Doing FNU clinicals in North Carolina
The North Carolina Board of Nursing doesn't approve or disapprove post-licensure graduate programs from any state, so its approval rule for out-of-state students targets pre-licensure programs, not FNU's tracks. What shapes your plan more is restricted NP practice and, if you aren't compact-licensed, a question to the Board's Licensure Department.
Searching in North Carolina?
Tell us your track, your nearest city and your Clinical Bound term. A placement advisor will reply.
North Carolina in one view
North Carolina appears on FNU's licensure list with no caveats for any track, so midwifery, FNP, WHNP, PMHNP and DNP students can all plan clinicals here.
| Item | North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Board | North Carolina Board of Nursing (NCBON) |
| NP licensure | Joint Subcommittee of the Board of Nursing and the Medical Board |
| Nurse Licensure Compact | Implemented January 19, 2018 |
| AANP practice environment | Restricted |
| Graduate programs | Not approved or disapproved by NCBON, in-state or out-of-state |
| SARA | Joined June 2016 |
| State preceptor incentive | None found |
The Board's out-of-state rule, and who it's for
Under 21 NCAC 36 .0233, unlicensed nursing students in out-of-state programs may use North Carolina clinical agencies only after NCBON approval. At least 30 days before the clinical starts, the agency's chief nursing administrator or an RN designee files the request, with proof of home-state board approval, the coordinating faculty member's CV and RN license, evidence that the preceptor holds an active North Carolina RN license, and evidence of licensure from the UNC Board of Governors.
The Board says it has no jurisdiction over RN-BSN, post-licensure graduate or doctoral programs, and that it "does not approve or disapprove post-licensure graduate level nursing programs, in-state, nor out-of-state." You're a licensed RN in a graduate program, so the 30-day request isn't written for you. The Board also notes that students at SARA-approved colleges may be eligible for field placements in North Carolina, and FNU is a SARA institution.
If a site's staff raise the 30-day form anyway, point them to Clinical Credentialing, which handles state board requirements for FNU placements.
A career-long physician agreement
AANP classes North Carolina as restricted. NPs must have a career-long agreement with a physician, and NP licensure is regulated by a Joint Subcommittee of the Board of Nursing and the Medical Board rather than by the nursing board alone.
Every North Carolina NP preceptor therefore has a physician partner for as long as they practice. If that physician also sees patients at your site, they could supervise up to 40% of an FNP practicum. PMHNP students have their own options: a psychiatrist without a time limit, or a licensed therapist for no more than 135 hours. The FNP preceptor page explains how FNU handles hours split across preceptors.
Where North Carolina students search
Four of the state's biggest metros in 2025 Census estimates, and its largest systems, show where students look. None of them is a site that has agreed to take FNU students.
- Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC: about 2.48 million North Carolinians in a metro of 2.94 million
- Raleigh-Cary: about 1.60 million
- Greensboro-High Point: about 806,000
- Winston-Salem: about 712,000
Large systems include Atrium Health (part of Advocate Health, in Charlotte), UNC Health, Novant Health, Duke Health and ECU Health, and the state health agency is the NCDHHS Division of Public Health. The Charlotte metro reaches into South Carolina, so read our South Carolina page before planning a site over that line. Outside the metros, your RCF is the best first call.
Licensing for North Carolina clinical sites
North Carolina's compact participation dates from January 19, 2018. Hold a multistate license from North Carolina or from the compact state where you live, and North Carolina sites are covered, as are sites in neighboring Virginia and Tennessee.
The Board adds one instruction: graduate students who hold neither a North Carolina nor a multistate license must contact its Licensure Department, through the Email Us form, for the requirements to do clinicals in North Carolina. Do that early, because license verification in Nursys Quick Confirm is part of the compliance you finish the term before Clinical Bound. Telehealth follows each patient's state; see the RN license page.
Nurse-midwifery students in North Carolina
The Joint Subcommittee and the career-long agreement in AANP's note apply to NPs. North Carolina's rules for certified nurse-midwives are NCBON's to explain, so check a midwife preceptor's standing with NCBON or your RCF. FNU's standards hold: a CNM or CM is the preferred primary preceptor, hospital births must number at least eight of your 40, and births and procedures need someone supervising in the room. See the nurse-midwifery preceptor page.
Why North Carolina students choose us
We search your part of North Carolina for a preceptor suited to your FNU track, organize the preceptor and site information your CSAF will carry, and keep searching if a preceptor drops out. Every approval belongs to FNU's RCF and Clinical Credentialing, who receive your site fully documented. Get in touch.
Questions FNU students ask
Is NCBON approval needed before my North Carolina clinicals start?
Not on its published position. NCBON says it doesn't approve or disapprove post-licensure graduate programs, in-state or out-of-state, and its 30-day request rule covers unlicensed students in out-of-state programs. You're a licensed RN in a graduate program. FNU's RCF and Clinical Credentialing still have to clear your site and preceptor before you start.
I live in a non-compact state. Can I do clinicals in North Carolina?
Possibly, but ask the Board first. NCBON tells graduate students without a North Carolina or multistate license to contact its Licensure Department through the Email Us form for the requirements. Whatever the Board says, FNU's compliance list also requires that you be licensed for the state or eligible for compact licensure, apart from sites open to any US license.
Can the physician at a North Carolina practice precept me?
It depends on your track. An MD, DO or PA can take up to 40% of FNP hours, and PMHNP students may spend unlimited time with a psychiatrist. Nurse-midwifery students are expected, ideally, to have a CNM or CM as main preceptor, and WHNP students a WHNP. Since North Carolina NPs work under career-long physician agreements, ask whether that physician sees patients on site.
Is there a North Carolina incentive for preceptors?
No state incentive for preceptors in North Carolina is on record. A clinician who takes you gets FNU's package: an honorarium after your practicum, with the amount based on program and hours, CE through The Gift of Precepting, and a 10% discount on non-matriculating courses. Preceptors can also donate the honorarium to FNU, which helps fund its Preceptor Scholarship.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-23
We check these pages against FNU's own published sources. Your Clinical Advisor, your RCF and FNU's current guidelines have the final word.
Your site submitted before Clinical Bound.
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- Matched to your track: CNM/CM, NP, or the right mix FNU allows
- Ready for the CSAF, the RCF and Clinical Credentialing
- In person near you, or telehealth within FNU's caps
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