1. A. An applicant certified by a national certifying body before October 1, 2010, who is certified by the Board and in good standing shall be deemed to meet the education requirements under this regulation.

2. B. An applicant for certification shall be a graduate from a Board-approved nationally accredited education program for nurse practitioners in a school of nursing that:

   1. (1) Provides advanced practice instruction at the Masters’ level or higher in a clinical nursing program;
   2. (2) Is accredited by a nursing accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation or any other national accrediting body recognized by the Board;
   3. (3) Follows established educational standards that build upon educational preparation and experience as a registered nurse;
   4. (4) Ensures completion of the advanced practice core, nurse practitioner core, and population specific core competencies;

   5. (5) Has a didactic and clinical curriculum that, at a minimum, includes advanced courses in:

      1. (a) Physiology and pathophysiology;
      2. (b) Physical and health assessment;
      3. (c) Pharmacology; and
      4. (d) Diagnosis and management of health problems and diseases commonly encountered within the respective nurse practitioner’s population focus;
   6. (6) Provides didactic courses and supervised clinical experiences of sufficient depth and breadth in the nurse practitioner role and the specific population focus of the program; and
   7. (7) Ensures that graduates of the program are eligible for national certification and Maryland certification.

3. C. To be a Board-approved education program the program shall:

   1. (1) Be a nationally accredited education program; and

   2. (2) Ensure ongoing competence and maintenance of certification by:

      1. (a) Providing a mechanism for renewing certification;
      2. (b) Having a renewal of certification process that is acceptable to the Board; and
      3. (c) Developing a mutually agreeable procedure that ensures communication with the Board.

Authority: Family Law Article, §2-301; Health-General Article, §§4-208(a), 4-212, §4-403, 5-601(c)—(e), 5-608(c), 10-616, 10-628, 13-701, and 13-704; Health Occupations Article, §§8-205(a)(1), (2), (4), and (5), and 8-302; Transportation Article, §§13-616(a) and (b), Annotated Code of Maryland; Ch. 342, Acts of 2015; Ch. 468, Acts of 2015

Effective date: March 6, 1981 (8:5 Md. R. 473)

Regulation .01B amended effective August 29, 1994 (21:17 Md. R. 1439)

Regulation .02 amended effective June 7, 1993 (20:11 Md. R. 913)

Regulation .03A amended effective June 7, 1993 (20:11 Md. R. 913)

Regulation .04 amended effective June 7, 1993 (20:11 Md. R. 913)

Regulation .05 repealed and new Regulation .05 adopted effective June 7, 1993 (20:11 Md. R. 913)

Regulation .08 adopted effective August 29, 1994 (21:17 Md. R. 1439)

Chapter revised effective July 11, 2011 (38:14 Md. R. 790)

Chapter revised effective December 10, 2015 (42:24 Md. R. 1505)

Regulation .02A amended effective August 28, 2017 (44:17 Md. R. 835)

Chapter revised effective July 2, 2018 (45:13 Md. R. 667)

Regulation .03G adopted effective October 13, 2025 (52:20 Md. R. 1002)

Regulation .07C amended effective October 13, 2025 (52:20 Md. R. 1002)