New Hampshire APRN law and who precepts you
New Hampshire lets APRNs prescribe on their own authority, has joined no APRN compact, and keeps graduate programs outside its Board's approval rules. Those facts, read next to Rivier University's own preceptor rules, decide who can precept a Rivier practicum in the state and what your license path looks like once you graduate.
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Full practice authority, in the statute's terms
AANP counts New Hampshire as a full practice state. The legal basis is RSA 326-B:11, the APRN section of the state's nurse practice act, which grants APRNs plenary authority over prescribing, dispensing, administering and compounding drugs, controlled or not, inside the APRN's scope. The Board of Nursing can deny, suspend or revoke that authority after notice and a hearing.
The section holds APRNs accountable to their clients and to the Board, with consultation or referral where appropriate, and no physician supervision or collaboration requirement appears in its text. One detail matters for psychiatric and telehealth work: when schedule II to IV drugs are prescribed by telemedicine, the statute calls for the patient to be re-evaluated at appropriate intervals, no less than yearly. OPLC's scope page adds that Board position statements adopted before July 1, 2024 are not legally binding. Read the current section on the General Court's site before relying on any fine point.
What changed in 2024, 2025 and 2026
Senate Bill 556, enacted as Chapter 306 of 2024 and in force since January 1, 2025, created RSA 326-B:11-a. Under it, insurers and Medicaid reimburse covered primary care delivered by APRNs, behavioral health among it, at the rate they pay physicians. Senate Bill 172, Chapter 119 of 2025, took effect August 23, 2025 and created RSA 326-B:45-b, under which certain contract restrictions placed on APRNs cannot be enforced. For the exact scope of either law, read the enacted text.
Both laws concern APRNs in practice rather than students; they describe the market you will enter. On the rules side, OPLC opened a readoption of the Nur 400 rules in 2026 (Notice 2026-68, hearing April 23, 2026) that lists APRNs among the affected groups, so check OPLC's laws and rules page for its outcome.
From practice law to your preceptor
State law decides who may practice; Rivier's Handbook decides who may precept. An NP with an independent New Hampshire practice is a legitimate candidate, but Rivier's track rules still set the bar.
| Track | Preceptor Rivier accepts | What New Hampshire adds |
|---|---|---|
| FNP | MD, DO or FNP in outpatient family practice, two years or more; a PA only as a fill-in | An FNP practicing here holds a New Hampshire APRN license, since there is no APRN reciprocity |
| PMHNP | Psychiatrist or PMH-certified nurse, two years or more; telehealth prescriber time capped at 300 of 750 hours | Telemedicine prescribing of schedule II to IV drugs carries a yearly follow-up |
| AG-ACNP | Hospitalist for NURS 638P; intensivist or AG-ACNP in critical care for NURS 639P and NURS 640P | Hospital systems set their own rules on schools |
| Education and Leadership | RN with a master's degree in a nurse educator or nurse leader role | A New Hampshire or multistate compact RN license |
Track detail sits on the FNP, PMHNP and AG-ACNP requirement pages.
What the Board regulates, and what it leaves to schools
New Hampshire's Board of Nursing does not approve graduate nursing programs. OPLC lists RN-BSN and RN-MSN programs among those the Board neither regulates nor oversees, and the Chapter Nur 600 approval rules are written for RN and LPN programs. Their preceptor standards, as the 2026 proposal restates them, allow an RN preceptor no more than two students and require a license at or above the student's level. Those are pre-licensure rules; Rivier's graduate practicums follow the Handbook's track rules.
Programs based outside New Hampshire that send pre-licensure students here register with the Board under Nur 602.15(j), with six weeks' notice and a Clinical Preceptor Agreement for each preceptor. A 2026 proposal covering Nur 601 to 607 titles its petition forms for non-New Hampshire pre-licensure or graduate programs; watch OPLC's rules page for its final status.
New Hampshire's nursing rules do not say who must secure a preceptor. At Rivier that duty comes from the Handbook: identifying a qualified preceptor is the student's job, supported by faculty and the coordinator.
