The RN license you need for NAU clinicals
For Northern Arizona University's NP programs, hold an RN license that works in Arizona, either an Arizona license or a multistate compact license, and make sure it is also valid in the state where you actually log clinical hours. NAU's documents have phrased this several ways since 2021, but the Arizona Board of Nursing rule underneath them has held steady: an unencumbered RN license in the state of clinical practice.
Find a preceptor where your license works
Tell us your program, your state and your next practicum term.
The rule underneath every NAU version
Arizona's Board of Nursing rule for nurse practitioner programs, R4-19-502(A), makes the school verify that each student has an unencumbered license to practice as an RN in the state of clinical practice. NAU is an Arizona program, so that duty sits with NAU for every student it places, whichever state the clinic is in.
Arizona's nursing statute adds the student side. A.R.S. 32-1631(7) lets NP students practice under supervision in Arizona when their program is approved in its home state and the student is authorized to practice registered nursing in Arizona. For clinical hours inside Arizona, that means an Arizona license or a multistate compact license. For hours in another state, it means a license that state honors.
Unencumbered matters too. A license carrying discipline or conditions can fail the rule even when it is otherwise active, so raise any board action with your program coordinator before you plan a practicum.
How NAU's documents have worded it
The wording has drifted from where you live toward where you train. NAU no longer posts its graduate clinical handbooks, so the older entries come from archived copies.
| Document | Date | What it asks for |
|---|---|---|
| FNP Clinical Guidelines | AY 2021-22 | Graduate students outside Arizona hold a license in their own state |
| DNP Clinical Practicum Handbook | AY 2022-23 | Graduate students residing outside Arizona hold a current license in their state |
| FNP Clinical Guidelines, body text | AY 2022-23 | A license to practice in Arizona or in a Nurse Licensure Compact state |
| FNP Clinical Guidelines, health requirements table | AY 2022-23 | An unencumbered RN license in the state of clinical practice |
| Graduate how-to-apply page | Live, 2026 | An RN license in good standing for Arizona, eligibility for one, or meeting the Board's multistate rules |
| PMHNP certificate, catalog | 2025-26 | An Arizona or multistate RN license for applicants from fall 2026 |
Read them together and two tests emerge: an Arizona-valid license to be admitted, and a license valid at the clinic to train there. Your program coordinator can confirm how NAU applies them today.
Compact licenses and Arizona's neighbors
Arizona has belonged to the Nurse Licensure Compact since Jan. 19, 2018, and so have Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. A nurse holding a multistate license from one of those states can meet NAU's admission test and train in Arizona on the same license. California and Nevada sit outside the compact, so nurses licensed there need an Arizona license before they train in Arizona.
The compact covers the RN license only. There is no multistate license for nurse practitioners that Arizona recognizes: bills to join the APRN Compact stalled at the Arizona Legislature in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and the compact itself never reached the seven states needed to start. After graduation you will seek NP certification state by state. Our Arizona practice page covers the Arizona side.
Training outside Arizona
No NAU source rules on graduate clinicals outside Arizona. NAU's pages describe clinicals across Arizona, yet its license wording and its SARA membership assume some students live elsewhere. The state where you would train then adds its own conditions for students of out-of-state programs, as each board reported them to NCSBN.
Those conditions vary a lot next door. Nevada expects APRN students to carry a Nevada RN license and wants Nevada-licensed preceptors. California's board limits clinical placements to students of programs it has approved. Colorado asks for students and advanced practice preceptors who can practice in Colorado, and Utah asks out-of-state programs to meet approval, accreditation and licensing conditions before placing anyone. Ask your program coordinator and NAU's State Authorization Compliance office before you commit to a site across the line; our state authorization page explains the SARA side.
Your preceptor's license is a separate check
Your license covers you; the preceptor needs one of their own that fits the same rule book. Under R4-19-502 as NAU prints it, a preceptor holds an unencumbered RN or physician license, or a multistate privilege, in the state where they practice, with a carve-out for federal employees, who may hold any current U.S. license. A preceptor at a clinic in another state meets that test in their own state, and some host states pile on more, as Nevada does with its licensing demand.
Experience, population focus and certification come on top of that license. The full list, and what the FNP Program Coordinator looks for before approving anyone, is on our preceptor requirements page.
Keep the license current and on file
The 2022-23 guidelines had graduate students upload their license into Typhon and keep credentialing documents current, and the license belongs in the file NAU wants complete two months before each rotation. If your renewal date falls inside a practicum, renew early and upload the fresh record ahead of the old expiry date. The license has to be current on every clinical day, not only on the day you first submit it. The documents deadline page has the backward plan.
Moving changes the picture. NAU asks students who relocate to another state to update their physical location with the university and to contact their program about effects on experiential activities such as practicums. A new home state can mean a new license before your next rotation.
How we match preceptors to your license
We start with the state your license actually covers, search for preceptors close to home there, and make sure each one clears Arizona's preceptor standard, including a license that fits the state where they practice. For a student outside Arizona, we flag that state's rules for out-of-state programs early, so the question reaches your coordinator before the Green Form does.
Their CV, license and certification come with the match, the site's approval is confirmed before the Green Form goes in, and any new-agreement question reaches NAU early. Summer, fall and spring are planned together. When a preceptor steps away mid-term, we are on call to replace them. The form below starts the conversation.
Questions NAU students ask
Will my multistate compact license work for NAU clinicals?
Yes, for admission and for clinical hours in Arizona. NAU's graduate admission page accepts a license that meets the Arizona Board of Nursing's multistate rules, and the 2022-23 guidelines name compact states. For hours outside Arizona, the license must also be valid where the clinic sits, which a multistate license covers only in compact states.
Which license does a California nurse need for NAU clinicals?
California is outside the compact, so clinical hours in Arizona call for an Arizona RN license. Training in California is harder: California's board limits clinical placements to students of programs it has approved. Talk to your program coordinator early; our California page sets out the details.
Is there a multistate license for nurse practitioners?
Not one Arizona recognizes. The APRN Compact never reached the seven states it needs, Arizona's bills to join stalled in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and the national nursing council is redesigning it. Your RN license can be multistate, but NP certification after graduation happens state by state.
Can I start NAU while my Arizona license is still pending?
NAU's admission wording allows eligibility for an Arizona license, so a pending application may be acceptable at the admission stage. Clinical hours are different: the license has to be valid in the state of clinical practice and uploaded with your documents before the rotation, so finish it before your first practicum.
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: How to apply, graduate nursing programs
- Northern Arizona University FNP Clinical Guidelines AY 2022-23 (archived)
- Northern Arizona University FNP Clinical Guidelines AY 2021-22 (archived)
- Arizona Revised Statutes 32-1631
- Arizona Administrative Code Title 4, Chapter 19 (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.