NP · Wisconsin
Collaborative Practice Agreement for Nurse Practitioners in Wisconsin
Yes, a written physician agreement is required. Wisconsin calls it a Collaborative Arrangement.
New as of the APRN Modernization Act (2025 Act 17), eff. Sept. 1, 2026 — replaces Wisconsin's prior permanent collaborative-arrangement model. Employers, medical staff bylaws, credentialing standards, and payors may still require a collaborative agreement even after Board authorization to practice independently — this is a licensure floor, not a ceiling on private contracts.
Independent practice requires: ≥3,840 hours of professional RN practice over ≥24 months (shortfall against 24 months, if any, is added to the APRN-role requirement below); ≥3,840 hours of advanced practice in the NP's Recognized Role while working with a physician or dentist immediately available for consultation, over ≥24 months.
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
below the 3,840-hour/24-month transition threshold: Available remotely (no on-site requirement)
Under both the prior (Wis. Stat. § 441.16, WAC ch. N 8) and current frameworks, Wisconsin imposes no geographic proximity requirement — the collaborating physician/dentist need only be 'immediately available for consultation and referral,' in person or by telecommunication.
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
Covered by the practice agreement · controlled substances permitted
Pain-management NPs using invasive techniques must continue collaborating with a pain-medicine physician even after reaching independent-practice status (secondary-sourced characterization of Act 17 — verify against final DSPS rule text).
Written agreement
Required
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — Service Corporation under Wis. Stat. ch. 180, subch. XIX — NPs, as health care professionals, may co-own a multi-discipline service corporation alongside physicians or other licensees; non-licensees may not hold equity.
An NP shareholder practicing independently (not under physician direction, post-transition) must independently carry malpractice coverage meeting § 655.23(4) minimums (§ 180.1911).
Legal sources for these rules (3)
What a collaborating physician costs here
Typical monthly cost in Wisconsin
$500 – $600
Estimate for one Nurse Practitioner. Standard-tier state.
About Wisconsin's rules
The APRN Modernization Act (2025 Act 17) took effect September 1, 2026 — days before this data's last-verified date — replacing permanent NP/CRNA/CNS collaborative arrangements with a 3,840-hour/24-month transition to independent practice; CNMs are auto-licensed with NO such threshold. Given how recent this is, verify current DSPS/Board of Nursing implementation guidance before relying on transition-period details below.
Other clinicians in Wisconsin: see the state overview.