This guide is for practice owners, clinic managers, and recruiters hiring a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. For sourcing, interviews, and offers, see our guide on how to hire a PMHNP.
Licensing, prescribing, and pay transparency rules change, so the legal points below are current as of October 2026 and link to their sources. This is general hiring information, not legal advice. Confirm current rules with those agencies or an employment attorney before you post.
Quick Answer
A useful PMHNP job description states the setting and patients, the required credentials, the schedule and patient load, how collaboration works, and a pay range. The credentials usually include an active APRN license in the state and national PMHNP board certification. A PMHNP who prescribes controlled substances also needs state authority to prescribe them and either a DEA registration or an exemption, such as prescribing as an employee under a hospital's registration. Copy the template below and adjust it for your setting.
Key Takeaways
The PMHNP Job Description Template
Copy the block, replace every bracketed field, and delete any line that does not apply to the role.
JOB TITLE
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP)
[Optional: add the setting, such as Telehealth or Outpatient]
LOCATION AND EMPLOYMENT TYPE
[City, State] | [On-site, hybrid, or remote]
[Full-time, part-time, or PRN] | [W-2 or 1099]
ABOUT US
[Two or three sentences: who you are, who you serve, and how
your team works.]
ROLE SUMMARY
[Organization] is hiring a PMHNP to provide psychiatric
evaluation, diagnosis, and medication management for
[patient population] in our [setting]. You will work with
[care team] and report to [title].
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Complete psychiatric evaluations, including history, mental
status exam, risk assessment, and diagnosis
- Create and update treatment plans with patients and, where
appropriate, their families
- Prescribe and monitor psychiatric medications, including
controlled substances where the role requires it
- Provide [medication management, psychotherapy, or both]
- Order and review labs and other tests as indicated
- Coordinate care with therapists, primary care, and other
providers
- Assess patients in crisis and arrange a higher level of care
when needed
- Complete documentation in [EHR] within [time frame]
- Take part in [team meetings, case reviews, quality work]
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Active, unrestricted APRN license in [State], or the ability
to obtain one before the start date
- Current national PMHNP board certification: ANCC's
PMHNP-BC or AANPCB's Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse
Practitioner (PMHNP) certification
- Current DEA registration in [State], plus any state
controlled substance registration [State] requires, or the
ability to obtain them before the start date [delete if the
role does not prescribe controlled substances]
- [Any other certification your setting requires, such as BLS]
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- [Number] years of PMHNP experience, or [new graduates
welcome, with structured onboarding]
- Experience with [population, condition, or treatment]
- Experience with [EHR]
- [Languages your patients speak]
SCHEDULE AND SETTING
- [Days and hours], [number] hours per week
- Visit length: [minutes] for new patients, [minutes] for
follow-ups
- Patient load at a full schedule: about [number] a day,
reached over [number] weeks
- Call: [none, or how often and how it is paid]
- Support: [collaborating physician if the role needs one,
peer consultation, new graduate supervision, staff]
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
- Pay: [range], paid as [salary, hourly rate, or per visit],
plus [bonus or productivity pay, if any]
- Benefits: [health, dental, vision, retirement and match]
- Paid time off: [days or hours per year]
- Malpractice: [occurrence or claims-made; who pays for tail
coverage]
- Continuing education: [allowance and paid days]
- License and DEA registration fees: [what you reimburse]
HOW TO APPLY
Apply at [link or email address] with your CV. Our process is
[screening call, clinical interview, meeting the team], and we
aim to make an offer within [number] weeks.
[Equal employment opportunity statement]How to Fill In Each Section
Job title. Use the terms a PMHNP searches for: "Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner" or "PMHNP", plus one setting or population qualifier if it helps. Keep internal job codes out of the title. Summary. In two or three sentences, say who the patients are, what the setting is, and who the PMHNP works with. Responsibilities. List the work in the order it fills the day. If most visits are medication management follow-ups, say so, and say whether the role includes therapy. Required qualifications. Limit this list to what the role cannot be done without: usually the APRN license for the state, board certification, and, if the PMHNP will prescribe controlled substances, the state authority and DEA registration to do so. ANCC awards the PMHNP-BC (Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified) credential to candidates who meet its eligibility requirements and pass its PMHNP (Across the Lifespan) board certification exam, and the credential is valid for five years (ANCC). The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB), operating as NPCB, also offers a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) certification (AANPCB), so a requirement that names only one certifying body can screen out qualified candidates. Under federal rules, a controlled substance prescription may be issued only by a practitioner who is authorized to prescribe controlled substances by the jurisdiction where they are licensed and who is either registered with DEA or exempt from registration (21 CFR 1306.03). One exemption lets an employee of a hospital or other institution prescribe under the institution's registration, within the scope of that employment and on the conditions the rule sets (21 CFR 1301.22). A DEA practitioner registration is based on a state license, DEA requires a separate registration in each state where the practitioner practices, and that state's licensing requirements must be met first (DEA registration Q&A). Allow for that when hiring from another state. Move everything else to preferred qualifications. Preferred qualifications. Say plainly whether new graduates can apply and, if so, what onboarding and supervision they get. Schedule and setting. Give the hours, visit lengths, the patient load at a full schedule, the ramp period to reach it, and any call. If you bill insurers, set the ramp with payer enrollment in mind; our credentialing guide covers the steps. For collaboration, look up the role's state on our practice authority map, which shows where nurse practitioners need a collaborative agreement or physician supervision. If the role needs one, say that the practice arranges it; our guide to collaborative agreement requirements explains what the agreement covers. Compensation and benefits. Post a range and explain how pay is structured. Check advertised PMHNP pay for your area in our salary guide before you set it. Say who pays for tail coverage under a claims-made malpractice policy, and which license and registration fees you cover. Our guide to the cost of hiring a PMHNP covers both. How to apply. List what to send, the steps, and the usual timeline, then your equal employment opportunity statement.Versions for Common Settings
Start from the template and change these lines.
