News · 2026-09-17
What Your California NP Furnishing Number Lets You Do
Furnishing authority, Schedule II rules, and the continuing education that ties to your nurse practitioner certificate.
The furnishing number is a separate certificate
Your California nurse practitioner certificate and your furnishing number are distinct credentials, though you apply for them at the same time. The Board of Registered Nursing issues the furnishing number to allow a nurse practitioner to order or furnish drugs and devices to patients using approved standardized procedures. Furnishing or ordering occurs in accordance with standardized procedures or protocols developed jointly by the NP and the supervising physician and surgeon.
The drugs and devices must be consistent with the practitioner's educational preparation or for which clinical competency has been established and maintained. That means you may not furnish outside the scope of your training and demonstrated skill, even if a physician signs off on a protocol. The standardized procedure requirement is not optional; it is codified in the Nursing Practice Act and applies to all NPs in California, with limited exceptions for those practicing under AB 890 regulations.
Schedule II authority requires additional steps
If you want to furnish Schedule II controlled substances—amphetamines, opioids, certain stimulants—California law requires more than the basic furnishing number. You must have completed the required pharmacological content, including risks of addiction associated with the use of Schedule II drugs, in a nurse practitioner program. You must also register with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and obtain a DEA number.
The DEA registration process changed in December 2022 under the MATE Act. As of June 27, 2023, all DEA-registered practitioners applying for a new registration or renewing an existing one must attest to completing at least eight hours of training on treating and managing patients with opioid or other substance use disorders. This is a one-time federal requirement, separate from California's continuing education rules. The training must come from an accredited organization listed in the law—ASAM, AMA, AANP, AAPA, ANCC and others—and can include classroom, seminar or virtual formats. Previous DATA-waiver trainings count toward the eight hours. The DEA does not require you to submit certificates with your application, but you should keep documentation in case of audit.
On the California side, the BRN page ties Schedule II furnishing to the pharmacological content of your NP program and your DEA registration; check the Nursing Practice Act (Business and Professions Code section 2836.1) for the full text. Your authority to furnish Schedule II drugs flows from your NP furnishing number, your DEA registration, and your standardized procedures.
Continuing education for nurse practitioners
All California nurse practitioners must complete 30 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their registered nurse license. That requirement is identical to the one for RNs without advanced certification. Two requirements sit inside those 30 hours for the nurse practitioners they apply to. The first concerns Schedule II. If you hold a furnishing number, are authorized to furnish Schedule II controlled substances and are registered with the DEA, you complete a course on Schedule II controlled substances and the risks of addiction as part of your continuing education (Business and Professions Code section 2836.1(g)(3)). The Board's standard is a course of at least three hours, completed by the time you renew.
The second concerns older patients. If you provide primary care to a patient population more than 25 percent of which is aged 65 or older, you must complete at least six of those 30 hours in a course in the field of gerontology, the special care needs of patients with dementia, or the care of older patients. The six hours are part of the 30, not on top of them. This requirement is stated in California statute and also appears in the Board's continuing education regulations.
You do not report those six hours separately; you simply attest at renewal that you have met the requirement if it applies to you. Keep your certificates for four years in case the Board audits your renewal. The Board does not require particular topics for the remaining 24 hours, only that the content be relevant to the practice of nursing and at a level above that required for licensure.
The implicit bias requirement—one hour within the first two years of licensure—applies to all new RN licenses in California, including those held by nurse practitioners. If you completed that hour when you first became an RN, you do not repeat it when you later earn your NP certificate. If your initial California RN license was issued more than two years ago, the implicit bias hour does not apply to you at all.
No such thing as nurse practitioner CE California approval
California does not maintain a separate approval category for nurse practitioner continuing education. The Board approves continuing education providers under a single set of rules that apply to all registered nurses, whether staff RN or advanced practice. A course approved for RN renewal is acceptable for NP renewal. A course described as "NP-specific" or "pharmacology for NPs" counts toward your 30 hours as long as the provider holds a current Board-approved CEP number, but there is no special NP designation on the certificate and the Board does not review content differently.
You are responsible for choosing courses that match your scope of practice and that keep your clinical competency current. The Board expects learning experiences to enhance your knowledge above the level required for licensure, and courses must relate to the scientific knowledge or technical skills required for nursing practice or to direct or indirect patient care. Pharmacology, advanced assessment, specialty population care—all are acceptable. Self-improvement, financial planning, orientation programs and courses aimed at lay audiences are not.
If you completed college courses, CME Category 1 programs, or out-of-state nursing CE during your renewal period, those hours are generally acceptable. Convert college credit at one semester unit to 15 contact hours, or one quarter unit to 10. The course must be at an advanced level, not material covered in your original nursing program.
You renew your NP and furnishing certificates at the same time you renew your RN license, every two years, and the CE requirement is unified: 30 hours total, with the six-hour gerontology subset if your patient population qualifies and the Schedule II course if you furnish Schedule II drugs. The Board does not ask for proof of CE at renewal; you attest to completion online and keep your certificates in your own records. Random audits are conducted regularly, and the Board has authority to discipline a license for misrepresenting CE compliance.