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How many CE hours does a nurse need to renew in Kansas?

Unless 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.

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The rule, fact by fact

Course hours
30 contact hours of approved CNE in the most recent licensing periodThe exception covers a license that expires within 30 months after the initial licensure exam, or within 9 months after reinstatement or endorsement.
Verified. ksbn.kansas.gov (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Rule
K.A.R. 60-9-106It says a licensee may be asked to submit proof of the 30 hours at renewal.
Verified. ksbn.kansas.gov (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Providers
Kansas, other state boards or national credentialing bodies approve the providerSingle offering providers carry an SP number and long term providers an LT number.
Same source and date as above
Carryover
Hours above 30 do not carry over to the next renewal periodThe hours must be completed between the first day of the licensing period and the day you submit the renewal.
Same source and date as above
Pre-approval
College courses need an IOA before renewal, and not all are eligibleFor courses that get approval, one college credit hour equals 15 CNE contact hours.
Same source and date as above

How to get it done

  1. Step 1. Check whether the exception applies to your license. If it does, you are not required to complete the 30 hours.

  2. Step 2. Choose a provider that the Kansas board, another state board or a national nursing credentialing association has approved.

  3. Step 3. Finish the hours inside your licensing period. Independent study and distance learning are among the offerings the rule says may count.

  4. Step 4. Keep a certificate or transcript for each offering. It should show the offering name, the provider name and number if it has one, the date, the hours awarded, and your name and license number.

Before you pay

Ask who approved the course before you pay. A course from a provider with no approval needs an IOA before you renew.

Questions

Which college courses can count?

With an approved IOA, they may include science, psychology, sociology or statistics courses that are prerequisites for a nursing degree. The Board does not count a failed or incomplete course. It also does not count courses in literature and composition, public speaking, basic math, algebra, humanities or other general education, unless the course meets the definition of CNE.

Do ACLS and PALS count?

They can. The rule accepts offerings that use a board-approved curriculum from the American Heart Association, the Emergency Nurses Association or Mandt, among them ACLS and PALS. If a provider is not approved, submit the offering for IOA approval before you renew.

What does the Board not count?

Among them are identical offerings repeated within a renewal period, offerings that repeat content from basic nursing preparation at your level of licensure, and in-service training, on-the-job training and orientation.

What to do next

Start with the Kansas State Board of Nursing page on continuing nursing education. Check the rule there before you pay for a course.

ksbn.kansas.gov

Sources we read