Your Illinois APRN license after Lewis
IDFPR licenses advanced practice registered nurses in Illinois, and it looks for two things your Lewis program builds toward: a graduate degree or post-master's certificate in a clinical APRN specialty, and national certification as a nurse practitioner. The path runs from your final practicum through Lewis's degree conferral and your certification exam to the IDFPR application.
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Tell us your Lewis program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with preceptor and site options in your community that fit your Lewis course.
What IDFPR asks for
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) issues APRN licenses. Its APRN licensure page asks for national certification as "a nurse midwife, clinical nurse specialist, nurse practitioner, or certified registered nurse anesthetist", together with a graduate degree or post-master's certificate from a graduate program in a clinical advanced practice specialty.
The same education wording appears in the Nurse Practice Act at 225 ILCS 65/65-5(b)(4) and in the application rule, 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1300.400(a)(4), which asks for proof that you completed the program. Illinois law sets no minimum clinical hours for APRN programs, so the hours you log are Lewis's catalog requirement: at least 630 in the FNP and 540 in each of the other NP tracks (hours by program).
IDFPR's page lists every item in the application. The two that come out of your Lewis years are the credential and the certification, and both depend on finishing each practicum on schedule.
Which Lewis programs lead to an APRN license
Lewis's four NP specialties lead to Illinois APRN licensure through the MSN, the Certificate of Advanced Study or the BSN to DNP. The post-master's DNP and the non-NP master's tracks lead somewhere else, as the last rows show.
| Lewis program | Credential | Certification boards Lewis mentions | Illinois in Lewis's licensure tables |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSN FNP | MSN, 48 credits, 630 hours minimum | ANCC and AANPCB | Meets requirements |
| MSN AGACNP | MSN, 46 credits, 540 hours minimum | AACN | Meets requirements |
| MSN AGPCNP | MSN, 46 credits, 540 hours minimum | None named | Meets requirements |
| MSN PMHNP | MSN, 49 credits, 540 hours minimum | None named | Meets requirements |
| CAS, all four NP tracks | Post-master's certificate, 28 to 31 credits | Per track, as in the MSN rows | Meets requirements |
| BSN to DNP, NP tracks | DNP that includes the NP courses | Per track, as in the MSN rows | Meets requirements |
| DNP, post-master's | DNP, 30 credits | Not applicable | "does not lead to a separate state license" |
| School Nurse | MSN or non-degree | ISBE test 236 | Approved for Illinois only, through ISBE |
Exam choice, eligibility and the pass rates Lewis reports are covered on the certification exams page.
From last practicum to license: the order of events
- Finish your final practicum and its management courseBoth run over the same 16-week semester. An Incomplete in your graduation term may push your graduation date back (Incomplete rules).
- Apply to graduate by Lewis's deadlineOctober 1, 2026 for December, February 1, 2027 for May, and July 1 for August.
- Lewis confers your degree or certificateConferral dates for 2026-27 are December 18, 2026, May 21, 2027 and August 27, 2027.
- Pass your national certification examEach board sets its own eligibility and document rules, so read your board's requirements before your final semester starts.
- Apply to IDFPRSubmit the APRN application with proof of your Lewis credential and your certification, following the steps on IDFPR's nursing pages.
- Begin practice under a collaborative agreementNew Illinois nurse practitioners start with a written collaborative agreement until they meet the full practice terms (Illinois practice authority).
IDFPR's APRN license types
IDFPR's nursing page names its license types: "Advanced Practice Registered Nurse- Full Practice Authority (APRN-FPA)", "APRN - FPA Controlled Substance" and Advanced Practice Nurse (APN). A new graduate's first Illinois license comes with the collaborative agreement requirement. Full practice authority is a separate, later application: you attest before a notary to 4,000 hours of clinical work and 250 hours of CE or training, all logged after national certification, and IDFPR says those applications may now be completed online.
Controlled substance prescribing has its own entry on IDFPR's list, and Schedule II prescribing keeps a physician consultation relationship even under full practice authority. Read IDFPR's current instructions for the license you apply for, because the Nurse Practice Act is set to sunset on January 1, 2028 unless it is extended, and details can change.
You join a large and growing profession. IDFPR's report of October 9, 2025 counted 17,087 certified nurse practitioners among 21,082 APRN licensees, compared with 6,411 certified nurse practitioners in March 2015.
If you live or plan to work outside Illinois
Lewis's NC-SARA disclosures, dated March 2026, mark Illinois as meeting licensure requirements for every NP program. In the MSN and BSN to DNP tables, Hawaii, Indiana, Massachusetts and Mississippi are authorized for enrollment but marked as not meeting licensure requirements; the certificate tables list Connecticut in place of Hawaii. The state authorization page walks through each jurisdiction.
Illinois has joined neither the Nurse Licensure Compact nor the APRN Compact; a multistate RN license from another state carries no practice privilege in Illinois. The APRN Compact itself has five enacting states and needs seven before it operates. Lewis's FAQ gives out-of-state students the option of an Illinois license and an Illinois practicum; which RN license your clinicals need is set out on the RN license page.
Protecting your graduation date
Your license timeline depends on finishing every practicum on schedule. A preceptor who steps away in week eight, or a contract request still in review on the first day of the semester, can push hours into an Incomplete, and an Incomplete in the graduation term can move your conferral date and everything that follows it.
Our placement desk plans each preceptor back from your graduation term, not forward from today. We line up preceptors early for every remaining practicum, prepare the details for each contract request, and move fast on a replacement if a preceptor leaves, all aimed at keeping your final semester on Lewis's calendar. Tell us your track and expected graduation term on the placement request form.
Questions Lewis students ask
Can I get an Illinois APRN license before I pass my certification exam?
IDFPR's APRN requirements list national certification alongside the graduate degree or post-master's certificate, so the certification comes first. Build that into your job search: an NP role in Illinois needs both the certification and the IDFPR license. IDFPR's nursing pages carry the current application steps and any updates to them.
Does a Lewis post-master's certificate qualify for an Illinois APRN license?
It fits IDFPR's wording, which names post-master's certificates in a clinical APRN specialty right beside graduate degrees. Lewis's disclosures mark Illinois as meeting licensure requirements for all four certificate tracks. You still need national certification in the certificate's population focus, the same as an MSN graduate.
Does the Lewis DNP lead to an APRN license?
The post-master's DNP does not: Lewis's disclosure for it says it does not lead to a separate state license, so it adds no APRN license of its own. The BSN to DNP is different because it carries the NP specialty courses first. Lewis's licensure tables cover those tracks, and Illinois is marked as meeting requirements.
Which certification exam do Lewis FNP graduates take?
Lewis names two boards for FNP graduates, ANCC and AANPCB, and names AACN for the AGACNP. It names no board for the AGPCNP or the PMHNP. Choose your board early in your final year, since each one sets its own eligibility and document rules.
How long after graduation does Lewis send diplomas and transcripts?
Lewis says diplomas arrive 6 to 8 weeks after graduation. Official transcripts are ordered through Parchment, Lewis's transcript partner, and unofficial ones sit in myLewis. Your transcript will carry the conferral date for your term: December 18, May 21 or August 27 in 2026-27.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Lewis's own catalog, program pages and FAQ, its contract portal and Illinois law. Your course, your track coordinator and the Clinical Placement Office have the final word.
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Tell us your Lewis program, where you live and when your next practicum starts. We find preceptors near you who fit the course and prepare every detail the contract portal asks for, so your request goes in complete.
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