Supervision Agreement · NP
Maine Supervisory Practice Agreement for Nurse Practitioners
Recognized but not required in every case. The Supervisory Practice Agreement is the written instrument Maine law names for a Nurse Practitioner working with a physician. Below: the board that governs it, what it contains when one is used, and the supervision rules that apply either way.
No written collaborative practice agreement is required at any point — only an online registration of the supervisory relationship with the Board of Nursing and a supervisor sign-off verifying the 24 months. After that period, the NP practices fully independently with no supervisor.
Independent practice requires: 24 months of supervised practice under a licensed physician, a qualifying supervising NP (≥5 years as an APRN in the same specialty, ≥10 years in a clinical health care field, Board-approved), or employment by a clinic/hospital with a physician medical director.
What a Maine Supervisory Practice Agreement contains when one is required
Not every Nurse Practitioner in Maine needs one; the conditions are under "Written agreement" below. When one is required, these are its clauses.
A certified nurse practitioner in Maine must complete twenty-four (24) months of practice under the supervision of, in consultation with, or in collaboration with a physician or another qualified nurse practitioner, or through employment at a facility with a physician medical director, before practicing independently, as provided under 32 M.R.S. § 2102(2-A). PL 2025, c. 540 (approved February 17, 2026) directs the Maine State Board of Nursing to adopt new rules under 32 M.R.S. § 2205-B(4-A) establishing revised practice standards to replace this fixed twenty-four (24) month requirement, but bars the Board from adopting those rules before May 1, 2026. Unless and until the Board of Nursing adopts, and any applicable legislative review process allows into effect, different practice standards, the twenty-four (24) month requirement described above remains the operative law, and the Parties should confirm the Board's then-current rule before relying on a different timeframe.
Source: 32 M.R.S. § 2102(2-A)
Where the Nurse Practitioner is within the twenty-four (24) month period described above, this Agreement's supervision, consultation, or collaboration terms are intended to satisfy that statutory requirement. Where the Nurse Practitioner has completed that period, or once the Board of Nursing's revised practice standards render it inapplicable to the Nurse Practitioner, this Agreement's terms regarding referral pathways and any Medical Director oversight instead serve only to define the working relationship between the Parties and are not themselves required by Maine law as a condition of the Nurse Practitioner's authority to practice.
Source: 32 M.R.S. § 2205-B(4-A)
- The Supervisory Practice Agreement also carries 1 scope, 1 education and 1 registration clauses, authored in the document itself.
Statutes and rules these clauses cite
- 32 M.R.S. § 2102(2-A)statute
24-month post-certification supervision/collaboration requirement for certified nurse practitioners, pending Board of Nursing rulemaking under § 2205-B(4-A).
- 32 M.R.S. § 2205-B(4-A)statute
Directs the Maine State Board of Nursing to adopt new APRN practice standards to replace the flat 24-month supervision rule; rules may not be adopted before May 1, 2026.
Maine's supervision rules
Ratio, proximity, chart review, meeting and prescribing rules for nurse practitioners, and the conditions under which a written agreement becomes required.
Proximity
during the 24-month supervised period: Available remotely (no on-site requirement)
No on-site or fixed mile/minute radius is codified for the supervisory relationship.
after 24 months of supervised practice: No proximity requirement
No physician/supervisor availability standard applies once independent.
Supervision ratio
Not codified — no cap on file
Chart review
Not codified
Meeting cadence
Not codified
Prescriptive authority
No agreement needed to prescribe · controlled substances permitted
Schedule II-V, once registered with the DEA — no collaborative practice agreement is required to prescribe, matching the general independence framework (32 M.R.S. § 2102).
Written agreement
Not required
No written collaborative practice agreement is required even during the 24-month supervised period — only registration of the supervisory relationship with the Board of Nursing (32 M.R.S. § 2102; 02-380 C.M.R. ch. 8).
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — As a full-practice-authority state, Maine likely permits an NP-owned professional entity once independent; no specific professional-corporation or PLLC provision confirms it
Sources for the supervision rules (3)
- 32 M.R.S. § 2102 — Advanced practice registered nursing
- 02-380 C.M.R. ch. 8 — Regulations Relating to Advanced Practice Registered Nursing
- Maine State Board of Nursing — Advanced Practice Registered Nurse FAQ
About Maine's rules
Maine's provider categories follow different independence models: NPs graduate to full practice after 24 months of registered (not written-agreement) supervision; PAs graduate after 4,000 documented clinical hours but still need a lighter 'practice agreement' afterward; CNMs/CNSs appear independent from initial licensure; and CRNAs remain physician/dentist-accountable except in critical-access/rural hospitals. Do not assume a single APRN framework applies uniformly.
Other clinicians in Maine: see the state overview.