Which RN license you need for NSU clinicals
It depends on your NSU track and on the state your clinical site is in. NSU's admissions page and 2026-27 catalog require a Florida RN license for AGACNP, the certificates page requires one for all three certificates, and FNP and PMHNP students may hold any unrestricted RN license, as long as it stays valid in what NSU calls "the jurisdiction of the practicum." At every Florida site, Florida adds a rule of its own: your RN license must be one issued under chapter 464.
Match your license to the right site
Tell us your track, the state on your RN license and your home ZIP area.
NSU's license rule, program by program
NSU's current sources set the license by program, not by where you live. Every graduate program adds one shared condition: your license "must remain current in the jurisdiction of the practicum throughout the program."
| Program | License NSU asks for |
|---|---|
| MSN APRN, AGACNP | Current, unrestricted Florida RN license, plus a current ACLS certificate |
| MSN APRN, FNP | Current, unrestricted RN license, any state |
| MSN APRN, PMHNP | Current, unrestricted RN license, any state |
| Postgraduate certificates (FNP, AGACNP, PMHNP) | Current, active Florida RN license |
| BSN to DNP | Florida RN for the AGACNP concentration, any unrestricted RN for FNP and PMHNP; the catalog adds a current, active, unencumbered US RN license |
| Post-master's DNP | Current, unrestricted US RN license |
AGACNP applicants also need ACLS, and sites may ask for more; see life-support certifications for NSU clinicals.
The older rule: a Florida license for every APRN student
NSU's 2025-26 sources say something different. The handbook (printed page 100) says nurses entering the APRN programs "must have a current, active registered nurse license with no restrictions in the state of Florida," and the 2025-26 catalog adds that the license must stay "active, without discipline, and in the state of Florida, throughout the program." The same handbook page also requires an unencumbered US RN license maintained for the whole program.
No 2026-27 handbook has been posted, so both versions sit on NSU's site at once. For AGACNP and certificate students they agree. For FNP and PMHNP students they conflict: the new catalog names no state, the old handbook names Florida. If you are applying, ask graduate admissions; if you are enrolled, ask your program director which rule governs your class. The 2026-27 changes page lists the other rules that moved at the same time.
At a Florida site: an RN licensed under chapter 464
Florida sets its own condition for NP students, whatever their school or home state. Rule 64B9-4.001(13) of the Florida Administrative Code says that when the clinical setting is in Florida, the preceptor holds a Florida license and the student holds an RN license under chapter 464, Florida's nursing chapter. The Florida preceptor rule page covers the preceptor half.
So the new catalog's flexibility has an edge. An FNP or PMHNP student whose only license comes from a non-compact state can enroll with it, but a Florida clinical site calls for a license that counts under chapter 464. Florida's statute does exempt students in approved schools of nursing from licensure (s. 464.022(3)), yet it has no separate clause for NP students, who are already RNs, and the preceptor rule addresses the student's RN license directly.
An out-of-state RN license that satisfies NSU's admission rule can still fall short at a Florida clinical site. Check the site's state before you name the preceptor.
Multistate licenses and the Nurse Licensure Compact
Florida belongs to the Nurse Licensure Compact for RNs and LPNs. NCSBN lists Florida's implementation as January 19, 2018, and Florida's MQA annual report says the state joined in 2016, the year it enacted the compact. In fiscal 2024-25, MQA issued 7,489 multistate upgrades to Florida RNs and LPNs, and 4,195 RNs from other compact states reported practicing in Florida on their multistate license. The Board of Nursing adds that a nurse holding another compact state's multistate license cannot also keep a Florida single-state license.
The open question: if your multistate license was issued by another compact state, does it make you an "RN licensed under Chapter 464" at a Florida site? The compact itself is written into chapter 464 (s. 464.0095), but the preceptor rule does not say, and no official answer could be found. Treat it as unclear and ask your program and the site before you count on it. A Florida-issued license, single-state or multistate, is the plain case.
The compact covers RN and LPN licenses only. It does not reach APRN licensure, and Florida has not enacted the separate APRN Compact, which is why a nurse practitioner precepting you at a Florida site needs a Florida APRN license.
