NP · Arkansas
Supervision Agreement for Nurse Practitioners in Arkansas
Yes, a written supervising-physician agreement is required. Arkansas calls it a Collaborative Practice Agreement (CPA).
Pathway created by Act 412 of 2021 (Ark. Code Ann. § 17-87-314). FIPCC certificate renews every 3 years ($50 fee); once granted, no CPA is required (§ 17-87-316(b)).
Independent practice requires: ≥6,240 hours of practice under a collaborative practice agreement (or equivalent out-of-state prescriptive-authority practice); Full Independent Practice Credentialing Committee (FIPCC) approval — active unencumbered CNP license and prescriptive-authority certificate, 2 recommendation letters, $150 application fee.
What the supervision must look like
The rules the physician relationship has to follow. Each fact comes from the statute or board rule listed under sources.
Proximity
CNP practicing under a collaborative practice agreement (pre-FIPCC): Available remotely (no on-site requirement)
No requirement that the collaborating physician visit the site or be within a defined radius was found in ASBN rule text retrieved — appears telecommunication-sufficient (secondary-sourced summary consistent across multiple NP-advocacy sites; no specific mileage figure located).
Supervision ratio
Not codified — no cap on file
Chart review
Not codified — left to the agreement
Meeting cadence
Not codified — left to the agreement
Prescriptive authority
CNP practicing under a collaborative practice agreement (pre-FIPCC): Covered by the practice agreement · controlled substances permitted
Prescribes under CPA protocols; this research pass did not confirm CNP-specific Schedule II restrictions beyond the CPA itself — recommend verifying § 17-87-310's Schedule distinctions directly before publishing a specific schedule limit.
CNP with Full Independent Practice Authority (post-FIPCC): Covered by the practice agreement · controlled substances permitted
Prescribes without a CPA per § 17-87-316(b).
Written agreement
Required
Required only before FIPCC certification. Once Full Independent Practice Authority is granted, no collaborative practice agreement is required at all.
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Same general Arkansas CPOM framework as `pa` (§§ 4-29-208, 4-29-307) applies to co-mingled medical-service entities; a CNP-owned entity for nursing-only scope services may be treated differently but this was not clearly codified for NP-specific entity ownership in this research pass — verify with ASBN/Secretary of State before treating as settled.
Legal sources for these rules (3)
- Ark. Code Ann. § 17-87-314 — Full Independent Practice Credentialing Committeesecondary
- Ark. Code Ann. § 17-87-316(b) — Practice Without Collaborative Practice Agreement Post-Certification
- Arkansas State Board of Nursing — Collaborative Practice Agreement template
What a supervising physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in Arkansas
$500 – $600
Estimate for one Nurse Practitioner. This state's proximity rules add a small premium.
About Arkansas's rules
Act 412 of 2021 created a 6,240-hour Full Independent Practice Credentialing Committee (FIPCC) pathway for CNPs and CNSs only — CRNAs and CNMs are excluded from FIPCC and follow their own frameworks. CRNA independent-practice status is a genuine, unresolved ambiguity (see that entry) — a widely repeated 'Medicare opt-out' claim doesn't equal a change to AR's own supervision statute.
Other clinicians in Arkansas: see the state overview.