IMPORTANT ELIGIBILITY REQUIEREMENTS
Starting January 1, 2026, for post-graduate certificate (PGC) applicants, only PGC APRN program accreditation will be accepted for eligibility. Institutional accreditation for APRN master’s or DNP programs will not be considered in leu of PGC accreditation, even if those programs contain parallel tracks to an instution's PGC program. Applicants must demonstrate their program held/holds an active PGC accredation at the time of graduation.
Eligibility criteria require candidates to hold a role/population specific master’s, post-graduate certificate, or DNP from an institution** accredited by a national nursing accreditor (CCNE, ACEN or NLN CNEA).
Please note that ANCC is not an accreditor of nursing education programs. ANCC’s review of accreditation is designed only for purposes of evaluating eligibility for certification. If you need more details specifically related to accreditation status of a program and/or institution, we encourage you to review the below websites directly:
**ANCC has sent public notice of an eligibility change effective 2026. ANCC currently verifies institutional accreditation.
PACE (Pre-application Course Evaluation)
For students currently pursuing or starting a post-graduate program, we now offer a new service to help educators prepare their students for certification success. The APRN Core Course Review allows faculty members to submit the following courses for review against current ANCC certification eligibility criteria:
- Advanced Pharmacology
- Advanced Health Assessment
- Advanced Pathophysiology
Documents for this service can be submitted before or during a student’s program for review by our team. Please follow the steps below to request review:
