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Nursing CE Requirements by State

Each state has different continuing education requirements for nurses to renew their licenses.  Select your state in the list below to see what, if any, CEs are required.

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For a list of free and low-cost CE resources

for nurses, click here

The requirements listed are for information purposes only. All information should be verified independently, as state education requirements change frequently. Always confirm current licensure requirements with your state licensing board.

  • Select your state in the list.
    Alphabetical Order
  • Alabama
    CE Required: 24 Board-approved or Board-recognized continuing education contact hours for license renewal. Further Information: Alabama Board of Nursing
  • Alaska
    CE Required: The Alaska State Board of Nursing per authority of SB241 Sec. 6 (b)(2) decreased the 2020 license renewal requirement to provide 30 hours of continuing education to 15 hours of continuing education for both licensed practical nurses and registered nurses. The Board waived the professional activity hours under audit requirements of 12 AAC 44.610.- 12 AAC 44.620. for September 30, 2020, and November 30, 2020, license renewal. Further Information: Alaska State Nursing Board
  • Arizona
    CE Requirements: None Further Information: Arizona Board of Nursing
  • Arkansas
    CE Required: Registered nurses must complete the continuing education requirement by one of these methods prior to each bi-annual renewal. (1) 15 contact hours of appropriately accredited practice-focused activities, OR (2) Hold a current nationally recognized certification/recertification, OR (3) Completed a minimum of one college credit hour course in nursing with a grade of C or better during licensure period. Further Information: Arkansas State Board of Nursing
  • California
    CE Required: 30 hours every two years. Further Information: California Board of Registered Nursing
  • Colorado
    CE Required: None Further Information: Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies
  • Connecticut
    CE Required: Registered nurses and licensed practical nurses actively practicing in Connecticut and applying for license renewal after January 1, 2022, and once every six years thereafter, are required to complete two contact hours of training or education on (1) screening for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, risk of suicide, depression and grief, and (2) suicide prevention training. Further Information: Connecticut Department of Public Health
  • Delaware
    CE Required: CE Hour Requirement dependent on when your license was initially issued. Further Information: Delaware Board of Nursing
  • Florida
    CE Required: RN/LPN – Twenty Four Hours. Sixteen hours must be approved by a state or national organization empowered to accredit continuing education. Prevention of Medical Errors - Two hours and must be Board approved. Florida Laws and Rules - Two hours and must be approved. Recognizing Impairment in the Workplace - Two hours required every other renewal, must be Board approved. Human Trafficking - Two hours - This course does not have to be a Florida Board of Nursing approved course. The course must meet criteria outlined in S. 464.013, F.S. (Became effective October 2017, licensees expiring after Januray 1, 2019 are required to complete the Human Trafficking course every renewal/biennium). Domestic Violence - Two hours - Must be Board approved. Domestic Violence is required every third biennium and the hours are in addition to the 24 hours required for renewal. HIV/AIDS - Must be Board approved. HIV/AIDS - One hour - is a one-time requirement prior to the first renewal. Further Information: Florida State Nursing Board
  • Georgia
    CE Required: RN Thirty hours every two years. LPN twenty hours every two years. Further Information: Georgia Board of Nursing
  • Hawaii
    CE Required: NP/RN/LPN: Thirty hours every two years. Further Information: Hawaii State Nurse Board
  • Idaho
    CE Required: 15 contact hours of continuing education Further Information: Idaho State Board of Nursing
  • Illinois
    CE Required: RN/LPN 20 hours every two years, with one of those hours being sexual harassment prevention training. Further Information: Illinois State Nursing Board
  • Indiana
    CE Required: LPN/RN None Further Information: Indiana State Board of Nursing
  • Iowa
    CE Required: 36 hours every three years. Mandatory training on child and or dependent adult abuse. Abuse identification and reporting necessary for any licensee who regularly examines, attends, counsels, or treats children or dependent adults in Iowa. The course must be offered by or approved by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Further Information: Iowa Board of Nursing
  • Kansas
    CE Required NP/RN/LPN: Thirty hours every two years. Further Information: Kansas State Board of Nursing
  • Kentucky
    CE Requirement: 14 contact hours during the earning period of Nov. 1 - Oct. 31. Multiple options available based on your credentials. See the link below for additional details. Further Information: Kentucky Board of Nursing
  • Louisiana
    CE Required: For RN license renewal, at least one of the following two options must have been completed during the two-year licensure period: A minimum of 30 board-approved contact hours of CE during the two-year licensure period; or a minimum of 900 practice hours during the two-year licensure period as verified by the employer on a form provided by the board. Further Information: Louisiana State Board of Nursing
