The Arizona fingerprint clearance card for NAU nursing students
Northern Arizona University lists an IVP Fingerprint Clearance Card from the Arizona Department of Public Safety among the clinical health requirements for the MS Nursing, Advanced Practice and both nurse practitioner certificates. Apply as soon as you are admitted: NAU's 2022-23 FNP Clinical Guidelines want the card before enrollment, it sits in the clinical file due two months before each rotation, and it needs to stay valid until your last practicum ends.
Line up your preceptor while the card processes
Tell us your program and the term your first practicum starts.
Who needs the card, and when NAU checks it
Every NAU nurse practitioner path names the card. The program pages for the MS Nursing, Advanced Practice (FNP and PMHNP emphases), the post-master's FNP certificate and the PMHNP certificate all place an IVP Fingerprint Clearance Card under clinical health requirements, and the catalog repeats it among the admission requirements for the MS and the FNP certificate.
The 2022-23 guidelines set the timing plainly: a "Level I clearance card issued from the Department of Public Safety in Arizona required prior to enrollment". The card then shows up again in the list of clinical documents that must be on file before each practicum. NAU checks it at the door and again before every rotation, which is why an expired card can stall a student who was fully cleared a year earlier.
BSN students need a DPS card as well, so the requirement runs through the whole college, not only the graduate side.
Which category to pick on the application
NAU's instruction sheet for the card files nursing students under the Arizona DPS category for health science students and clinical assistants, the one that cites A.R.S. 15-1881. That category is the anchor to look for when you fill in the application.
The card type is where NAU's pages disagree. The graduate program pages say IVP card, and the 2022-23 guidelines say Level I. An undergraduate acceptance page for the Global BSN, by contrast, tells those students to pick a non-IVP health sciences student option. Graduate students should follow the graduate wording, and if the choices on the DPS form do not match what NAU's instructions show, ask a graduate nursing advisor before submitting rather than guessing. Advising appointments book through NAU's online scheduler, covered on our student systems page.
The BSN pages and the graduate pages name different card types. As a graduate student, follow the graduate instructions, not a classmate's BSN checklist.
Applying from Arizona or from another state
NAU's instruction sheet splits the process in two, one set of steps for applicants living in Arizona and another for applicants outside it. Follow the section that matches where you live now, and use the Arizona Department of Public Safety fingerprint page, listed in the sources below, as the official word on the application itself.
Living in another state does not remove the requirement. The program pages list the card for every NP student without an out-of-state exception, so a nurse in Utah, Colorado or Georgia applies for the same Arizona card as a nurse in Flagstaff. Processing runs on DPS's timeline, not NAU's, which is the best reason to start the day your admission is confirmed.
The card sits alongside your RN license requirement rather than replacing it. The license page covers which license NAU accepts and why it must be valid where you train.
Keeping the card on file and current
The card belongs in the clinical file NAU wants complete two months before each rotation, the rule explained on our documents deadline page. The 2022-23 guidelines have graduate students keep health and credentialing documents current in their student file and in NAU's clinical tracking system, named there as Typhon; BSN pages list the card among Typhon uploads too. The Typhon and Exxat page covers which system your cohort may use.
An FNP student runs three practicums across summer, fall and spring, so the card has to hold through all of them. Check its validity against the final day of NUR 665 (or NUR 680 for PMHNP students) when you first upload it, and renew well before any lapse rather than in the middle of a term.
How clinical sites use the card
Sites set their own screening on top of NAU's. The 2022-23 guidelines list background checks and drug testing separately, required as the agency directs, and a consent form in the guidelines authorizes NAU to release screening, insurance and immunization records to the facility.
Health systems differ in how much the card does for you. Valleywise Health's onboarding list accepts a DPS Level One Fingerprint Clearance Card or a cleared criminal background check, while Northern Arizona Healthcare's student checklist includes a background check and drug screen of its own. Each system collects these through myClinicalExchange on its own timeline; our health systems guide sets out the windows. An independent practice sets its own rules, so ask what it expects before the Green Form goes in.
Where we fit while your card processes
The card is yours to apply for, and its timing sits with DPS. We put that stretch to work. While DPS works through your application, we find a preceptor who fits your NAU course, confirm they satisfy the Arizona Board standard that NAU's guidelines reprint, gather their credentials and secure the site's sign-off, so the Green Form is ready the moment you are.
We also list each candidate site's own screening needs, so you know before the Green Form goes in whether your card covers the site or a separate background check is coming. If the site lacks an agreement with NAU, you hear about it early. Your three FNP practicums are laid out as one plan, and a preceptor who backs out mid-term sends us straight back to the search. Tell us your program and start term through the form below.
Questions NAU students ask
Is the fingerprint clearance card the same as a background check?
No. NAU's 2022-23 guidelines list the DPS card and, separately, background checks and drug testing as the agency requires. Some sites treat them as alternatives: Valleywise accepts either the card or a cleared background check. Others, such as Northern Arizona Healthcare, list their own background check and drug screen regardless.
I live outside Arizona. Do I still need an Arizona fingerprint card?
Yes. NAU's program pages list the IVP Fingerprint Clearance Card for every NP student, with no exception for other states, and NAU's instruction sheet includes a separate set of steps for out-of-state applicants. Start early, since you are working with Arizona DPS from a distance.
How early should I apply for the card?
Right after admission. The 2022-23 guidelines want the card before enrollment, and it must be in the clinical file two months before your first practicum, NUR 661 for FNP students. Applying late risks a missing document at exactly the moment NAU reviews your file.
Does the clearance card cover fingerprints for my Arizona NP certification later?
Treat them as separate steps. The Arizona Board of Nursing's rule for initial nurse practitioner certification lists fingerprints among the application items, and the Board's own instructions say what it accepts. Our Arizona practice page covers certification and prescribing after graduation.
Do BSN and graduate students choose the same card type?
Not according to NAU's pages. The graduate program pages name an IVP card, and the 2022-23 FNP guidelines say Level I, while the Global BSN acceptance page tells undergraduates to pick a non-IVP option. Follow the instructions for your own program and ask a graduate nursing advisor if the form confuses you.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against Northern Arizona University's own catalog, program pages and published nursing documents. Your program coordinator and course faculty have the final word.
- Northern Arizona University: MS Nursing, Advanced Practice
- Northern Arizona University: Family Nurse Practitioner certificate
- Northern Arizona University: Fingerprint Clearance Card Instructions
- Arizona Department of Public Safety: Fingerprint clearance card
- Northern Arizona University FNP Clinical Guidelines AY 2022-23 (archived)
NAU welcomes a preceptor you arrange. We arrange one close to home.
Tell us your NAU track, your town and your next practicum. We line up preceptors who fit the course and Arizona's preceptor rule, confirm the site's approval, and gather the CV, license and certification the Green Form needs, well before NAU's cutoff.
- Preceptors matched to the course: all-ages family primary care for FNP, psychiatric settings for PMHNP
- License, experience and certification checked against the rule NAU applies, before the Green Form goes in
- All three FNP practicums planned together, near home instead of a long drive away
Start your placement plan
Track, town and next practicum is all we need to begin.