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State Cert Guide

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What continuing education does a nurse need to renew in Alabama?

After 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.

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The rule, fact by fact

Course hours
24 hours of CE per license period, with six in pharmacology for APNsThe requirement comes from the ABN Administrative Code.
Verified. www.abn.alabama.gov (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Who needs it
Licensed nurses: Board-approved or Board-recognized CE in each earning periodIt is a condition for renewing the license for the next license period.
Verified. admincode.legislature.state.al.us (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Valid for
Even years for single-state RNs, odd years for multistate RNs and all LPNsEach of these licenses is valid for two years.
Same source and date as above
Agency
Alabama Board of NursingThe renewal rule lists the Board as its author.
Same source and date as above
Rule
Rule 610-X-4-.08, Renewal Of LicenseIt sits in the Board’s licensure chapter of the Administrative Code.
Same source and date as above

How to get it done

  1. Step 1. Find out which license period you are in. A single-state RN license ends on December 31 of an even year, and a multistate RN license or any LPN license ends on December 31 of an odd year. You earn your hours between one renewal and the next, and a first renewal uses its own month-by-month count.

  2. Step 2. Choose CE that the Board approves or recognizes. The ABN site also offers dozens of hours of free, Board-provided CE courses in My Profile.

  3. Step 3. Earn 24 hours of CE in the license period. At your first renewal, earn the month-by-month count instead. If you are an APN, six of those hours must carry pharmacology credit.

  4. Step 4. Before you renew, check your CE record in My Profile on the ABN site. When you renew, you affirm that you met the CE requirement.

Before you pay

We haven’t confirmed a list of providers the Board approves, so check that a course is Board-approved or Board-recognized before you pay.

Questions

When can I renew?

The renewal period runs from 8:00 a.m. on September 1 to 4:30 p.m. on December 31 of the year your license expires.

What happens if I do not meet the CE requirement?

The rule says that failing to meet the continuing education requirement is cause for the license to lapse.

How does the first renewal work?

A nurse earns four contact hours of Board-provided CE on nursing regulation, scope of practice and standards of practice. Add one contact hour for each calendar month left in the earning period, up to 24 hours in all. The four Board hours count toward the 24.

Does graduate pharmacology credit count for a nurse practitioner or midwife?

No. Graduate pharmacology credit earned in the nurse practitioner or nurse midwife program before your first approval does not count as pharmacology CE when you renew as a CRNP or CNM.

What to do next

Start with the Alabama Board of Nursing renewal page. Check your CE record there before you renew.

www.abn.alabama.gov

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