How to File a Complaint Against a Nurse Practitioner

To file a complaint against a nurse practitioner, contact the state board of nursing in the state where the incident happened, complete that board’s complaint form, and submit it along with any evidence you have. There is no fee, anyone with firsthand knowledge can file, and you do not need to be the patient who was harmed. What follows is what the board will want, how to send it in, and what happens next.

When a Board Will Take the Complaint

State boards of nursing investigate conduct that endangers patients or violates professional standards. The situations they typically act on include:

Negligent care, such as misdiagnosis, medication errors, or treatment below accepted standards.
Incompetence shown by a pattern of unsafe practice.
Ethical violations, including unauthorized disclosure of your health information, boundary violations, or billing fraud.
Practicing while impaired by drugs or alcohol.
Scope-of-practice violations, meaning procedures or prescriptions beyond what the license permits.
Falsifying or altering medical records.

If you are not sure your situation fits, file anyway. Every board screens complaints at intake and will tell you if the matter is outside its authority. A good-faith report carries no penalty, even if the board decides not to pursue it.

Evidence to Gather Before You File

A specific, documented complaint is much easier for investigators to work with than a general account of poor care. Before you contact the board, put together:

A timeline with exact dates, times, and locations of each incident.
The nurse practitioner’s full name and, if possible, license number, plus the names and contact details of any witnesses.
Your own written narrative of what happened, drafted while the details are still fresh.
Supporting documents: medical records, prescriptions, discharge summaries, billing statements, communication logs, or photographs.

Finding the License Number

The license number lets the board pull the right file immediately. Registered nurses and licensed practical nurses can be looked up for free through Nursys, the national license-verification database run by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Nursys does not cover every advanced-practice license type, so for those you may need to contact the board of nursing in the state where the practitioner works.

Getting Your Medical Records

Medical records are often the strongest piece of evidence. Federal law gives you the right to a copy of nearly all health information a provider maintains about you. The provider has 30 days to respond to a written request and can take only one additional 30-day extension, with a written explanation.¹ Providers may charge a reasonable per-page fee. If a provider ignores or refuses your request, that itself may be a HIPAA violation you can report separately to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Where to Send the Complaint

File with the board of nursing in the state where the incident occurred, even if the practitioner is licensed in a different state.² Anyone with knowledge of a possible violation can file; you do not have to be the patient affected.³

Most states place nurse practitioner oversight within the state board of nursing, though a few use a combined board covering several healthcare professions. NCSBN keeps a directory of every state board on its website, with contact information and links to each board’s complaint portal.

Submitting Your Complaint

Each board has its own complaint form, usually available on its website. The form asks for the practitioner’s identifying information, a description of the incident, and any documentation you can attach. Most boards accept complaints through an online portal, by mail, or by fax, though options differ by state. Filing is free in every state.

A few things worth doing as you send it in:

Stick to what you observed, when, and who was present. Skip speculation about motives or conclusions about what the practitioner “should have known.”
Attach copies, not originals, and keep the originals somewhere safe.
Note the submission date and method. Certified mail gives you proof of receipt.
Keep a full copy of everything you submitted, including the completed form.

What Happens After You File

The board first reviews the complaint to decide whether it is within the board’s authority and whether there is enough information to justify investigating.⁴ If the complaint clears that screening, a formal investigation opens. Investigators may contact you for more detail, interview the nurse practitioner and witnesses, and review medical records.³

Investigations can run from a few weeks to over a year, depending on complexity and the board’s caseload.³ Boards generally cannot share details of an active investigation with the person who complained, so months of silence do not mean nothing is happening.

Emergency Suspensions

When a practitioner poses an immediate danger to the public, the board can issue a summary suspension before the investigation is complete. The standard is clear and convincing evidence that letting the practitioner keep working would cause serious harm.⁵ These are reserved for the most serious cases and may be revised once the full investigation ends.

Filing Deadlines

Board complaints are generally not subject to a statute of limitations, because the board’s purpose is protecting the public rather than resolving a private dispute.⁵ Even so, filing sooner is better. Witnesses move, memories fade, and records get harder to obtain.

