The Pediatric Nursing Certification Board awards the specialty's principal credentials, from staff nurse to advanced practice.
CPN
The certified pediatric nurse credential, for registered nurses.
Eligibility, by either route:
- 1,800 hours as a registered nurse in a pediatric nursing specialty within the past 24 months; or
- five years as a registered nurse in pediatric nursing, with 3,000 pediatric hours in the last five years, including at least 1,000 hours in the past 24 months.
A diploma, associate, bachelor's, or master's degree in nursing satisfies the education requirement, so the credential is open at every registered nurse education level.
The second route exists for nurses whose pediatric hours are spread thin — school nurses, clinic nurses, and those in mixed units — and is the one most often overlooked.
The advanced practice credentials
CPNP-PC — pediatric nurse practitioner in primary care, requiring at least 500 supervised direct clinical hours in primary care pediatrics during the graduate programme.
CPNP-AC — pediatric nurse practitioner in acute care, requiring at least 500 such hours in acute care pediatrics, with the board strongly recommending 600.
These are not interchangeable. Under the advanced practice consensus model, education, certification, and state licensure must match on role and population focus, and the primary and acute care tracks are distinct. A primary care pediatric nurse practitioner is not credentialed for an intensive care unit. See nurse practitioners.
PMHS — a pediatric primary care mental health specialist credential, for certified pediatric or family nurse practitioners and pediatric clinical nurse specialists providing mental health care to children and adolescents.
That last one matters more each year. Children in mental health crisis are now a routine part of general pediatric practice rather than a psychiatric subspecialty. See psychiatric-mental health nursing.
Adjacent pediatric credentials from other boards
- CPEN, pediatric emergency nursing, from the emergency nursing board. See CEN certification.
- CCRN (Pediatric), from the critical care board. See CCRN certification.
- CPHON, pediatric haematology and oncology, from the oncology board. See OCN and the oncology credentials.
- CHPPN, pediatric hospice and palliative nursing. See hospice and palliative nursing.
- Neonatal credentials come from a different board again. See neonatal nursing.
What it is worth
Children's hospitals and dedicated pediatric units commonly prefer it, and pediatrics has the lowest turnover of any nursing specialty at 13.4 percent — which makes vacancies scarcer and certified candidates more competitive.
Related
Sources
- CPN Certification Steps — Pediatric Nursing Certification Board, on the two eligibility routes and education requirements. Accessed September 9, 2026.
- CPNP-PC Exam Eligibility — Pediatric Nursing Certification Board. Accessed September 9, 2026.
- CPNP-AC Exam Eligibility — Pediatric Nursing Certification Board. Accessed September 9, 2026.
- National Health Care Retention and RN Staffing Report — NSI Nursing Solutions, 2026 edition, for turnover by specialty. Accessed September 9, 2026.