested Information on each page of the application. Information may include Examination, Education, or License History, depending on your profession.

8. If applicable, request a Veterans Fee Waiver or Initial Credential Fee Reduction.

9. Submit the requested Documents you may already have. You do not need to have all documents ready to submit.

   Note: Forms are now hosted on AccessGov. Visit AccessGov Forms Directory to choose your form.

10. Respond to the Attestation questions.

11. Provide Payment Information. Fees may be found Credential Fees.

12. Submit your application.  

Profession specific application requirements can be found in the "Application Information" section.

After logging in, select Apply for a License and choose:

• Category: Health

• License Type: Advanced Practice Registered Nurse

• Application Method: Licensure by Alternate Education

• Specialty: Select your primary specialty (recognized role). You will be able to submit certifications for all specialties you wish to add to your license 

Please Note: You are not required to provide all documents before initial application submission. You do not need to upload documents to every available category. 

This application method does not grant prescriptive authority by default. In order to add prescriptive authority to your license, you must: 

1. Provide evidence of completion of a master’s or doctoral degree in nursing granted by a college or university accredited by an organization approved by an accreditation agency approved by the board and that prepared the applicant for the practice of advanced practice registered nursing in a recognized role.

AND

1. Provide evidence of completion of 45 contact hours in clinical pharmacology or therapeutics within 5 years preceding the date of application for licensure.

You must submit evidence of completion of 45 Contact Hours in Clinical Pharmacology or Therapeutics Within 5 Years Preceding Date of Application.

CE certificates need to include applicant’s name, the institute’s name, the title of course, number of pharmacology or therapeutic hours per course and date of completion OR if you completed a 3 credit or more pharm course, submit copy of transcripts.

Please see below for links to possible sources of online pharmacology hours. 

Have your national certifying body send verification of Current Certification by a National Certifying Body as a Nurse Practitioner, Certified Nurse-Midwife, Certified RN Anesthetist or Clinical Nurse Specialist directly to DSPS.

This is required and cannot be accepted directly from applicants. Documents can be uploaded on LicensE via the Third Party Portal.They will need your application number (beginning with PAR-)

We can also accept certifications by email (DSPSCREDNursing@wisconsin.gov),

Questions and clarifications about your application should be submitted as support tickets in LicensE. Email addresses provided for document submission are not monitored for support purposes. After a document is emailed, you can submit a support ticket to alert our staff.   

See the main APRN profession page for a list of Board-Approved Certifying Bodies.

Certification of Master's or Doctoral Degree is not required if applicant holds national certification as a Nurse Practitioner, Certified Nurse Anesthetist or Clinical Nurse Specialist before July 1, 1998.

Have your school fill out Form 2367 and submit it directly to DSPS. Documents can be uploaded on LicensE via the Third Party Portal. This document cannot be accepted directly from applicants.

To be eligible for independent practice you must demonstrate a total of 7,680 clinical hours. Of this total:

1. At least 3,840* of these clinical hours must be clinical hours of advanced practice registered nursing practice in person's recognized role, while working with a physician or dentist who was immediately available for consultation and accepted responsibility for the actions of the advanced practice registered nurse during those 3,840 hours of practice. Please note: any hours in excess of 3,840 in this category can be applied towards the 7,680 total clinical hours up to the total amount.
   

2. Up to 3,840** of these clinical hours may be hours of professional nursing in a clinical setting, including hours completed as a requirement for nursing school (but not a graduate or post-graduate level education program).

Timeline Restrictions for Clinical hours

*At least 24 months must have elapsed since the applicant began practicing advanced practice registered nursing in that recognized role.

**At least 24 months must have elapsed since the applicant first began completing the clinical hours required by a nursing program.

Note: Hours may be submitted from lawful advanced practice registered nursing completed outside Wisconsin. Applicant must submit satisfactory evidence of this experience to the board to determine eligibility

Complete and submit a copy of Form 2158 APRN Independent Practice Requirements Verification for each institution you wish to verify your experience hours.

Prior to attending births outside of a hospital setting, you are required to submit a birth plan to the Board of Nursing for Review. This will be submitted as part of your amendment application in LicensE.

