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State Cert Guide

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Nursing CE requirements by state

Pick your state. You get what the page shows for this credential and the date we read it.

State Cert Guide

Last checked Nov 13, 2026

How we check

Verified states

Verified so far: 38 of 51 states

Nursing CE: rules by state
StateWhat the state saysLast checked
AlabamaAfter a first renewal, Alabama nurses need 24 hours of CE in every license period. Your first renewal uses a month-by-month count instead. An APN needs six of the 24 hours in pharmacology.
ArkansasTo renew an active Arkansas RN or LPN license, you affirm one of these for the past 24 months: 15 practice-focused contact hours, a national certification, or an academic course in nursing or a related field. A first license can be valid for 3 to 27 months, and the Board's renewal page does not say how the 24 months apply then. Contact-hour filers upload no certificates unless audited.
CaliforniaCalifornia RNs need 30 contact hours of continuing education every two years to keep an active license, unless an exemption applies. Courses must come from a provider the Board of Registered Nursing recognizes. Home study counts, with no limit on hours. A first renewal within two years of passing the national exam is exempt, except for the implicit bias course. This page covers RNs.
ConnecticutConnecticut RNs and LPNs who actively practice need two contact hours once every six years. The hours cover screening for conditions such as depression and grief, and suicide prevention. You attest online when you renew.
DelawareIn each full renewal period, Delaware says an active RN must complete 30 contact hours of approved CE and an active LPN 24. At least 3 of those hours must be on substance abuse. Delaware also asks active nurses for proof of nursing practice.
District of ColumbiaAfter its first renewal, a Washington, DC registered nurse (RN) license needs 24 hours of CE earned in the two years before it expires. A licensed practical nurse (LPN) license needs 18 contact hours earned in the two years before you apply, though the Board's LPN sheet says first renewals are exempt. The Board gives credit only for programs it has approved.
FloridaIf you hold a Florida RN or LPN license, Florida lists 24 hours of continuing education for renewal. Sixteen are general hours. The rest are required topics, like medical errors and Florida laws and rules. Courses can be live or home study. Your first renewal works differently.
GeorgiaGeorgia nurses must meet CE rules to renew. The rule differs for LPNs and RNs. An LPN needs 20 CE hours, or an accredited academic program in registered nursing. An RN picks one of five options in Georgia law. Make sure your proof is in CE Broker.
HawaiiUnless you are exempt, a Hawaii RN or LPN completes one learning option before renewing for the biennium that ends June 30, 2027. Continuing education is one choice, at 30 contact hours. Some recent graduates need less or none. You cannot mix hours from different choices.
IllinoisIf you hold an Illinois RN or LPN license, Illinois lists 20 hours of approved CE per two-year renewal cycle. Complete them in the 24 months before the license expires. Your first renewal does not require CE.
IowaIowa license renewal requires 36 contact hours of CE within the renewal period, unless the nurse is exempt. National certification or a nurse residency program each count as 36 hours, and up to 18 extra hours can carry over. Exempt cases include honorable U.S. military duty and some nursing work abroad.
KansasUnless an exception applies, a Kansas RN or LPN needs 30 contact hours of approved continuing nursing education (CNE) from the most recent licensing period. The exceptions apply only if your license expires within a set time after you first passed the licensure exam, or after you were reinstated or endorsed. Extra hours do not carry over to the next renewal.
KentuckyA Kentucky nurse picks one method per earning period to validate continued competency. The methods are 14 contact hours of CE, national certification, a research project, a journal article or a preceptorship, or 7 hours of CE plus an employment evaluation. Section 5 adds required topics to several methods, such as pharmacology hours for APRNs.
LouisianaA Louisiana RN renews after completing 30 board-approved CE contact hours or 900 practice hours in the 2-year licensure period, unless another option or exception on the board's list applies. A nationally certified APRN meets the RN rule by holding an approved certification. One with prescriptive authority also needs six pharmacotherapeutics hours each year.
MarylandTo renew an active license, a Maryland RN or LPN shows 1,000 practice hours or a nursing degree from the last 5 years, or 30 CEUs earned in the 2 years before applying. Practice hours are an alternative route, not CE. CEUs must come from a listed body and cannot be carried forward.
MassachusettsExcept at their first renewal, licensed nurses in Massachusetts complete 15 contact hours of CE within the 2 years before they renew. The Board does not have a list of approved programs, so you choose one that meets its rules. Web based programs are among the types it accepts.
MichiganIf you hold a Michigan RN or LPN license, Michigan's nursing licensing guide lists 25 hours of CE for each 2-year renewal. At least 2 of those hours must be in pain and symptom management. Renewal also needs one-time human trafficking training, and implicit bias training every time you renew.
NebraskaA Nebraska RN or LPN first licensed in the current renewal period needs no CE hours for that first renewal. Other RNs and LPNs can renew with 20 hours of nursing CE in the previous 2 years. If you were first licensed over 5 years ago, that route also needs 500 practice hours in the previous 5 years.
NevadaNevada RNs and LPNs complete 30 hours of nursing-related CE per renewal cycle, including cultural competency, unless it is their first renewal and they earned their degree within the last two years. New graduates still take the cultural competency course and the one-time bioterrorism course.
