PMHNP Practice Requirements In Utah: Scope, Prescribing & Collaboration

The Short Answer

Do Utah PMHNPs Need A Collaborative Agreement For Prescriptive Authority?

No. Utah law doesn’t require a collaborative agreement, a supervising physician or a consultation plan for APRN prescribing. Under Utah Code 58-31b-803, a licensed APRN may prescribe prescription drugs, including Schedule II to V controlled substances. The limits in that section apply only to nurse anesthetists.

That’s a change. Until May 3, 2023, APRNs in independent solo practice with less than a year of licensure or under 2,000 hours of experience needed a prescribing mentorship to prescribe Schedule II drugs, and earlier versions of the law required a consultation and referral plan. Both are gone.

Utah does have one PMHNP-specific step. To practice in the psychiatric mental health specialty, you have to show DOPL you’re completing its clinical practice requirements in psychiatric mental health nursing, including psychotherapy. It’s a licensing requirement, not a collaborative agreement, so check DOPL’s rule for the hours before you set a start date.

Sources: Utah Code 58-31b-803 as amended by 2026 S.B. 31 (effective May 6, 2026), its 2022 to 2023 version, and 58-31b-302, checked September 29, 2026.

Practice Authority

Utah Practice-Authority Category (Full Practice)

AANP currently classifies Utah as a full practice state on its State Practice Environment map. A PMHNP in Utah can evaluate and diagnose patients, order and interpret tests, and start and manage treatment, including prescribing, under the licensure authority of the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), and there’s no state-mandated career-long collaborative or supervisory agreement. Utah law no longer requires a prescribing mentorship, consultation plan or collaborating physician for APRN prescribing, and the last of those conditions ended in May 2023.

The AANP State Practice Environment map shows how Utah compares nationally, and AANP’s practice information by state adds state-specific detail. The rules you’re held to come from the Utah Division of Professional Licensing.

Collaboration

Is A Collaborative Or Supervisory Agreement Required?

Utah doesn’t require an ongoing, career-long collaborative or supervisory agreement, and it doesn’t require a transition-to-practice period either. Nothing in Utah’s Nurse Practice Act (Utah Code Title 58, Chapter 31b) requires a collaborative agreement or a supervising physician for APRNs. The one PMHNP-specific step is a licensing one. You show DOPL you’re completing its clinical practice requirements in psychiatric mental health nursing, including psychotherapy.

Comparing states? The PMHNP scope of practice by state overview puts Utah next to the rest, and our guide to PMHNP collaborative practice agreements covers what those agreements contain where a state requires one.

Prescriptive Authority

Prescriptive Authority And Controlled Substances

Under Utah Code 58-31b-803, a licensed APRN can prescribe or administer prescription drugs, including Schedule II to V controlled substances, and the limits in that section apply only to nurse anesthetists. You’ll still need a separate federal DEA registration for controlled substances, and some carry additional federal or state conditions. State law and board rule set the specific scope, any limits and the documentation. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration handles the federal side, and the Utah Division of Professional Licensing handles the state side.

Next Step

Credentialing Is A Separate Track

Your Utah license and practice authority don’t enroll you with a single payer. Getting paid is a separate track, with its own payer rules, Medicaid program and enrollment timelines, and we cover it on the Utah credentialing and payer enrollment page. The PMHNP credentialing guide has the national picture.

Opening your own practice? Get licensure, collaboration and enrollment in the right order with our guide on how to start a PMHNP practice and the 90-day launch checklist. Getting a Utah practice open also takes money, and our guides show what PMHNP credentialing costs and what it costs to start a PMHNP practice.

If you’d rather hand us the work, First Practice Launch sets up a first practice’s payers, EHR, portals and billing for $6,000, or four monthly payments of $1,500. Joining a clinic instead? New Provider Credentialing covers five commercial payers for $2,750 per provider, and you can start with one payer.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

This is general information, not legal advice. It applies the general nurse practitioner rules in Utah to PMHNPs, and those rules aren’t the same for every role. Rules change, so check with the Utah Division of Professional Licensing and the AANP State Practice Environment map before you act on it. Last reviewed: September 29, 2026.

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