PMHNP Scope And Prescribing Rules In California

Practice Authority

What Is California NP Practice Authority?

California historically required NPs to practice under standardized procedures developed with a physician. Assembly Bill 890 (AB 890) created a phased path toward greater independence through two new categories, commonly referred to as the “103” NP and the “104” NP. Later legislation has kept adjusting the details, and the California Board of Registered Nursing publishes the AB 890 resources.

In broad terms, a 103 NP can practice without standardized procedures, generally within a defined organization or group setting where a physician also practices, and only once they’ve completed a substantial transition to practice experience. A 104 NP, after further qualifying experience, can practice more independently outside those group settings, within the population focus of their national certification. PMHNPs are certified in psychiatric-mental health, so your authorized scope tracks that population focus.

Collaboration & Agreements

Can A PMHNP Practice Independently In California?

Only with a 103 or 104 certification from the Board of Registered Nursing. Without one, you furnish drugs under standardized procedures developed and approved by you, your supervising physician and the facility administrator or a designee (BPC §2836.1).

103 NP. You practice without standardized procedures in a setting where one or more physicians practice with you: a licensed clinic, a health facility other than a correctional treatment center or state hospital, a medical group practice, a home health agency or a hospice facility.

You need national NP certification and a transition to practice in California of at least three full-time equivalent years or 4,600 hours (BPC §2837.103). The BRN counts hours completed in direct patient care, after your California NP certification, within the five years before you apply.

104 NP. You can practice outside those settings after three years as an NP in good standing, not counting the transition to practice, with a California RN license and a master’s degree in nursing or a related clinical field or a nursing doctorate (BPC §2837.104).

You need a referral plan for complex cases and emergencies, physician consultation in the situations the statute lists, and professional liability insurance. 103 and 104 NPs both tell new patients they’re not physicians and post a notice that the BRN regulates them. The BRN’s application page carries both the 103 and the 104 applications.

How Many Nurse Practitioners Can A Physician Supervise In California?

Four at one time, for NPs who furnish drugs under standardized procedures (BPC §2836.1(e)). Supervision doesn’t require the physician to be on site, but it includes helping develop and approving the standardized procedure and being reachable by phone when you examine a patient. 103 and 104 NPs prescribe under a different section, BPC §2837.103(c), without standardized procedures. The California Board of Registered Nursing publishes the AB 890 resources.

Prescribing

Prescriptive Authority And Controlled Substances

Under standardized procedures, you furnish drugs with a BRN furnishing number, which requires a pharmacology course (BPC §2836.1(g), §2836.3). Furnishing can include Schedule II through V controlled substances, limited to the drugs you and your physician list in the standardized procedure.

Schedule II and III drugs need a patient specific protocol approved by the treating or supervising physician, and a Schedule II protocol has to address the diagnosis it’s for (BPC §2836.1(c), (f)). To furnish controlled substances you register with the DEA (BPC §2836.2), and to keep Schedule II privileges the BRN requires a Schedule II course of at least three hours by renewal.

A 103 or 104 NP prescribes controlled substances without standardized procedures (BPC §2837.103(c)). Either way, California’s PDMP rules apply. Once you hold a DEA registration you register for CURES, and you check the patient’s CURES report before the first Schedule II, III or IV prescription and at least every six months after while the drug stays part of treatment (Health and Safety Code §11165.1, §11165.4).

Next Step

Credentialing Is A Separate Track

Practice authority decides what you can do in California. It doesn’t get you paid. Payer enrollment runs on its own track, and our California credentialing and payer enrollment guide covers it. The PMHNP credentialing guide has the national picture.

On Headway, Alma, Grow or Rula today? You can usually keep seeing clients there while we build contracts in your own practice, and this page explains how.

Planning the sequence? Our guide on how to start a PMHNP practice and the practice launch checklist put licensure, any collaboration your state requires and enrollment in order. See what PMHNP credentialing costs and what it costs to start a PMHNP practice before you budget, and browse the PMHNP hub for the rest.

FAQ

California PMHNP: Frequently Asked Questions

References

Official California Sources

Every rule on this page comes from the official sources below, which we checked on October 4, 2026.

• Business and Professions Code §2836.1 (standardized procedures, the four-NP limit, Schedule II to V furnishing and patient specific protocols) (checked October 25, 2026).
• BPC §2836.2 and BPC §2836.3 (DEA registration and the furnishing number) (checked October 25, 2026).
• BPC §2837.101, §2837.103 and §2837.104 (transition to practice, 103 NP and 104 NP) (checked October 25, 2026).
• Health and Safety Code §11165.1 and §11165.4 (CURES registration and required checks) (checked October 25, 2026).
• California Board of Registered Nursing, AB 890 and Advanced Practice Certification (transition to practice hours, the 103 and 104 applications and the Schedule II course) (checked October 25, 2026).
• AANP California state fact sheet (the restricted practice category is AANP’s own classification) (checked October 25, 2026).