PA · Minnesota
Collaborative Practice Agreement for Physician Assistants in Minnesota
Yes, a written physician agreement is required. Minnesota calls it a Written Practice Agreement.
Pending 2025 bills H.F. 89/S.F. 1083 would loosen this (e.g. allowing collaboration with any U.S.-licensed physician, not just MN-licensed) — introduced, not confirmed enacted; verify current status before relying on this threshold as final.
Independent practice requires: ≥2,080 hours of practice within the context of a collaborative agreement, in a hospital or integrated clinical setting where PAs and physicians work together (§ 147A.02(c)).
What the collaboration must look like
The rules the physician relationship has to follow. Each fact comes from the statute or board rule listed under sources.
Proximity
Available remotely (no on-site requirement)
The collaborating physician need not be physically present so long as physician and PA can be easily in contact by radio, telephone, or other telecommunication device. No mile/minute radius is codified.
Supervision ratio
Not codified — no cap on file
Chart review
Not codified — left to the agreement
Meeting cadence
Not codified — left to the agreement
Prescriptive authority
Separate prescribing terms required · controlled substances permitted
§ 147A.09, subd. 2(10) authorizes prescribing/administering/dispensing controlled substances under an established practice agreement; no schedule-specific restriction (e.g. a Schedule II day-supply cap) was found in the sections reviewed. Subd. 4 separately requires physician collaboration specifically for spinal-injection/pain-management procedures, narrower than the general practice agreement.
Written agreement
Required
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Professional firm under Minn. Stat. ch. 319B (Professional Firms Act) — PAs are an explicitly eligible owner category (§ 319B.02, subd. 19, citing §§ 147A.01-147A.27). Esthetics/cosmetology is not among the listed eligible categories.
Whether 319B permits a firm to combine multiple listed professions (e.g. PA and physician) as co-owners was not independently confirmed this research pass — treat the exact cross-profession co-ownership mechanics as an open item.
Legal sources for these rules (4)
- Minn. Stat. § 147A.02 — Licensure requirements (2,080-hour collaborative threshold)
- Minn. Stat. § 147A.09 — Physician assistant scope, prescriptive authority
- Minn. Stat. § 319B.02 — Professional Firms Act, eligible owner categories
- AAPA — Minnesota law removing supervision/delegation references (2020)secondary
What a collaborating physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in Minnesota
$500 – $600
Estimate for one Physician Assistant. Standard-tier state.
About Minnesota's rules
H.F. 1794 repealed the NP/CNS 2,080-hour postgraduate collaborative-agreement rule (Minn. Stat. § 148.211, subd. 1c) effective August 1, 2026 — already in force. PA remains CONDITIONAL under a separate, still-active 2,080-hour rule (§ 147A.02(c)); 2025 reform bills (H.F. 89/S.F. 1083) to loosen it are pending, not confirmed enacted.
Other clinicians in Minnesota: see the state overview.