Maryland is a beautiful and great human State! We love, cry, thrive, and pursue, conquer, and accomplish a lot for the good of our people. Maryland is also an excellent place for nurse practitioners. Thanks to the efforts of the Nurse Practitioner Association of Maryland (NPAM) and many others, in 2015, we gained full practice authority!
However, if you are a nurse in this state, you would have heard or experienced some horrors while dealing with the Maryland Board of Nursing (MBON). Some say there have been improvements; remember when nurses lined up outside for hours? Now we line up inside. The board may be trying its best (I do not claim to know this as a fact), but if the consumers do not experience it, and our interactions with the board of nursing (BON) have not improved, it becomes challenging to support that theory. Plus, this inefficiency may directly affect outcomes for Maryland patients. A quick google search and “review” search for MBON will showcase some of these concerns.
The truth is, a rite of passage as nurses and other nursing specialties in Maryland is to undergo pain, frustration, anger, disbelief, disrespect, and more at least twice at the hands of the Maryland Board of Nursing. Once you have this realization, it will make your journey less painful, more vigilant, and appreciative of the opportunity to own a number that recognizes you in the profession and beyond.
All this is the motivation for writing this post, to make applying for your advanced practice license less painful and somewhat exciting as you take the next step into your future.
Note: This post is specific to the new graduate nurse practitioner (NP) in Maryland who has never been licensed or practiced as an NP in Maryland or another state.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs), YOU DID IT! Now let’s go pay some taxes 😊
First things first: Supplies
We all know too well to collect all necessary supplies before proceeding with a procedure.
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A mentor
According to the law that made the requirement, Md. Code Regs. 10.27.07.01, “Mentor” means a certified nurse practitioner (NP) or physician (MD/DO), licensed in Maryland, who:
(a) Has three or more years of clinical practice experience; and (b) Will be available for advice, consultation, and collaboration, as needed, for 18 months beginning on the date an application is received by the board from an applicant who has never been certified in this or any other State. - This means the MBON does not accept a PA as a mentor, nor an NP or MD/DO who is not licensed in the state of Maryland and who has not clocked three years in clinical practice on the day your application is received (i.e., 2yrs,11 months, and 25 days will not count).
- Once you have identified your mentor, reach out to them and explain that you would be honored if they agreed to be your mentor. Some mentors may want to talk about how the relationship should proceed, like the frequency and mode of meetings, such as phone calls, in person, or otherwise. You can sort out the fine details later; your primary focus should be getting the mentor to agree and then requesting their license number as their regulating body provides. For example, if your mentor is a physician, it should be their license number as assigned by the Maryland Board of Physicians; If an NP, it should be their number as assigned by the MBON. It should never be their National Provider Identification number (NPI).
- From experience, an excellent time to seek and ask a potential mentor is during your final year in school. Approach any of your clinical preceptors whom you have a good working relationship with and who can attest to your work, or if your school allows it, you can ask a faculty staff who also can attest to your skills but remember, whomever you ask and agrees is doing you a favor, it is not an entitlement or a right. Remember to ask the mentor for their license number when they agree; this would save you time.
- I Should add here that NPAM has a list of mentors. Hence, if you are an NPAM member and have difficulties securing a mentor, you should consider reaching out to them.
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Official school transcript
Request your transcript be mailed directly to the MBON. It would be best if you also considered requesting up to 10 official transcripts to be mailed to you as you will need them when submitting in person and during your job search. So long as the transcript envelope remains sealed, it remains your “official transcript.”
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Photocopy of your Maryland driver’s license or State ID
It is used as official proof of your Maryland residency
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Voter’s registration card
Also used as proof of your Maryland residency. Since July 2022, the MBON has not required it; a Driver’s or State ID has been sufficient to date.
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Copy of your RN license
This one gets tricky since the board has stopped issuing cards. To fulfill this, you will need to look up your license and perform a “snipping” of that page or screenshot of that page where your license is displayed. You may consider reducing the zoom size (for Chrome or Firefox browsers) of the laptop or computer screen so that all the information fits within the screen and is easy to capture. Once complete, you can then print it for submission to the board. See the photo for demonstration only. Please do not redact yours for submission to the board (click on the image to enlarge it).
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Copy of your national certifying exam
Five national board exam providers are approved for NPs seeking registration in Maryland based on your specialty. Here they are in alphabetical order:
- American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN)
- The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP): You do not need to wait to receive your mailed-out certificate because you can always print a copy from your “AANPCERT” account. Log into your account, search for and click “MY WALLET CARDS” on the right-hand tab. Click on the red “view” tab, print that page, and attach it to other documents for submission.
- American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
- National Certification Corporation (NCC)
- Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB)
Notice how Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs) and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are not on this list. Each has a different governing and national certifying body, application process, and criteria. Here is the link to applying for certification in Maryland for the CNMs, CRNAs, and CRNA graduate supervisor agreement.
Next step
The next step would be the actual process of completing your APRN application form. Follow this link to download the application form for APRN application for any of the above specialties. You must complete your MBON APRN application online, such that your responses are “typed in” and not written by hand, as would be the case if you printed and completed it. The Maryland BON will REJECT your entire application if your form is filled with handwritten responses. IT MUST BE TYPED, then printed out for your signature. Please DO NOT USE ONLINE SIGNATURE FROM YOUR DEVICE. You must sign in ink. There are no rules about typed-in or handwritten dates.
After filling your responses online, print, sign by hand(ink), and date.
Arrange the following documents for submission. Have them all in a folder.
- Completed APRN application form signed by hand and dated
- An official copy of your transcript (bring 2 for backup)
- Driver’s license or State ID
- Voter’s card, if you have it (as a backup since rules change frequently)
- Copy of your RN license printed from “look up license.”
- Copy of your certification from whichever certifying agency you took your exam. This certificate must show an issue and expiration date; if not, MBON WILL REJECT YOUR APPLICATION.
- MODE OF PAYMENT: Credit card (accepted since July 2022), personal check, or money order, and made payable to the “Maryland Board of Nursing.” Endeavor to save a copy of the payment receipt; very crucial.
Finishing touches
Once you have submitted your application in person, you should send a copy of those submitted forms and your payment receipt (except your transcript) within 24-48 hours to this email address; [email protected]. This is because back in 2022, there were excessive delays in processing applications. Worse of all, some applicants were told to resend their information via the email I provided because their documents were not “submitted.” All sorts of excuses were provided, except that MBON had misplaced or lost a hand-delivered application. This translated into additional wait times for the already frustrated NP. If you still face delays after all this, please reach out to the governor’s office and submit your complaint. You can call and leave a message or use this contact form https://www.doit.state.md.us/selectsurvey/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=86M2956#
I hope this post enables you to obtain your Maryland NP certification with less stress and frustration!
Thank you for reading. Please comment below about this post or anything you would like to share.
