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NPCB Celebrates 250,000 Active Certificates

NPCB has reached a major milestone: 250,000 active certificates. The milestone, reached in October 2026, marks a proud moment for the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board and the nurse practitioners who hold its credentials.

Behind these certificates is a commitment to clinical knowledge and competency. NPCB’s competency-based examinations emphasize clinical practice, helping ensure that nurse practitioners demonstrate minimum competency in providing safe, effective, evidence-based patient care. Maintaining certification carries that commitment forward, helping assure patients and employers that certified practitioners have maintained current knowledge and professional competency.

“This milestone belongs to nurse practitioners. Each active certificant stands for clinical knowledge that was tested, proven, and kept up to date, and patients across the country benefit from that commitment,” said Kevin Letz, Chief Executive Officer of NPCB.

NPCB thanks the nurse practitioners who earned and continue to maintain these credentials. Their accomplishments give this achievement its significance, connecting excellence in certification with the clinical standards that support patient care.

Established in the early 1990s by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and separately incorporated in 1999, NPCB is an independent nonprofit providing national certification programs. All active certification programs are accredited by the Accreditation Board of Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC) and the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).

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