Physician duties · PMHNP · District of Columbia

Signing for a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in District of Columbia: what the physician takes on

No agreement is required, so the terms are whatever you both negotiate. Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners practice independently in District of Columbia, so any agreement is voluntary.

Practice authorityIndependent practice
Written agreementNo agreement required
What District of Columbia calls itNo instrument required
Research date2026-09-03

DC's Nurse Practice Act does not carve out a separate framework for psychiatric-mental-health NPs — PMHNPs are covered by the same HORA 2024 repeal of § 3-1206.03 as any other NP. This entry exists for its own page/URL/weight, not a legal distinction from `np`.

What you take on as the physician

The rules the physician relationship has to follow. Each fact comes from the statute or board rule listed under sources.

Proximity

No proximity requirement

Same standard as general NPs — no proximity requirement post-HORA 2024.

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

Same statutory framework as general NPs. PMHNP prescribing in practice skews toward Schedule II stimulants and Schedule IV benzodiazepines/hypnotics more heavily than general primary-care NP prescribing — not a different legal limit, reflected in calculatorWeights below rather than in this rule.

Written agreement

Not required

Unconditional, same as general NP — HORA 2024 applies to all APRN categories.

Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)

Licensee-only ownership required — Same as the general `np` entry — no confirmed independent-ownership statute; treat as an open item.

Legal sources for these rules (2)

What physicians charge for this role

Typical monthly compensation in District of Columbia

$500$600

Estimate for one Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Standard-tier state.

About District of Columbia's rules

The Health Occupations Revision Amendment Act of 2024 repealed D.C. Code § 3-1206.03, eliminating the collaboration mandate for all APRN categories (NP/PMHNP/CRNA/CNM/CNS) — DC is now a full-practice-authority jurisdiction for APRNs. PAs are NOT covered by that reform and still require a Board of Medicine Delegation Agreement regardless of experience; no autonomous-PA pathway was found in DC as of this pass.

Other clinicians in District of Columbia: see the state overview.