Clinicals outside Florida
"Jurisdiction of the practicum" points to the state where you do your hours. For a site outside Florida you need an RN license valid there: that state's own license, or a multistate license where the site's state takes part in the compact (NCSBN's map at nursecompact.com shows the 43 jurisdictions that have enacted it). NSU's distance-education page adds that SARA, the reciprocity agreement NSU joined in 2018, "has no effect on state professional licensure requirements."
Whether NSU places APRN students beyond Florida, and in which states it has clinical agreements, is not on any public NSU page. Bring any out-of-state site to your clinical coordinator well before your notice date, and take state-authorization questions to your college adviser or NSU's Office of Licensure and State Relations. The outside-Florida page goes further.
Keeping your license in good standing
Every NSU source requires your license to stay current for the whole program, and the 2025-26 catalog adds "without discipline." Two handbook rules connect to that. An arrest or pending criminal charge has to be reported to the college dean's office inside 10 days, and ACON may pass drug-screen results to the Board of Nursing or to IPN, the Intervention Project for Nurses. Renew on time and keep your license details current wherever your program and your sites record them. The background checks page covers the arrest-reporting rule in full.
Why NSU students choose us for license-matched placements
A preceptor who is right for the course can still be wrong for the state. We check both halves before anything goes to NSU: that your preceptor's license comes from the state the site is in, and that your own RN license fits that state's rule. Then we find the preceptor near your home, match the practice to your course, and have the details ready before your two-semester notice date. Your clinical coordinator decides; we see to it that the preceptor you name already fits NSU's rules and the site state's rules before the file reaches them. Send us your track and license state in the form below.
Questions NSU students ask
Can I do NSU FNP clinicals with an RN license from another state?
Under NSU's 2026-27 catalog and admissions page, FNP and PMHNP students may hold any current, unrestricted RN license, as long as it stays current where the practicum takes place. A Florida site is different: there, the state's rule looks for an RN license under chapter 464. The 2025-26 handbook asked for a Florida license, so confirm with your program director.
Does a multistate compact license count at a Florida clinical site?
It is unclear. Florida belongs to the compact, which sits inside chapter 464, but the preceptor rule does not say whether another compact state's multistate license makes you an RN licensed under chapter 464. A Florida-issued license is the plain case. If yours comes from another compact state, ask your program and the site before relying on it.
Do AGACNP students need a Florida RN license even if they live outside Florida?
Yes, by NSU's current rules. AGACNP is the one MSN track where both the admissions page and the 2026-27 catalog name Florida for the RN license, and ACLS is required too. Where you may live is a separate question. The 225-mile residence rule in the 2025-26 handbook is missing from the new catalog but still appears on the certificates page, so ask admissions.
Does my license need to be valid where my preceptor lives or where the site is?
Where the site is. NSU's wording is the jurisdiction of the practicum, the place you do your clinical hours, and Florida's rule turns on whether the clinical setting is in Florida. A preceptor who lives in one state and practices in another is judged by the site's state, and so is your RN license.
Can I start clinicals with a restricted RN license?
NSU's sources all ask for a clean license: "current, unrestricted" on the admissions page, "no restrictions" in the 2025-26 handbook and "without discipline" in the 2025-26 catalog. A license with restrictions does not meet those words. If your license status changes during the program, talk to your program director promptly, before a clinical course starts.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against NSU's own handbook, catalog and program pages. The graduate clinical guide, your course in Canvas, your clinical coordinator and your program director have the final word.
- NSU nursing graduate and professional admissions
- NSU Ron and Kathy Assaf College of Nursing 2026-2027 Graduate Catalog
- NSU Nursing Student Handbook 2025-2026, license requirement (printed p. 100)
- Florida Administrative Code rule 64B9-4.001, Definitions
- Florida Board of Nursing, Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (Nurse Licensure Compact)
NSU lets you name your own preceptor. We make sure you have one, close to home and in time.
Tell us your NSU program, your home ZIP area and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors who fit the course and have everything ready for your clinical coordinator well before the two-semester notice.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for FNP, acute care for AGACNP, psychiatric care for PMHNP, a practice site for DNP project hours
- Named early enough for NSU's two-semester notice, with license, credentials and site details ready for the coordinator
- Close to your home ZIP code, with clinic days we plan around your work schedule
Start your placement plan
Program, ZIP area and start term is all we need to begin.