A Kansas Advanced Practice Registered Nurse license is issued by the Kansas State Board of Nursing to a registered nurse who holds a graduate degree in one of four APRN roles, carries current national certification, and passes a background check. The initial application fee is $50, and after 4,000 hours of clinical practice the APRN can practice and prescribe independently without a collaborative agreement.
Requirements to Apply
Before the board will process an APRN application, you must hold a current Kansas RN license or a valid multistate RN license under the Nurse Licensure Compact.1Kansas State Board of Nursing. Instructions for Completion of Application for Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Licensure The RN credential is the foundation. Without it, nothing else matters.
You need a graduate degree, at minimum a master’s, from a formal post-basic nursing education program approved by the board in one of the four recognized APRN roles.1Kansas State Board of Nursing. Instructions for Completion of Application for Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Licensure These programs cover pharmacology, pathophysiology, and advanced clinical assessment.
Since July 1, 2023, every applicant for an initial APRN license must also hold current national certification in the specific role and population focus from a board-recognized certifying organization.2Legal Information Institute. Kansas Administrative Regulations 60-11-103 – Licensure and Educational Requirements for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses Nurse practitioners typically certify through the American Nurses Credentialing Center or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board. Nurse anesthetists sit for the exam administered by the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists.1Kansas State Board of Nursing. Instructions for Completion of Application for Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Licensure APRNs already licensed before July 2023 can submit certification evidence at renewal instead.
The initial application fee is $50.3Kansas Nursing Board. Agency Fees Applicants also submit fingerprints and pay a background check fee.4Kansas State Board of Nursing. APRN Initial Application The board does not refund submitted applications.
The Four APRN Roles
Kansas licenses APRNs in four distinct roles, and your education and certification must match the role you apply for:5Legal Information Institute. Kansas Administrative Regulations 60-11-102 – Roles of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses
- Nurse Practitioner, providing primary, acute, and specialty care including diagnosis, treatment planning, and prescribing.
- Clinical Nurse Specialist, focused on a defined patient population or clinical specialty, often in hospital and health system settings.
- Nurse Anesthetist, administering anesthesia and managing patient care before, during, and after surgical procedures.
- Nurse-Midwife, providing gynecological and obstetric care, including labor and delivery management.
Nurse anesthetists are governed by separate statutes at K.S.A. 65-1151 through 65-1164 when administering anesthetic agents, and nurse-midwives practicing independent midwifery fall under the Independent Practice of Midwifery Act for prescribing purposes.6Kansas State Board of Nursing. Kansas Nurse Practice Act Statutes and Administrative Regulations
Full Practice Authority and the 4,000-Hour Transition
Kansas eliminated the legal requirement for collaborative practice agreements and written prescribing protocols effective July 1, 2022. Once an APRN completes a transition period, practice and prescribing happen under the exclusive authority of the Kansas State Board of Nursing.
Newly licensed APRNs must accumulate 4,000 hours of clinical practice or clinical instructional hours within four years. During that transition, the APRN practices under a collaborative arrangement with either a physician or a full practice authority APRN.7Kansas Legislature. Senate Bill No 174 Once the hours are documented and verified, the APRN is authorized to practice without any collaborative agreement.
Two groups skip straight to full authority. APRNs already licensed in Kansas who had accumulated at least 4,000 practice hours before the law took effect are deemed to have completed the transition.7Kansas Legislature. Senate Bill No 174 APRNs applying by endorsement from another state who can document 4,000 clinical hours in the four years before their application also qualify immediately.
Voluntary collaborative agreements are still allowed. Nothing prevents an APRN from entering a practice agreement with a physician, clinic, or hospital after transition. The change is that the agreement is no longer legally mandated.
Prescriptive Authority
Under current regulations, any APRN may prescribe drugs consistent with their role and population focus, prescribe durable medical equipment, and prescribe controlled substances in accordance with the Kansas Uniform Controlled Substances Act.8Kansas Secretary of State. Kansas Administrative Regulations 60-11-104a – Prescription Orders One explicit carve-out: APRNs may not prescribe any drug intended to cause an abortion.