The birth plan must detail a proactive plan for ensuring appropriate care or care transitions conforming with professional standards for patients with higher acuity or emergency care needs that exceed the APRNs scope of practice. Your plan should be tailorable for each patient's unique circumstances.

A Plan shall include

1. Fields for the name of the hospital or clinical facility where the patient and newborn, will be transferred in the event of an emergency;

2. The designated method and protocol for emergency medical transport; and

3. The protocol for the transfer of prenatal and intrapartum medical records and current medical conditions.​

Advanced Practice Registered Nurse applicants must complete an exam on Wisconsin Statutes and Rules.​​

The passing score for Advanced Practice Registered Nurse is 85%. You will be given your exam name, password, and student ID number after you submit your application and are entered into our system. The information will be provided to you on your online application status.

Content

The exam content is drawn from applicable state statutes and administrative code chapters specific to the profession. The purpose of the exam is to familiarize yourself with locating the statutes and administrative code that regulate the practice of the profession. Statutes for the State of Wisconsin and the Administrative Code book for the profession can be found in the sidebar on the right.

The state exam consists of material taken from the following statutes and code chapters:

• N​7​

• N8

• Phar 8

• Chapter 146

• Chapter 961​

After you upload all required documents, submit your application, and pay the required fee(s):

1. Preliminary Application Reference Number (PAR)

   1. Your application will be assigned a Preliminary Application Reference number or PAR number. This number allows you and trusted parties to look up the status of your application without logging in. You can also reference this number in any support tickets you submit in regard to your application.

      • A trusted 3^rd party can look up your credential status by visiting LicensE, clicking “Application Status Lookup” and entering the PAR number you have provided to them.

2. Review Timeline

   1. Your materials will be reviewed within approximately 10 days by a member of the credentialing team.

      • Note: Some licenses do take longer to process due to complexity. You can see the performance data on our LicensE Dashboard to see what date we are reviewing for certain application types under "Application Review Times by Profession."

3. Pending Applicant Input Status

   1. After this review, if anything is missing or the credentialing team has any questions on your application, your application will go back into a status called “Pending Applicant Input.”  You will receive an email letting you know your application was moved into this status. You should then log into LicensE and check your application “Due Diligence.”

4. To check your "Due Diligence" 

   1. Your Due Diligence is a checklist of items required for your credential.

   2. The Due Diligence section is how DSPS staff will communicate with you regarding your credential requirements.

   3. Log in to your LicensE account

   4. Click on "Check Application Status" 

   5. Your credential application should be shown on this page. Under “Action” select the button that looks like an upside-down triangle. If you are on mobile, you will need to turn your phone into landscape view. Note: LicensE is best viewed on a desktop or laptop.

   6. After clicking the upside-down triangle, select “View Due Diligences.”

   7. The Due Diligence column lets you know what the requirement is.

   8. The “STATUS” column will you know if the item is “Met”, “Not Met”, or “Not Applicable.”

      • Items listed as “Not Met” are items that are needed by the Department.  

   9. The “NOTES” column of your Due Diligence will provide further written details or instructions about what is still needed.

5. To upload documents

   1. Some applications require additional document uploads.

   2. Log into your LicensE account

   3. Click on "Check Application Status"

   4. Your credential application should be shown on this page. Under "Action" select the button that looks like an upside-down triangle. If you are on mobile, you will need to turn your phone into landscape view. Note: LicensE is best viewed on a desktop or laptop. 

   5. After clicking the upside-down triangle, select "Upload Document."

   6. The document must be an allowable document type. 

   7. After uploading the document, click "submit." If you do not, it will not be sent to a reviewer. 

6. If you have any questions, you can submit a support ticket on LicensE by logging in and clicking "request support" at the top of the page.

LicensE statuses that require action from applicant:

LicensE statuses that indicate the application is with Department staff:

Support Ticket
Submit a support ticket on LicensE and click "request support." Please provide as much detail as possible regarding your concern so we can work to answer your question with a one touch resolution. 

Call
608-266-2112

Email
dsps@wisconsin.gov

Office Hours
7:45am-4:30pm
Department of Safety and Professional Services
4822 Madison Yards Way
Madison, WI, 53705

Note: The in-person office does not process same day.