Protocol · NP · New Mexico
Practice Protocol for Nurse Practitioners in New Mexico
Nurse Practitioners practice independently in New Mexico. A practice protocol is voluntary; here is what one covers and what the state does require.
New Mexico has granted NPs full, independent practice authority since 1994 — no supervising or collaborating physician relationship is required from licensure onward. NPs may serve as medical directors in New Mexico, unlike PAs.
What a voluntary Nurse Practitioner protocol covers in New Mexico
New Mexico requires no written protocol for nurse practitioners. These are the clauses a practice includes when it chooses to put one in writing. The New Mexico Board of Nursing and the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy governs nurse practitioners here.
New Mexico does not require the Nurse Practitioner to enter into a supervision or collaboration agreement with a physician. The Nurse Practitioner independently assesses, diagnoses, orders and interprets tests, treats, and prescribes legend drugs and Schedule II through V controlled substances, subject to New Mexico Board of Nursing and Board of Pharmacy controlled-substance registration, in any appropriate setting, consistent with NMSA § 61-3-23.2.
This Agreement's terms regarding the Nurse Practitioner accordingly serve to define the working relationship, referral pathways, and any Medical Director oversight between the Parties, and are not themselves required by New Mexico law as a condition of the Nurse Practitioner's authority to practice.
- A voluntary protocol also carries 1 scope, 1 education and 1 registration clauses, authored in the document itself.
What New Mexico does require
The supervision and prescribing rules that apply to nurse practitioners regardless of any protocol.
Proximity
No proximity requirement
No physician proximity/availability requirement is codified for NP practice.
Supervision ratio
Not codified — no cap on file
Chart review
Not codified
Meeting cadence
Not codified
Prescriptive authority
No agreement needed to prescribe · controlled substances permitted
May independently prescribe dangerous drugs and Schedule II–V controlled substances (§ 61-3-23.2, NMSA) per Board of Nursing rules/formulary (16.12.2 NMAC); requires state controlled-substance registration and DEA registration.
Written agreement
Not required
Unconditional — no collaborative or supervisory agreement is required for NP practice at any point.
Practice ownership (corporate practice of medicine)
Licensee-only ownership required — New Mexico professional corporations must be owned entirely by licensees of the same profession — an NP may independently own an NP-only PC/PLLC without physician co-ownership.
Sources for the supervision rules (3)
About New Mexico's rules
New Mexico has no corporate-practice-of-medicine doctrine (1987 A.G. opinion) — non-physician entities may employ physicians if clinical judgment isn't controlled — but professional corporations must still be single-profession owned (a PA/NP/etc. entity can't mix ownership with physicians). NP/CRNA/CNM/CNS practice independently with full prescriptive authority (Schedules II–V); PA remains the outlier requiring ongoing physician involvement.
Other clinicians in New Mexico: see the state overview.