California for Post University NP students: two tracks and one extra form
California is the one state where Post University's current NP disclosure splits the tracks: Yes for the Family Nurse Practitioner and Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner specializations, with the PMHNP left off the row. California students also hand in one packet item nobody else does, the California-only NP preceptor form, and Post's permission to teach Californians rests on the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) instead of SARA.
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California's row: two tracks, not three
| Post specialization or column | Post's answer for California |
|---|---|
| MSN, Family Nurse Practitioner | Yes |
| MSN, Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner | Yes |
| MSN, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner | Not listed |
| License title | Nurse Practitioner |
| For the NP license | Unencumbered, active California RN license; national NP certification; collaborative agreement with a physician |
| For prescriptive authority | Furnishing number; a physician to supervise furnishing; DEA number |
Post names the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) as the governing body. The missing PMHNP is not a recent edit: the 2023 version of the table omitted it too, and Post gives no reason. It stands out because the BRN's page for NP programs based in other states lists psych/mental health among the tracks it reviews. A California RN set on psychiatric practice should settle the question with admissions before applying.
The furnishing note for pre-July 2023 enrollees
Post's prescriptive-authority cell for California carries a note of its own, and it splits students by enrollment date. Anyone who enrolled before July 2023 needs one additional course, taught by an external partner, to satisfy California's furnishing number requirements. Anyone enrolled from July 2023 onward skips it.
If you enrolled before July 2023, ask your Student Success Advisor how that course fits around your Post courses, since FNP and AGPCNP students must finish within 36 months. Once licensed, expect a restricted practice environment, AANP's rating for California, in which some settings and procedures require a standardized protocol agreement, though exemptions exist.
The BRN's rules for NP programs from other states
California writes its expectations into Title 16 of its Code of Regulations, section 1486. Before students of an NP program based elsewhere start clinical placements in the state, that school needs BRN approval, and it commits to board-acceptable preceptors, national NP education standards (NONPF and AACN) and instruction in California NP law, standardized procedures included. The paperwork starts with a BRN form titled Verification of Clinical Practice Experience; approval then comes at a scheduled board meeting.
Where section 1486 touches your placement
- You train under an active, valid California RN license.
- Your preceptor is licensed in California, currently and validly, in their own field and qualified for your NP population.
- Each preceptor gets an orientation from the school and a faculty evaluation at two-year intervals or sooner, and the agency, preceptor and school sign a written agreement describing the preceptor's role.
- An NP Program Preceptor form stays in the school's files for every California preceptor.
Those steps are Post's. Your part is lead time, since a board acting at meetings adds weeks; the board notice guide covers Post's 60-day warning.
The California-only NP preceptor form
Of the documents due by the close of Week 1 in a clinical course, one is California's alone: the "California students only NP preceptor form." It joined the list in the 2024-25 catalog. Post does not publish the form or link it to the BRN's preceptor form, so ask the Clinical Coordinator for the latest copy once a preceptor agrees. The Week 1 guide lists the rest of that week's packet.
BPPE authorization instead of SARA
Post is a SARA institution, and its State Approvals chart lists every state except California. For California, the same page says Post holds authorization from the BPPE, currently approved through March 12, 2029.
Your license and where students look
No compact helps in California: the state has joined neither the RN licensure compact nor the APRN one, so your clinical license must be California's, which the BRN requires before NP certification anyway. Post's rule on training states is in the license rules for clinicals.
Searches cluster around Los Angeles, San Diego, the Bay Area and the Inland Empire. The big systems include Kaiser Permanente, headquartered in Oakland; Sutter Health across Northern and Central California; Stanford Health Care; Cedars-Sinai; and University of California Health, with UCLA Health and UCSF Health among its six.
Why California FNP and AGPCNP students choose us
We search only for primary care preceptors with active California licenses, the kind section 1486 requires, and confirm their fit for your NP population first. Your preceptor is ready for Post's California-only form when the Clinical Coordinator sends it, alongside the license report, certification, CV and the signed agreement letter, while the affiliation agreement request is filed early to leave room for a board that meets on a schedule. Start your California plan.
Questions Post students ask
Can a California resident enroll in Post's PMHNP?
California's row names the FNP and AGPCNP and no PMHNP, in the 2023 version as well as the current one. A California RN interested in psychiatric mental health should get a written answer from admissions before applying.
I enrolled at Post before July 2023. What does California prescribing require of me?
Per Post's California row, anyone who started before July 2023 must add one course, run by an outside partner, to meet the state's furnishing number rules; later enrollees are exempt. Your Student Success Advisor can help you schedule it.
Can a physician precept me in California?
Post accepts an MD or DO. California's rule adds that any preceptor, physician or NP, must be licensed in California in that profession and qualified for your NP population. Keep Post's preference in mind: NP preceptors for as many courses as possible, and for no fewer than two.
Is Post authorized to teach online students in California?
Yes. Post's State Approvals page says the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education authorizes its programs in California, with approval through March 12, 2029.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against Post University's own catalog, program pages and published nursing documents. Your course faculty and the Clinical Coordinator have the final word.
Post asks you to select your own preceptor. We make the search the easy part.
Tell us your Post track, your city and your next preceptorship course. We line up preceptors who fit the course, collect the license report, certification and CV the Clinical Coordinator reviews, and start the affiliation agreement early so your Week 1 packet is complete before the term opens.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for FNP and AGPCNP, mental and behavioral health for PMHNP, doctoral nurse leaders for DNP hours
- Preceptor agreement letter, license report, certification and CV ready for Post's approval
- Every preceptorship planned together, close to home in a state where you hold your license and Post's disclosure says yes
Start your placement plan
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