FNU clinical rules, state by state

Where FNU approves clinical sites

MSN and PGC students must complete clinicals "within the continental United States (US) and the Hawaiian Islands" (FNU Catalog, Summer 2026). No rule ties you to your home state; most students work near home, and FNU notes that travel or a temporary move is sometimes needed.

DNP students are the exception to the territory rule: they may petition the DNP Program Chair for an international project site.

An RN license for every state you train in

FNU's compliance list asks for "an unencumbered nursing license in all states" where clinicals happen, or eligibility for compact licensure (FNU Catalog). License verification runs through Nursys Quick Confirm, as one of the compliance items due the term before Clinical Bound.

The one carve-out is a site that accepts any US nursing license; the catalog's examples are military and Indian Health Service sites. Everywhere else, a site across a state line means you need that state covered before you start.

A multistate compact license reaches compact states only. If your plan crosses into a non-compact state, apply for that state's license early, because verification is part of your clinical compliance. Our RN license page goes further, and each state page lists the board and compact status.

Telehealth follows the patient, not you

For telehealth rotations, the catalog says students must "meet state licensing requirements where patients reside." Where you sit doesn't settle it: if a practice sees patients in three states, you need to meet licensing rules in each state whose patients you see.

Telehealth is also capped by track: 20% of hours for nurse-midwifery and WHNP, 10% for FNP (in the same office as your preceptor), and 450 hours for PMHNP students starting clinical in 2025 or later. The telehealth hours page covers the caps and the visit-type limits.

One point is open. FNU doesn't say whether a student outside New York can count telehealth visits with New York patients; it only points to licensure where the patient lives. Ask your RCF before a New York patient panel goes into your plan.

Alaska: settle it before you build a plan

FNU's clinical-site policy names "the continental United States" and Hawaii, not Alaska. Elsewhere FNU lists Alaska as meeting licensure education requirements and as exempt from state authorization because the program is online. Whether Alaska sites are approved for MSN and PGC clinicals isn't confirmed in FNU's public sources.

If you live in Alaska, get an answer from your RCF and Clinical Advisor in writing before you ask a preceptor. The Alaska Board of Nursing also has its own step: students in APRN programs based outside Alaska apply for an APRN Preceptorship Registration, which needs an RN license in good standing and a copy of the preceptorship agreement, and lasts up to 12 months. Alaska is not in the Nurse Licensure Compact. Our Alaska page has the board details.

New York in brief

New York is the only state with a clinical restriction. FNU's approval there covers six MSN nurse-midwifery students a year who live in New York, placed in upstate, rural and underserved areas. PGC midwifery, FNP, WHNP and PMHNP students can't do clinicals in the state, and students living elsewhere can't cross into New York for them.

Federal government facilities in New York are open to every FNU student, and DNP applicants aren't affected by the limit. FNU still enrolls New York residents in every track; the restriction is about where clinical hours happen, not who can study. The detail, including what New York residents on NP tracks do instead, is on our New York clinicals page.

States that want notice before you start

FNU warns that "some states require advance notice and approval" for students doing clinicals there, but doesn't list them. Clinical Credentialing handles state board requirements for placement, which is one reason its work takes months.

Two published points help. FNU holds approval from Washington's Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission for practice experiences in every MSN and PGC track and the DNP. And an older, undated FNU portal page lists board approvals in Alabama, Connecticut, DC, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah and Washington, with most other boards described as exempt or not regulating.

Treat that older list as background, not current policy. If your site is in one of those states, ask your Clinical Credentialing Coordinator whether extra lead time applies. FNU's NC-SARA membership doesn't change any state's professional licensing rules.

Searching across state lines with the rules in view

We search near you first, in states where you're already licensed. If the right preceptor is across a border, we flag the license you'd need and any known board step before you commit, and we help you gather the site details for the CSAF. For students near a border, that sometimes widens the search to a second state worth licensing in.

FNU approves each site and state boards handle licenses, so we map out which license a lead would need before you commit, leaving you time to apply. If a remote option is on the table, we check it against your track's telehealth cap and the patient-state license rule first; virtual clinical options sets out what telehealth can cover.