  • Maine
    CE Required: None Further Information: Maine State Board of Nursing
  • Maryland
    CME Required: All applicants for the renewal of a license or certificate issued by a health occupations board are required to attest to the completion of an approved implicit bias training program the first time they renew their license or certificate after April 1, 2022.​ Further Information: Maryland Board of Nursing
  • Massachusetts
    CE Required: 15 contact hours every two years. There is a one-time requirement at license renewal to complete a course in the diagnosis, treatment, and care of patients with cognitive impairments, including but not limited to Alzheimer's disease and dementia. As a condition of licensure, registration, or certification, and any renewal, all nurses are required to complete training and education on the issue of domestic violence and sexual violence Further Information: Massachusetts Board of Nursing
  • Michigan
    CE Required: Twenty-five contact hours every two years. Two hours in pain and symptom management. Further information: Michigan Board of Nursing
  • Minnesota
    CE Required: RN: 24 contact hours every two years. LPN: 12 contact hours every two years. Further Information: Minnesota State Board of Nursing
  • Mississippi
    CE Required: RNs will be required to comply with continuing education requirements for the renewal, endorsement, or reinstatement applications if the nurse has been out of practice for greater than five years. The RN shall complete a minimum of 20 contact hours of accepted continuing education earned in the previous two-year period immediately prior to such application toward satisfying the requirement. Further Information: Mississippi Board of Nursing
  • Missouri
    CE Required: None Further Information: Missouri Board of Nursing
  • Montana
    CE Required: 24 contact hours every two years. Further Information: Montana Board of Nursing
  • Nebraska
    CE Required: 20 contact hours every two years related to the practice of nursing. Further Information: Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services
  • Nevada
    CE Required: 30 hours every two years. Must complete the state's four-hour bioterrorism course and four-hour cultural competency course. Some nurses, based on their job duties, are also required to take a communicable disease course related to caring for HIV patients. Further Information: Nevada State Board of Nursing
  • New Hampshire
    CE Required: 30 contact hours every two years. Further Information: New Hampshire Board of Nursing
  • New Jersey
    CE Required: 30 contact hours every two years, with some of those required hours eligible to be satisifed by means other than CE courses. One hour required on prescription opioid drugs, alternatives to opioids for managing and treating pain and the risks of opioid abuse, addiction, and diversion. There is a one-time requirement of one contact hour of education on organ and tissue donation and recovery. Further Information: New Jersey Board of Nursing
  • New Mexico
    CE Required: 30 contact hours every two years. Further Information: New Mexico Board of Nursing
  • New York
    CE Required: RN's must complete course work or training regarding infection control and barrier precautions every four years. Updated Mandated Reporter Training Requirements: Additional training required as of April 1, 2025 to include protocols to reduce implicit bias in decision-making processes, strategies for identifying adverse childhood experiences, and guidelines to assist in recognizing signs of abuse or maltreatment. Further Information: New York Board of Nursing
  • North Carolina
    CE Required: 30 contact hours every two years. Further Information: North Carolina Board of Nursing
  • North Dakota
    CE Required: RN/LPN: 12 contact hours with each license renewal. Further Information: North Dakota Board of Nursing
  • Ohio
    CE Required: For the period immediately following Ohio licensure by NCLEX examination, the nurse is not required to complete any contact hours of CE for the first license renewal. Other than the first renewal immediately following licensure by exam, nurses must complete at least 24 contact hours of CE that includes at least one contact hour of Category A for each renewal. A nurse who has been licensed in Ohio by reciprocity for less than or equal to one year prior to the first Ohio license renewal must complete at least 12 contact hours, rather than 24. Further Information: The Ohio Board of Nursing
  • Oklahoma
    CE Requirement: 24 contact hours every two years. Further Information: Oklahoma Board of Nursing
  • Oregon
    CE Required: Special Requirement: One CE must be provided by the Oregon Pain Management Commission. Two CEs must be from a state-mandated cultural competency class. These are required every two years, along with proof of 400 hours of nursing practice. Further Information: Oregon Board of Nursing
  • Pennsylvania
    CE Required: 30 contact hours every two-year renewal cycle. Two hours of board-approved child abuse recognition and reporting training are also required. Further Information: Pennsylvania Board of Nursing
  • Rhode Island
    CE Required: 10 contact hours every two years. Two of those hours must be about substance abuse. Every nurse also has to complete one hour (per career) of CEU training regarding Alzheimer’s Disease. Further Information: Rhode Island Board of Nursing
  • South Carolina
    CE Required: 30 hours every two years. Other options available. Click the link below for additional details. Further Information: South Carolina Board of Nursing
