1. A. An advanced practice certificate issued after July 1, 2004, expires when the certificate holder’s RN license expires, or when national certification expires, whichever occurs first. Certificates issued on or before July 1, 2004, or those issued without proof of national certification under R4-19-505(B)(5) and (B)(2) do not expire unless the RN license expires under A.R.S. § 32-1642 or the nurse has not practiced advanced practice nursing at the applicable level of certification for a minimum of 960 hours in the five years before the date the application is received. This requirement is satisfied if the applicant verifies that the applicant has:

   1. 1. Completed an advanced practice nursing education program within the past five years; or

   2. 2. Practiced for a minimum of 960 hours within the past five years where the nurse:

      1. a. Worked for compensation or as a volunteer, as an APRN and performed one or more acts under A.R.S. § 32-1601(7) for a CNS, A.R.S. § 32-1601(20) for an RNP, A.R.S. § 32-1601(5) for a CNM, or A.R.S. § 32-1634.04 for a CRNA; or
      2. b. Held a position for compensation or as a volunteer that required, preferred or recommended, in the job description, the level of advanced practice certification being sought or renewed.
2. B. A registered nurse requesting renewal of an APRN certificate issued after July 1, 2004 shall provide evidence of current national certification or recertification under R4-19-505(A)(2)(j). This provision does not apply to a CNS granted a waiver of certification.

3. C. An APRN who does not satisfy the practice requirement of subsection (A) shall complete coursework or continuing education activities at the graduate or advanced practice level that include, at minimum, 45 contact hours of advanced pharmacology and 45 contact hours in a subject or subjects related to the role and population focus of certification. Upon completion of the coursework, the nurse shall engage in a period of precepted clinical practice as specified in this subsection;

   1. 1. Precepted clinical practice shall be directly supervised by an APRN in the same role and population focus as the certification being renewed or a physician who engages in practice with the same population focus as the certification being renewed.

   2. 2. Practice hours completed during the time-frame specified below may be applied to reduce the number of precepted clinical practice hours, except that in no case shall the hours be reduced by more than half the requirement. The nurse shall complete hours according to the following schedule:

      1. a. 300 hours if the applicant has practiced less than 960 hours in only the last five years;
      2. b. 600 hours if the applicant has not practiced 960 hours in the last five years, but has practiced at least 960 hours in the last six years;
      3. c. 1000 hours if the applicant has not practiced at least 960 hours in the last six years, but has practiced 960 hours in the last seven to 10 years; or
      4. d. If the nurse has not practiced 960 hours of advanced practice nursing in the role and population focus being renewed in more than 10 years, complete a program of study as recommended by an approved advanced practice nursing program that includes, at minimum, 500 hours of faculty supervised clinical practice in the role and population focus of certification. An applicant who qualifies for any option in subsection (C)(2)(a) through (c) may complete the requirements of this subsection to satisfy the practice requirement.
4. D. An applicant who, in addition to not meeting the requirements for continued APRN certification, does not meet the requirements for RN renewal, shall fulfill all RN renewal requirements before satisfying the requirements of this Section.
5. E. The Board shall renew a certificate to practice as a registered nurse practitioner in a population focus, a clinical nurse specialist in a population focus, or a registered nurse anesthetist for a registered nurse who meets the criteria in this Section. An applicant who is denied renewal of a certificate may request a hearing by filing a written request with the Board within 30 days of service of the Board’s order denying renewal of certification. Hearings shall be conducted in accordance with A.R.S. Title 41, Chapter 6, Article 10 and 4 A.A.C. 19, Article 6 of this Chapter.

Historical Note

Section R4-19-506 renumbered from R4-19-505 effective November 18, 1994 (Supp. 94-4). Former Section R4-19-506 renumbered to R4-19-510, new Section R4-19-506 adopted effective November 25, 1996 (Supp. 96-4). Former R4-19-506 renumbered to R4-19-510; new Section R4-19-506 made by final rulemaking at 11 A.A.R. 3804, effective November 12, 2005 (Supp. 05-3). Amended by final rulemaking at 13 A.A.R. 1483, effective June 2, 2007 (Supp. 07-2). Pursuant to authority of A.R.S. § 41-1011(C), Laws 2012, Ch. 152, § 1, provides for A.R.S. references to be corrected to reflect the renumbering of definitions. Therefore the A.R.S. citations in subsection (A)(2)(a) were updated. Agency request filed July 12, 2012, Office File No. M12-242 (Supp. 12-3). Amended by final rulemaking at 19 A.A.R. 1438, effective July 6, 2013 (Supp. 13-2). A.R.S. Section references updated under subsection (A)(2)(a), under Laws 2015, Ch. 262, effective July 1, 2016 (Laws 2015, Ch. 262, § 23) at file number R16-186 (Supp. 16-3). Amended by final rulemaking at 25 A.A.R. 919, effective June 3, 2019 (Supp. 19-2). Amended by final rulemaking at 26 A.A.R. 3289, with an immediate effective date of December 2, 2020 (Supp. 20-4).