Tennessee · guide
Nurse practitioner licensing in Tennessee
Read from the Tennessee Board of Nursing. Last verified 2026-09-15.
The sequence
| Step | What it involves |
|---|---|
| RN license | Held by compact privilege where the nurse compact reaches the state, otherwise filed separately. |
| APRN license or recognition | Filed with the Tennessee Board of Nursing, including national certification evidence. |
| Prescriptive authority | Separate grant in most states, with its own application and its own renewal date. |
| Collaborative or supervisory agreement | Executed with a named physician and filed or held on record before the first prescription. |
| Controlled substance registration | State registration where required, then the DEA registration tied to the practice address. |
What the numbers say
- A Certificate of Fitness to Prescribe requires an ongoing collaborative arrangement with a physician.
- The certificate is governed by rule chapter 1000-04.
Source: the Tennessee Board of Nursing. Last verified 2026-09-15. Where a national summary and a board disagree, we publish the board.