To prescribe controlled substances, an APRN must register with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. The DEA registration number must appear on every written prescription for a controlled substance.8Kansas Secretary of State. Kansas Administrative Regulations 60-11-104a – Prescription Orders APRNs who prescribe also need a National Provider Identifier, obtained through the federal NPPES system, and must associate at least one taxonomy code with their license.9NPPES. Apply for an NPI Handle both the DEA registration and the NPI before seeing patients. Otherwise, billing and pharmacy delays follow.
Renewal and Continuing Education
APRN licenses renew on a biennial cycle aligned with the RN renewal schedule.10Kansas State Board of Nursing. Kansas Administrative Regulation 60-11-113 – License Renewal The renewal fee is $55.3Kansas Nursing Board. Agency Fees Each renewal requires at least 30 contact hours of approved continuing nursing education related to the APRN role, completed during the most recent license period. Courses must come from a recognized continuing education provider. Verify the board’s current topic-hour breakdown at renewal, especially if you prescribe.
National certification must also stay current. For nurse practitioners certified through AANPCB, recertification runs on a five-year cycle and requires at least 1,000 practice hours and 100 contact hours of advanced continuing education, including 25 hours in pharmacology.11AANPCB. Recertification Letting national certification lapse can put state licensure at risk, since Kansas now requires certification for initial licensure and may require proof at renewal.
Reinstating a Lapsed License
The path back depends on how long the license has been inactive. Within five years of expiration, a nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, or nurse-midwife can reinstate by showing either 30 hours of APRN-related continuing education completed in the preceding two years, or documentation of 1,000 APRN practice hours in another jurisdiction over the preceding five years.12Legal Information Institute. Kansas Administrative Regulations 60-11-116 – Reinstatement of Inactive or Lapsed License
After five years, the requirements tighten. The APRN must show 1,000 practice hours in another jurisdiction within the past five years plus 30 hours of continuing education, or complete a board-approved refresher course.12Legal Information Institute. Kansas Administrative Regulations 60-11-116 – Reinstatement of Inactive or Lapsed License Nurse anesthetists follow separate reinstatement standards under K.A.R. 60-13-110. A license left inactive past five years is much harder to bring back.
Grounds for Discipline
The Kansas State Board of Nursing has broad authority to investigate complaints and impose discipline against any APRN. Under K.S.A. 65-1120, the board can deny, revoke, limit, or suspend a license, publicly or privately censure the licensee, or require additional continuing education hours.13Kansas Board of Nursing. Kansas Code 65-1120 – Grounds for Disciplinary Actions The statute lists more than a dozen grounds. The ones that come up most often:
- Fraud or deceit in applying for a license or in practicing nursing.
- Felony convictions or misdemeanors involving illegal drugs. Felony convictions for crimes against persons bar licensure outright, with no rehabilitation exception.13Kansas Board of Nursing. Kansas Code 65-1120 – Grounds for Disciplinary Actions
- Professional incompetency, defined as either a single instance of gross negligence, repeated instances of ordinary negligence, or a pattern showing an inability to practice nursing safely.13Kansas Board of Nursing. Kansas Code 65-1120 – Grounds for Disciplinary Actions
- Inability to practice with skill and safety because of current drug or alcohol abuse.
- Unprofessional conduct, further defined by regulation to include failing to safeguard patients, deceiving or defrauding the public, and failing to report incompetent practice by another nurse.14Legal Information Institute. Kansas Administrative Regulations 60-3-110 – Unprofessional Conduct
- Having a nursing license denied, revoked, or suspended in another state or by a federal agency.
The process starts with a complaint. If investigation finds sufficient evidence, a formal hearing is scheduled where the APRN can present a defense. Responses run from private censure through license limitations, supervised practice, mandatory education, and revocation.