  • South Dakota
    CE Required: None Further Information: South Dakota Board of Nursing
  • Tennessee
    CE Required: Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses must maintain evidence of at least two items from the following list: 1. A copy of a satisfactory employer evaluation. 2. A letter from a peer providing a satisfactory evaluation of your nursing performance. 3. Copy of a contract renewal, re-appointment or continuing contract to a nursing position. 4. A written self-evaluation based on the standards of your profession. 5. Evidence of current national certification from nationally recognized certification body appropriate to the individual’s nursing practice. 6. A document identifying two nursing goals and subsequent development, implementation, and evaluation based on the standards of your profession. 7. A letter where you have volunteered as a nurse or performed service relevant to nursing on local, state or national boards, commissions, foundations, or agencies. 8. Documentation from a school of nursing stating you have participated in the formal education of nursing students (RNs only). 9. Certificate/evidence of 10 contact hours per renewal period of continuing education/in-service education applicable to nursing practice. 10. Copy of a published article relevant to nursing in a professional journal, written by the licensee. 11. Proof of successful completion of a two-week, board-approved nursing refresher program. 12. Proof of completion of a two-week, board-approved comprehensive orientation program offered by a prospective nursing employer. 13. An official transcript (may be student issued) from an approved/accredited school of nursing leading to licensure as a RN, RN-BSN completion or to an advanced degree in nursing showing three hours of nursing credit during the past five years. 14. Evidence of having successfully retaken the NCLEX. Further Information: Tennessee Board of Nursing
  • Texas
    CE Required: 20 contact hours every two years in practice area. Two contact hours related to forensic evidence collection for any RN practicing in an ER (one-time requirement); Two contact hours related to older adults and geriatric populations if working with this population; Content related to tick-borne diseases if working with this population; and two contact hours relating to nursing jurisprudence and nursing ethics before the end of every third two-year licensing period. Further Information: Texas Board of Nursing
  • Utah
    CE Required: In the previous two years, nurses must have completed 400 hours of licensed practice; or at least 200 hours of licensed practice with 15 hours of approved continuing education; or completed 30 hours of approved continuing education. Must complete at least one of the following online suicide prevention trainings: Suicide Safety Planning with Patients (0.5 credit), Talking to Patients About Suicide (0.5 credit), Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (0.5 credit). Further Information: Utah Board of Nursing
  • Vermont
    CE Required: 20 contact hours of board-approved continuing education within the two years immediately preceding your renewal application. NOTE: Instead of CE, you may renew by documenting at least 400 hours of paid nursing practice in the past two years, 960 hours in the past five years, or holding a current nationally recognized nursing certification. Further Information: Vermont Board of Nursing
  • Virginia
    CE Required: Must complete one of the following learning activities or courses: 1. Current specialty certification by a national certifying organization, as defined in 18VAC90-19-10; 2. Completion of a minimum of three credit hours of post-licensure academic education relevant to nursing practice, offered by a regionally accredited college or university; 3. A board-approved refresher course in nursing; 4. Completion of nursing-related, evidence-based practice project or research study; 5. Completion of publication as the author or co-author during a renewal cycle; 6. Teaching or developing a nursing-related course resulting in no less than three semester hours of college credit, a 15-week course, or specialty certification; 7. Teaching or developing nursing-related continuing education courses for up to 30 contact hours; 8. Fifteen contact hours of workshops, seminars, conferences, or courses relevant to the practice of nursing and 640 hours of active practice as a nurse; or 9. Thirty contact hours of workshops, seminars, conferences, or courses relevant to the practice of nursing. Further Information: Virginia Board of Nursing
  • Washington
    CE Required:45 hours every three years. There is a one-time requirement of seven contact hours in HIV/AIDS at initial licensure, and six hours of suicide prevention training. In addition, a two-hour course on health equity must be completed at least once every renewal period. Further Information: Washington Board of Nursing
  • West Virginia
    CE Required: Renewing RNs need to complete 12 hours of continuing education from a board-approved provider per renewal cycle. Further Information: West Virginia Board of Nursing
  • Wisconsin
    CE Requirement: None Further Information: Wisconsin Board of Nursing
  • Wyoming
    CE Required: 30 hours in the past two years. If you have practiced at least 400 hours of nursing work within the renewal period, no additional CEs are required. NOTE: Hours of employment are not reported to the WSBN by individual employers. Further Information: Wyoming Board of Nursing
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