By Patrick O’Brien, JD, General Counsel, American Med Spa Association (AmSpa)

On August 8, 2025, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers signed 2025 Wisconsin Act 17 into law, marking a significant step forward for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) in the state. This legislation modernizes APRN’s practice and prescriptive authority, including in creating a pathway to practice independently. This aligns Wisconsin’s nursing laws with the majority of states which allow advanced practice nurses the ability to practice independently in one manner or another. Below, we summarize the key provisions of this new law.

Wisconsin recognizes four roles of APRNS: midwives, nurse anesthetists, clinical nurse specialists, and nurse practitioners. Under Wisconsin’s current rules, APRNs must work in collaboration with a physician or dentist in order to prescribe. The collaborating professionals work within the APRN’s scope of training, education and experience to deliver patient care. While this relationship does allow for flexibility and doesn’t require physical presence, it still requires the relationship and its duties and responsibilities to be followed at all times.

This new act gives APRNs the ability to become fully independent after completing several steps. First, the APRN will need to complete 3,840 hours of professional nursing practice at the level of a registered nurse (RN). These hours must be performed over at least 24 months. Clinical hours completed while in an accredited nursing program can count toward this total, but hours in an advanced practice program may not. Secondly, the APRN will need to complete an additional 3,840 hours of practice in their recognized APRN role while working with a physician or dentist who is immediately available for consultation. Once the APRN has completed these hours and practiced for at least 24 months as an APRN, they may qualify for independent practice. APRNs can count their current hours of nursing practice both in Wisconsin and in other states toward these requirements.

APRNs with independent practice no longer need to have a collaborative or supervisory relationship with a physician or dentist, though they still need to consult or collaborate with other healthcare professionals if the patient’s needs are beyond their expertise. Nurse midwives will need to have a plan of care approved by the board in order to deliver babies outside of a hospital. There is an exception to this route to independent practice for APRNs treating patients with pain syndromes: an independent APRN who treats pain syndromes using invasive techniques must either work within a collaborative relationship with a physician who specializes in pain management or work in a hospital or hospital clinic.

Current APRNs won’t be able to begin practicing independently quite yet. These new provisions go into effect in September of 2026. The Wisconsin Board of Nursing also has the authority to adopt rules and policies governing license applications and the new independent practice provisions. So it is likely that there will be some additional clarifications, form changes or guidance on this new act in the coming months. It would be prudent for currently practicing APRNs to review their own records and make sure they have documentation for their hours of practice at the RN and APRN levels. This may make it easier to fill out the independent practice application once that is available. If you would like to review the exact language and provisions of this new Act 17, it is available at the Wisconsin state legislature’s website here: 2025 Wisconsin Act 17.