Colorado
PMHNP Practice Requirements In Colorado: Scope, Prescribing & Collaboration
Colorado is a full practice state, so a PMHNP diagnoses, treats and prescribes without a physician agreement, but prescribing starts as provisional prescriptive authority. Full prescriptive authority comes after 750 hours of documented prescribing mentorship with a physician or an APRN who has full prescriptive authority, finished within three years (C.R.S. 12-255-112).
| At A Glance | Colorado |
|---|---|
| Practice Authority | Full practice (AANP). APRN status comes through the Board’s Advanced Practice Registry under C.R.S. 12-255-111. |
| Physician Agreement | None to practice. The prescribing mentorship ends once you hold full prescriptive authority. |
| Prescriptive Authority | Provisional first. You need a graduate degree, national certification, liability insurance, a place on the Advanced Practice Registry and 3 years of clinical work experience (3 CCR 716-1, Rule 1.15 F.1). |
| Transition To Practice Hours | 750 hours of prescribing mentorship within 3 years of provisional authority (C.R.S. 12-255-112(4)(b)(I)). |
| Controlled Substances | Schedules II through V, with a valid DEA registration (Rule 1.15 B and I.1). |
| PDMP | Practitioner query rules are in C.R.S. 12-280-404(4). |
| Regulator | Colorado State Board of Nursing (3 CCR 716-1). |
Updated September 26, 2026
Practice Authority
Colorado Practice-Authority Category (Full Practice)
The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) currently classifies Colorado as a full practice state. In practice, a PMHNP can evaluate and diagnose patients, order and interpret tests, and start and manage treatment, including prescribing, under the exclusive licensure authority of the Colorado State Board of Nursing, and the state doesn’t mandate a physician agreement.
Collaboration
Is A Collaborative Or Supervisory Agreement Required?
No. Colorado doesn’t require a collaborative or supervisory physician agreement for NP practice. The one formal relationship in the law is the prescribing mentorship. Under C.R.S. 12-255-112(4)(b)(I), an APRN with provisional prescriptive authority completes 750 hours of documented experience in a mutually structured mentorship with a physician or an APRN who has full prescriptive authority and experience prescribing, and the mentor has to be practicing in Colorado. Rule 1.15 G.2 requires the mentorship agreement in writing, signed by both of you, with a set schedule for discussing your prescribing. The mentor can’t require payment or employment as a condition of the mentorship (Rule 1.15 G.6).
Once you hold full prescriptive authority, C.R.S. 12-255-112(4)(f) says you don’t have to maintain or update an articulated plan. Employers, facilities and payers can still ask for their own paperwork, but that’s their policy, not state law.
Prescriptive Authority
How Prescriptive Authority Works In Colorado
It comes in two stages. The Board grants provisional prescriptive authority once you apply with proof of your graduate education, national certification, professional liability insurance, a place on the Advanced Practice Registry and an attestation of at least 3 years of clinical work experience as a professional nurse or APRN (3 CCR 716-1, Rule 1.15 F.1). Provisional authority already lets you prescribe for patients in your role and population focus, which for a PMHNP is psychiatric care.
Full prescriptive authority follows the mentorship. You apply with an attestation of 750 completed mentorship hours within 3 years of getting provisional authority (Rule 1.15 F.2). For nurse practitioners, those hours have to cover the population focus competencies the Board adopts (Rule 1.15 G.1). If you don’t finish in 3 years, C.R.S. 12-255-112(4)(b)(I)(E) says provisional authority expires. An APRN who already prescribes in another state, with at least 750 hours of prescribing experience, applies for full prescriptive authority under Rule 1.15 J and skips the Colorado mentorship.
Controlled Substances
Controlled Substances And The Colorado PDMP
Rule 1.15 lets an APRN with provisional prescriptive authority prescribe controlled substances in Schedules II through V, and Rule 1.15 I.1 requires a valid DEA registration to do it. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration handles that federal registration. Colorado’s prescription drug monitoring program sets practitioner query duties in C.R.S. 12-280-404(4), and House Bill 21-1276 added a query before prescribing a benzodiazepine, with exceptions such as hospice care and seizure disorders. Read the current statute before you write your first opioid or benzodiazepine prescription.
Next Step
Credentialing Is A Separate Track
Practice authority decides what you can do in Colorado. It doesn’t get you paid. Payer enrollment runs on its own track, with its own payer rules, Medicaid program and timelines, and our Colorado credentialing and payer enrollment guide covers it. For the national picture, read the PMHNP credentialing guide.
If you’re opening your own practice, order matters. Our guide on how to start a PMHNP practice walks through licensure, collaboration and enrollment in sequence.
Budgeting for the move? See what PMHNP credentialing costs and what it costs to start a PMHNP practice. If you’d rather hand us the setup, First Practice Launch covers a first practice’s payers, EHR, portals and billing for $6,000, or four monthly payments of $1,500.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Colorado A Full Practice Authority State For PMHNPs?
Yes. AANP classifies Colorado as full practice, and NPs practice under the Colorado State Board of Nursing with no physician agreement required. Prescribing has one extra step. You start with provisional prescriptive authority and earn full prescriptive authority after 750 hours of documented prescribing mentorship, which you have three years to finish under C.R.S. 12-255-112. A PMHNP prescribes for patients within the psychiatric population focus.
Do I Need A Collaborating Or Supervising Physician In Colorado?
No. Colorado doesn’t require a collaborative or supervisory agreement to practice. The one required relationship is the prescribing mentorship for provisional prescribers, which runs 750 hours with a physician or an APRN who has full prescriptive authority and practices in Colorado, under a written agreement you both sign (3 CCR 716-1, Rule 1.15 G). Once you hold full prescriptive authority, you don’t have to maintain or update an articulated plan.
Can A PMHNP Prescribe Controlled Substances In Colorado?
Yes. Board Rule 1.15 lets an APRN with provisional prescriptive authority prescribe medications and controlled substances in Schedules II through V for patients in the APRN’s role and population focus. Rule 1.15 I.1 requires a valid DEA registration to prescribe controlled substances. Colorado’s practitioner query rules for the PDMP sit in C.R.S. 12-280-404(4), so read them before you write your first opioid or benzodiazepine prescription.
How Many Mentorship Hours Does A Colorado NP Need For Full Prescriptive Authority?
It’s 750 hours. Under C.R.S. 12-255-112(4)(b)(I), you complete 750 hours of documented experience in a mutually structured prescribing mentorship after provisional prescriptive authority is granted, and you have three years to finish. Your mentor signs an attestation when it’s done. Miss the three-year deadline and provisional authority expires. An APRN with at least 750 hours of prescribing experience in another state can apply under Rule 1.15 J instead.
References
Official Colorado Sources
- 2023 Session Laws of Colorado, Chapter 261 (Senate Bill 23-167), current text of C.R.S. 12-255-112, provisional and full prescriptive authority and the 750-hour mentorship, checked October 4, 2026.
- Colorado State Board of Nursing Rules, 3 CCR 716-1, Rule 1.15, prescriptive authority requirements, mentorship agreement, DEA registration and the Advanced Practice Registry under C.R.S. 12-255-111, checked October 4, 2026.
- Colorado House Bill 21-1276, practitioner PDMP query duties in C.R.S. 12-280-404(4), including the benzodiazepine query, checked October 4, 2026.
This is general information, not legal advice. It applies the general nurse practitioner rules in Colorado to PMHNPs. Rules change, so check with the Colorado State Board of Nursing and the AANP State Practice Environment map before you act on it. Last reviewed: September 26, 2026.
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