Telehealth
- Location: "Remote", the states where your patients are located, and the licenses the PMHNP must hold. Say whether you pay for added state licenses and DEA registrations.
- Technology: the video platform, the equipment you provide, and the hours and time zones covered.
- Controlled substances: whether the role prescribes them, and who sets visit length, refill review, and follow-up frequency. Those are the questions our guide to vetting a telehealth employer tells clinicians to ask. As of October 2026, the federal rule that lets DEA-registered practitioners prescribe controlled substances by telemedicine, under set conditions, without a prior in-person medical evaluation runs through December 31, 2026 (90 FR 61301). Say how your practice will care for those patients if it ends; our DEA telehealth guide explains the rule.
Outpatient Clinic
- Visits: new and follow-up visit lengths, and whether therapy is part of the role or handled by therapists on site.
- Workload: panel size or daily visits at a full schedule, and who handles prior authorizations, refills, and patient messages.
- Team: front desk and medical assistant support, and the therapists and physicians the PMHNP works with.
Inpatient or Residential
- Schedule: shift length, weekends, holidays, and call, and how call is paid.
- Unit: typical census, admissions and discharges per shift, and whether a psychiatrist is on site or on call.
- Credentialing: whether the role needs hospital privileges, how long your medical staff office takes to grant them, and whether the PMHNP will prescribe under the facility's DEA registration or their own.
- Preferred qualifications: acute, crisis, or residential psychiatric experience.
Child and Adolescent
- Title and population: add "Child and Adolescent" to the title and state the age range.
- Responsibilities: add work with parents or guardians, schools, and pediatricians, and any assessment tools you use.
- Qualifications: ANCC's PMHNP-BC is its Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (Across the Lifespan) certification, formerly known as Family Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, and candidates must complete a PMHNP (Across the Lifespan) program (ANCC). Because the credential is not limited to adults, the certification line can stay the same; writing it as PMHNP-BC (Across the Lifespan) makes the pediatric scope explicit. List pediatric experience as preferred unless the role cannot be done without it.
Substance Use Treatment
- Buprenorphine: do not ask for an X-waiver. Congress eliminated the DATA-Waiver program through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, signed December 29, 2022. DEA's guidance says all buprenorphine prescriptions now require only a standard DEA registration number, that there are no longer any limits or patient caps on the number of patients a prescriber may treat for opioid use disorder with buprenorphine, and that the Act does not affect existing state laws or regulations that may apply (DEA letter of January 12, 2023). Check your state's rules before you write the requirement.
- Program: the medications you offer, whether the PMHNP manages inductions, your levels of care, and the team the PMHNP works with.
- Preferred qualifications: experience with substance use disorders and co-occurring psychiatric conditions.
What Candidates Look For in a Posting
Candidates compare postings on four points.
Pay. Post a range, even where no law requires one. These state rules are current as of October 2026:- California (Labor Code 432.3): employers with 15 or more employees must include the pay scale in any job posting, and the Labor Commissioner's Office applies that to positions that may be filled in California, in person or remotely (California Labor Commissioner FAQ).
- Washington (RCW 49.58.110): employers with 15 or more employees must disclose the wage scale or salary range and a general description of benefits and other compensation in each posting (Washington State Legislature).
- New York (Labor Law 194-B): businesses with four or more employees must provide job descriptions and list compensation ranges for designated job opportunities, promotions, and transfers (New York State Department of Labor).
Elsewhere, check the rules where the job is based and where remote hires will live.
Schedule. Hours, visit lengths, call, and how much say the PMHNP has in their schedule. Supervision or collaboration. Who the PMHNP can consult during the day, whether a collaborating or supervising physician is in place when the state requires one, and the support new graduates receive. Patient load. Patients per day or panel size at a full schedule, the ramp period, and whether documentation time is built into the day.Sources
- American Nurses Credentialing Center, PMHNP-BC certification: https://www.nursingworld.org/our-certifications/psychiatric-mental-health-nurse-practitioner/
- American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB), operating as NPCB: https://www.aanpcert.org/
- eCFR, 21 CFR 1306.03, Persons entitled to issue prescriptions: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-1306.03
- eCFR, 21 CFR 1301.22, Exemption of agents and employees; affiliated practitioners: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-1301.22
- DEA Diversion Control Division, Registration Q&A: https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/faq/registration-faq.html
- DEA, letter to registrants on the end of the DATA-Waiver program (January 12, 2023): https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/docs/A-23-0020-Dear-Registrant-Letter-Signed.pdf
- DEA and HHS, Fourth Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities, 90 FR 61301: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-12-31/html/2025-24123.htm
- California Labor Commissioner's Office, Equal Pay Act and Pay Transparency FAQ: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/california_equal_pay_act.htm
- Washington State Legislature, RCW 49.58.110: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=49.58.110
- New York State Department of Labor, Pay Transparency: https://dol.ny.gov/pay-transparency
Post the Role on PMHNP Hiring
PMHNP Hiring is a job board for psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners. Current prices are on our pricing page. When your description is ready, post the role.