New HampshireA New Hampshire RN or LPN renewing a license needs 30 contact hours of CE from the 2 years before applying, unless an exception applies. The Board's checklists accept an NCLEX completed in those 2 years instead.
New JerseyUnder the Board's rule, an RN or LPN renewing an active New Jersey license attests to 30 hours of CE from the preceding biennial period. At least one hour is on prescription opioid drugs. Up to 15 hours above the minimum can carry into the next period.
New MexicoA New Mexico nurse needs 30 hours of approved CE from the 24 months before the license expires, unless an exception applies. The rule lets the hours be prorated to the length of the renewal period. Certification in a nursing specialty from a national professional organization, verified within the current renewal period, is accepted in place of the 30 hours.
New YorkA New York RN renews registration every 3 years. LPNs and RNs also take infection control training every four years. For that training, use a provider that NYSED or the Department of Health has approved. The pages we read give no contact hour count for renewal.
North CarolinaWhen North Carolina licensees renew or reinstate, they attest to one learning option. One option is 30 contact hours of CE. Another is 15 contact hours of CE plus 640 hours of active practice. There are others. You also do a self-assessment and a plan for continued learning.
North DakotaA North Dakota nurse first licensed by examination needs no CE hours at the first renewal. Any other renewal needs 12 contact hours of CE from the previous two years.
OhioOhio RNs and LPNs need 24 contact hours of CE each licensure period, with exceptions. Your first renewal after the NCLEX in Ohio needs none. If you were licensed by reciprocity for a year or less, you need 12. A Category A hour on Ohio law and rules is part of the count.
OklahomaNot always. Oklahoma RNs and LPNs renewing a license show continuing qualifications for practice from the two years before it expires, and CE hours are one of five ways. The Board lists 24 contact hours of CE, 520 work hours in a job that requires the license, a current nursing specialty certification, a Board-approved refresher course or nursing coursework.
OregonAn Oregon LPN or RN renewing a license needs one hour of pain management education and two hours of cultural competency, per the Board. Practice hours stopped counting as proof of competency on January 1, 2026. From January 1, 2028, renewal also needs 20 hours of CE within two years.
PennsylvaniaIf you hold a Pennsylvania RN license, the Board's snapshot lists 30 hours of continuing education for each two-year renewal. Two of those hours must be approved training on recognizing and reporting child abuse. Beginning May 1, 2026, all RNs also complete 2 hours on organ donation, once within 5 years.
Rhode IslandEvery Rhode Island nurse renewing a license needs ten continuing education hours from the preceding two years. You sign at renewal that you finished them and keep the course records. Check that your courses come from an accepted source before you pay.
South CarolinaA South Carolina nurse renewing an active license documents at least one of these from the licensure period. It can be thirty contact hours from a CE provider the Board recognizes, or certification by a national body the Board recognizes. It can also be an academic program in nursing or a related field the Board recognizes, or employer certification on a Board form.
TennesseeTennessee's rule on nursing competence does not set one CE total for every renewing nurse. An RN or LPN who wants an active license can attest to a personal file with at least two of the items it lists. One of the items is 10 contact hours of CE. An APRN with a Certificate of Fitness also needs 2 contact hours on controlled substance prescribing.
TexasTexas nurses who want an active license have to show continuing competency when they renew, but a timely first renewal is mostly exempt. They can take 20 contact hours of nursing courses in their area of practice. A national certification the Board accepts can replace the hours. A licensing period lasts 2 years after the first one. Some topics are required.
UtahTo renew a Utah RN or LPN license, you need one of these routes from the past 2 years. You can have 400 hours of practice, 200 hours of practice plus 15 hours of approved CE, or 30 hours of approved CE. You also take at least one online suicide prevention training.
VirginiaIf you hold an active Virginia RN or LPN license and no nurse practitioner license, you renew by completing at least one of nine listed learning activities, so CE hours are only one choice. One choice is thirty contact hours of courses relevant to the practice of nursing. Another is fifteen contact hours plus 640 hours of active practice as a nurse. Your first renewal is exempt.
WashingtonUnless you are exempt or just licensed, Washington RNs and LPNs need eight hours of CE in the year before they renew. They also need 96 hours of active nursing practice in that year. At least two CE hours are on health equity. A nurse who endorses into Washington, or a new graduate, gets a full renewal cycle first. ARNPs have a separate list.
West VirginiaA West Virginia RN does 12 contact hours of CE each renewal period, unless exempt. A nurse first licensed in the state that period is exempt. You attest to the hours when you renew, and you keep your certificates.
WyomingTo renew an RN or LPN/VN license in Wyoming, you show one of five competencies from the past two years. CE of 40 hours is one of them, and Wyoming does not make CE mandatory. Other choices include a set number of hours worked as a nurse, a pass on the NCLEX, and a refresher course.

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Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin

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