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Northern Illinois University

School of Nursing & Health Studies

School of Nursing & Health Studies > Graduate Programs > M.S. in Nursing > Certification

Certification Information

Updated 2/1/07

To receive your advanced practice license to practice either as a nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist, you must graduate from a master's program and sit for a certification exam. To sit for the exam, you must have completed a minimum of 500 clinical hours in your graduate program. Additionally, certification applicants must be prepared to document the populations they have worked with in the primary care setting and the health promotion, acute care, and chronic illness situations encountered in the internship experiences. You may download the necessary forms by contacting the website addresses below:

American Academy of Nurse Practitioners: www.aanpcertification.org OR
The American Nurses Credentialing Center of the ANA: http://nursingworld.org/ancc/cert/index.html

Here are the steps you must complete if you are taking the certification exam through the ANCC:

Complete the application form, plus Form E (NP) or E-1 (CNS). One page of the application is the Verification Request Form. Check the Verification of Certification (not the Verification of Eligibility) box on this form.
Submit the Verification Request Form, Form E or E-1, and $40 (check made out to ANCC) to Dr. Lusk at the School of Nursing.
After Dr. Lusk has completed the forms, the Verification Request Form and your $40 check will be sent directly to ANCC. Form E (NP) or Form E-1 (CNS) will be returned to you.
Note: Dr. Lusk will not complete forms (E or E-1) that are not accompanied by the $40 check made out to ANCC. We are mandated by the state and by NIU to maintain records of the certification status of our graduates.

In addition to completion of the application, you will need to submit copies of your official NIU transcript. Receipt of the transcripts may take up to 2 to 3 weeks. Request 2 copies – one for the certification organization and one for the state. Be sure to leave the transcript envelope sealed (or it will not be accepted by the certification organization).

Please keep current on any changes in state licensing laws by visiting the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Website at: http://www.ildpr.com