No state or national certification body currently requires nurse practitioners to hold a doctorate, and none has announced plans to do so. While major nursing organizations have pushed for the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) to become the standard entry-level degree, the 2025 target date set by the leading NP faculty organization has arrived without a binding mandate. The shift is happening gradually through education, not regulation.
Where the 2025 Deadline Came From
In April 2018, the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) committed to moving all entry-level NP education to the DNP by 2025. Their reasoning: healthcare delivery has grown more complex, and a doctorate better reflects the rigorous training NPs need. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) had endorsed the same idea even earlier, voting in 2004 to shift advanced nursing practice preparation from the master’s level to the doctorate.
NONPF reaffirmed its position as recently as April 2023. But the 2025 target was always a goal for NP education programs to work toward, not a legal requirement. No legislative body or licensing board adopted it as a hard deadline.
What’s Actually Required Right Now
You can still become a nurse practitioner with a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN). No state licensing board has indicated it plans to require a DNP for NP licensure. The two main national certification bodies haven’t changed their eligibility criteria either. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) accepts master’s degrees, post-graduate certificates, and DNP degrees for certification. The ANCC’s governing commission has stated it does not have plans to implement a DNP requirement, though it continues to monitor the landscape.
In practical terms, if you’re currently enrolled in or considering an MSN-level NP program, you will be eligible for certification and licensure upon graduation.
The Exception: Nurse Anesthetists
One advanced practice nursing specialty has made the doctorate mandatory. The Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs required that all students accepted into entry-level programs on or after January 1, 2022 graduate with a doctoral degree. As of January 1, 2025, every new graduate entering nurse anesthesia practice must hold a doctorate. This applies specifically to Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), not to other nurse practitioner specialties like family practice, pediatrics, or psychiatric mental health.
How Education Programs Are Shifting
Even without a mandate, the number of DNP programs has grown substantially. By 2024, 307 schools offered post-baccalaureate DNP programs (where you enter after a bachelor’s degree and graduate with a doctorate), and 403 schools offered post-master’s DNP programs for NPs who already hold an MSN. Six schools offered entry-level DNP programs for students who haven’t yet earned their nursing license.
Many NP programs at well-known universities have already converted their master’s-level tracks to DNP tracks, meaning students at those schools no longer have the option of graduating with just an MSN. This is the primary way the transition is happening: school by school, not through a sweeping national rule.
What Current NPs Should Know
If you already practice as an NP with a master’s degree, your credentials remain valid. The AACN and NONPF have consistently stated that currently credentialed NPs will be protected. Historically, when nursing education requirements have changed, grandfathering clauses have exempted practitioners who were already licensed under previous standards. You would not be forced to go back to school to keep practicing.
That said, some NPs choose to pursue a DNP for career advancement, leadership roles, or teaching positions at universities that increasingly require doctoral-prepared faculty. If you’re considering that path, MSN-to-DNP bridge programs typically run 12 to 18 courses depending on your specialty, with NP pathways requiring more credits (roughly 78 to 90 quarter credits) than non-NP pathways (around 60 quarter credits). DNP programs require a minimum of 1,000 post-baccalaureate clinical hours total, though hours completed during your MSN count toward that number.
Will a Mandate Eventually Come?
The nursing profession has been debating this transition for over two decades, and the pattern so far suggests a slow, voluntary shift rather than a sudden requirement. Certification bodies are watching but not acting. State legislatures have shown no movement toward requiring doctorates for NP licensure. The most likely scenario is that more schools will convert their programs to DNP-only over the coming years, making the doctorate the de facto standard for new graduates without it ever being formally mandated for all NPs.
For prospective students weighing an MSN against a DNP, the practical question isn’t whether you’ll be locked out of practice without a doctorate. It’s whether the program you want to attend still offers a master’s-level option, and whether a DNP gives you a competitive edge in the job market or the flexibility to move into roles like clinical leadership, health policy, or education later in your career.