Preceptor incentives: what exists and what is proposed
New Hampshire offers no state tax credit for precepting. The State Loan Repayment Program run by the Department of Health and Human Services helps clinicians with educational loans and is not a precepting incentive. At the federal level, the PRECEPT Nurses Act (H.R. 392) would create a tax credit for nurse preceptors working in Health Professional Shortage Areas; it was introduced in January 2025, referred to the Ways and Means Committee, and has not become law.
Rivier's Handbook does not describe anything preceptors receive for hosting a student. If a clinician raises the question, take it to the Clinical Practicum Coordinator before agreeing to anything. Shortage-area designations near campus are listed on the Nashua and Manchester page.
After graduation: an APRN license with no reciprocity
New Hampshire has been a Nurse Licensure Compact state for RNs since January 2018, but it has not enacted the APRN Compact, and OPLC is direct: "There is no reciprocity for the APRN license." Every new New Hampshire APRN, including one already licensed elsewhere, files an initial application through the OPLC portal.
Nur 302.04 looks for an accredited program recognized in your specialty, national certification, a current RN license and 400 hours of advanced practice in the four years before you apply; it does not say whether program clinical hours count, so ask OPLC. Registration with the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program comes before any opioid prescribing, and renewals track continuing education in CE Broker. The RN license page sets out the application steps in order.
How we use New Hampshire's rules in your search
Every New Hampshire candidate we bring you is checked twice: once against Rivier's track rules for credential, setting and years in practice, and once for a current, unencumbered license that covers practice in New Hampshire. Independent NP practices widen the FNP and PMHNP search, and we flag what matters for your track, such as the PMHNP telehealth cap or a hospital's rules on schools.
The request you submit then reaches Rivier's reviewers complete, with the preceptor's license, credentials and CV attached. For the wider picture of practicing and training in the state, see the New Hampshire guide.
Questions Rivier students ask
Does New Hampshire law say who has to find my preceptor?
No. The state's nursing rules do not assign the search to schools or students. The obligation comes from Rivier's 2026-2027 Nursing Student Handbook, which makes identifying a qualified preceptor the student's responsibility, with help from faculty and the Clinical Practicum Coordinator and a final decision on the site by graduate faculty.
Will my Rivier practicum hours count toward New Hampshire's 400-hour APRN rule?
Nur 302.04 asks for 400 hours of advanced practice knowledge and skills in the four years before you apply, but it does not say whether program clinical hours count. Ask OPLC before relying on them, and keep your course records and clinical logs organized in case you need to show the hours.
Does SB 556 affect NP students?
Not directly. SB 556 is about payment: since January 1, 2025, insurers and Medicaid pay APRNs for covered primary care, including behavioral health, at the physician rate. It concerns licensed APRNs in practice, and it matters to you later, once you practice primary or psychiatric care in New Hampshire.
Can I practice in New Hampshire on a temporary APRN license after graduating?
New Hampshire issues no temporary APRN license. Its temporary nursing licenses are for nurses licensed in another state or for NCLEX candidates. OPLC allows 10 to 14 business days for the first review of an initial APRN application and handles contact by email, so apply as soon as your certification and transcripts are ready.
Can a New Hampshire preceptor supervise my telehealth hours?
It depends on the track. For PMHNP students, a telehealth prescriber can supervise no more than 300 of the 750 hours; FNP students can count telehealth only within the alternative hours allowed in NURS 515; AG-ACNP practicums allow none. New Hampshire expects yearly follow-up when controlled drugs are prescribed by telemedicine.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against Rivier's own Nursing Student Handbook, program sheets, catalog, academic calendar and State Guide. Your program of study, your course faculty, your Program Director and the Clinical Practicum Coordinator have the final word.
Rivier asks you to identify a qualified preceptor. We make that the easy part.
Tell us your Rivier track, where you live and which semester your next practicum starts. We find preceptors who meet your track's rules, check early whether the site can contract with Rivier, and prepare everything the Preceptor Request Form asks for, well ahead of August 1 and December 1.
- Preceptors matched to the track: an MD, DO or FNP in outpatient family practice for
NURS 511, a psychiatrist or PMH-certified NP forNURS 521, a hospitalist or intensivist forNURS 638P - Preceptor license, credentials and CV ready for the Preceptor Request Form, with the site's contact details for the contract
- In your own area, in New Hampshire or any state Rivier's State Guide accepts
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