Possible Disciplinary Outcomes

If the board concludes that the practitioner violated the state’s nurse practice act, the action taken depends on the severity of the conduct. Possible results include:

A fine or civil penalty.
A public reprimand: a formal statement of wrongdoing without restrictions on the license.
Probation with conditions such as supervised practice, limited hours, or restricted duties.
Mandatory remedial education or training.
Referral to an alternative-to-discipline program, most often used when substance abuse is the underlying issue.
Suspension for a set period.
Revocation, meaning permanent loss of the nursing license.

The board weighs the seriousness of the violation against the evidence and chooses the action it believes best protects the public.⁵ If the investigation turns up insufficient evidence, the complaint is dismissed.

Public Record and Reporting

Board disciplinary actions are public information under administrative law. Most boards publish disciplinary orders on their websites, in newsletters, or through state databases.⁶ The complaint itself is typically confidential while under investigation; what becomes public is the final action.

Boards also report disciplinary actions to the National Practitioner Data Bank, a federal repository that hospitals and other healthcare entities must check before granting privileges.⁷ The NPDB is not open to the public, but a disciplined practitioner cannot move to a new hospital without the action surfacing.

Effect on a Multistate License

If the practitioner holds a multistate license through the Nurse Licensure Compact, discipline in one state has wider consequences. When a board restricts or disciplines a compact license, it converts to a single-state license, and the practitioner loses the privilege to practice in every other compact state.⁸ Compact states share licensure and discipline data through Nursys, so the action follows the practitioner across state lines.

A Board Complaint Is Not a Malpractice Case

A board complaint and a malpractice lawsuit do different things, and people sometimes pursue both. A board complaint asks the state to evaluate whether the practitioner violated professional standards and, if so, to discipline the license. The board can suspend or revoke the license, require training, or impose fines. It cannot award you money.

A malpractice lawsuit is a civil case in which you seek compensation for harm the practitioner caused. You would need to show that the care fell below the accepted standard and directly caused your injury. A successful case can produce a settlement or judgment covering medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering.

Filing one does not start or substitute for the other. If you were financially harmed by negligent care and also believe the practitioner should face professional discipline, you can pursue both. Malpractice claims have strict filing deadlines that vary by state, so talk to an attorney promptly if you think you have a case.

Other Places to Report Concerns

The state board is the main channel for issues with the practitioner’s license, but depending on what happened, other agencies may also be appropriate.

The Joint Commission

If the nurse practitioner works at a hospital or clinic accredited by The Joint Commission, you can report patient-safety concerns directly to that organization. The Joint Commission reviews complaints against accredited facilities and can require corrective action or revoke accreditation. File online through their submission form, by phone at 1-800-994-6610, or by mail.⁹

HIPAA Privacy Violations

If your complaint involves the practitioner or their employer sharing your health information without permission, file a separate complaint with the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Anyone can file, not just the patient whose information was disclosed. Complaints go through the OCR Complaint Portal or in writing.¹⁰ Unlike board complaints, HIPAA complaints have a deadline: you must file within 180 days of learning about the violation, though the agency can waive that limit for good cause.¹¹

Medicare or Medicaid Fraud

If you suspect billing for services never provided, upcoding, or other billing fraud involving Medicare or Medicaid, report it to the HHS Office of Inspector General. You can call 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477), submit a report through the OIG website, fax it to 1-800-223-8164, or mail it to the OIG Hotline in Washington, D.C.¹² For concerns about the quality of care you received as a Medicare beneficiary, you can also call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), which connects you to a quality-improvement organization that reviews care complaints.¹³

1
eCFR. 45 CFR 164.524 – Access of Individuals to Protected Health Information
2
National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Filing a Complaint
3
National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Filing a Complaint FAQs
4
National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Discipline
5
National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Board Action
6
National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Reporting and Enforcement
7
eCFR. 45 CFR Part 60 – National Practitioner Data Bank
8
NurseCompact.com. What Nurse Employers Need to Know
9
The Joint Commission. Patient Safety Concerns or Complaints
10
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Filing a Health Information Privacy Complaint
11
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If I Believe That My Privacy Rights Have Been Violated, When Can I Submit a Complaint
12
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Reporting Fraud
13
Medicare.gov. Filing a Complaint