A nurse's credential string can run to six or seven items, and the letters come from four different kinds of thing: an academic degree, a state licence, a private certification, and an honorific. Only one of them, the licence, is what makes the person legally a nurse.
The order they go in
The convention recommended by the credentialing centre attached to the American Nurses Association is highest earned degree first, then licence, then state designations or requirements, then national certifications, then awards and honours, then other recognitions.
So "Jane Smith, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, FAAN" reads as a doctorate, an advanced practice licence, a national certification as a family nurse practitioner, and election as a fellow of the academy.
The reason the degree comes first is that it is the hardest to take away. A licence can be suspended, a certification can lapse, and an honour is a recognition rather than a qualification.
Degrees
- ADN or ASN, associate degree in nursing.
- BSN, bachelor of science in nursing. RN to BSN describes a completion programme rather than a separate degree.
- MSN, master of science in nursing. MN is the same thing under a different faculty naming convention.
- DNP, doctor of nursing practice, a practice doctorate.
- PhD or DNS, research doctorates in nursing.
- EdD, a doctorate in education held by many nurse faculty.
The argument about which degree should be required to enter practice is covered under levels of nursing and entry into practice.
Licences
- LPN or LVN, licensed practical or vocational nurse. The two words mean the same role; California and Texas use vocational.
- RN, registered nurse.
- APRN, advanced practice registered nurse, the umbrella licence covering four roles.
- CNP or NP, nurse practitioner. CRNA, certified registered nurse anesthetist. CNM, certified nurse-midwife. CNS, clinical nurse specialist.
Licences come from a state board and are valid only where issued, except under the Nurse Licensure Compact. See state boards of nursing.
Certifications
These are private credentials, awarded by the boards listed under nursing certification boards. They recognise expertise beyond licensure and do not extend scope of practice.
Critical, acute and emergency care. CCRN, critical care, and PCCN, progressive care, both from the certification corporation of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. CEN, emergency, CPEN, paediatric emergency, TCRN, trauma, CFRN, flight, and CTRN, transport, all from the emergency nursing certification board. CPAN and CAPA, post-anaesthesia and ambulatory perianaesthesia.
Perioperative and procedural. CNOR, perioperative nursing, from the credentialing institute associated with AORN. CNN, nephrology nursing. CWOCN, wound, ostomy and continence nursing.
Population. CPN, paediatric nursing. RNC-OB, inpatient obstetric nursing, and C-EFM, electronic fetal monitoring, both from the obstetric and neonatal certification corporation. NCSN, school nursing. CHPN, hospice and palliative nursing. CRRN, rehabilitation nursing.
Oncology. OCN, oncology certified nurse, with advanced practice versions, from the certification corporation of the Oncology Nursing Society.
Advanced practice. The suffix tells you the awarding body. -BC means board certified through the credentialing centre of the American Nurses Association, as in FNP-BC or PMHNP-BC. -C means certified through the nurse practitioner certification board, as in FNP-C. Both are legitimate and states generally accept either, but they are different examinations from different organisations.
Function rather than clinical area. NE-BC and NEA-BC, nurse executive and advanced nurse executive. CNE, certified nurse educator, from the National League for Nursing. CIC, infection prevention and control. CCM, case management. LNCC, legal nurse consulting.
Honours and memberships
- FAAN, fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, elected for sustained national contribution. See American Academy of Nursing.
- FAANP, fellow of the nurse practitioner association.
- Honour society membership, including Sigma, is an induction rather than a credential and does not normally appear as letters.
How to check a string
Two questions settle almost every case. Is the licence current, which the national verification service answers free at Nursys for most states. And is the certification accredited, which the accreditor for specialty nursing certification answers.
A credential that no board will confirm and no accreditor recognises is a claim rather than a qualification, and this is a private market where such things exist.
Related
- Nursing certification boards
- Levels of nursing
- State boards of nursing
- Nursing specialties
- Scope of practice
Sources
- ANCC certifications. American Nurses Credentialing Center, for certification names and the display convention. Accessed September 9, 2026.
- Accreditation Board for Specialty Nursing Certification. ABSNC. Accessed September 9, 2026.
- Nursys licence verification. National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Accessed September 9, 2026.
- Individual certifying boards, listed and checked under nursing certification boards on 9 September 2026.