Temporary APN Licensure

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Some APNs who have not yet taken or have not received results from a certification examination wonder if they might practice with a temporary license, a situation that is described as "license pending status” in the Nursing Act. However, trying to find the application for this status takes some digging—it is a page that follows the regular APN application (which, of course, can be found at www.ildfpr.com), and has the title "ADVANCED PRACTICE NURSE TEMPORARY PERMIT, TP-APN Form.”  There is not a specific link for this form on the website anywhere. The way IDFPR has interpreted the law regarding license pending is such that it will benefit very few people to apply for this permit. Applying for a temporary permit requires nearly as much paperwork as applying for an actual license and the process may take just as long. Furthermore, one cannot prescribe medications if practicing on a temporary permit. There are few situations that would seem to warrant the effort in obtaining a temporary permit, nor does it seem it would greatly facilitate an APN’s job search.

The best advice is that new APN graduates take their certification examinations just as soon as they possibly can.  It is possible to submit an APN license application with every section completed except the box indicating the name of the certifying organization and the date of certification. This box can be completed by indicating when the applicant expects to take the certification examination.  IDFPR creates files for applicants once the application is received; however, a license is not generated until all necessary documents (and payment) are received.  The applicant may get a jumpstart on the process by submitting all available documents, so the file will be ready to process just as soon as s/he sends proof of certification.

New graduates should not fall into the trap of planning to study for several months post-graduation, thinking that they will be better prepared to take their exam.  While some study is a good idea and taking courses for certification examination preparation can be helpful, for the overwhelming majority of APNs, the best bet is to take the examination shortly after graduation. The greater the time that passes between graduation and taking the examination usually means the less the graduate remembers. The only people who might benefit from the temporary permit are those people who for some reason or another, simply cannot take their certification examinations in a timely fashion.