Nursing CE requirements by state, compared
Nursing CE requirements vary more than most nurses expect. California requires 30 contact hours every two years, Florida requires 24 with five mandated topics, and eleven states require no CE at all. This table compares renewal cycles, CE hours, mandatory topics, and fees for all 50 states and DC, verified against each board of nursing in July 2026.
Last verified: . Boards change rules mid-cycle — confirm on your board's page (linked in every row) before you renew.
Try a state name like "California", a postal code like "CA", or a nickname like "NYC". Press Enter to jump to the first match.
1 of 51 state match "massachusetts". Press Enter to jump to Massachusetts.
| State | Renewal cycle | CE hours | Mandatory topics | Fee | Board | Save |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 2 yrs; birthday, even years | 15 | Domestic/sexual violence training (one-time) | $120 | MA Board of Registration in Nursing | Add Massachusetts RN |
*Fee shown only inside the board's renewal portal or set by statute; confirm at renewal.
States with no CE requirement
Eleven states require no continuing education for RN renewal: Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. New York requires no general CE either — only infection-control coursework every four years. Most of these states verify competency another way, usually practice hours (Arizona and South Dakota) or nothing beyond the fee (Wisconsin, Indiana). Montana is the most recent addition — it repealed its 24-hour requirement in November 2023. No CE doesn't mean no deadline: a lapsed license in a no-CE state locks you out of shifts just as fast.
States where CE is one of several options
Fifteen states treat CE as one path among several to prove continuing competence — usually interchangeable with practice hours, a current national certification, or academic coursework: Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming, plus Texas (certification substitutes for CE). If you hold a national specialty certification (CCRN, CEN, OCN), check your state's list before buying CE — in many of these states your certification already covers renewal.
Mandatory topics to watch
Even where total hours are low, boards increasingly mandate specific topics. The recurring ones: human trafficking (Florida and Texas, every renewal), implicit bias (Michigan yearly, Illinois every renewal, California and Maryland at first renewal or one-time), child abuse recognition (Pennsylvania, every renewal), opioids and pain management (New Jersey and Oregon), suicide prevention (Utah every renewal, Washington one-time), and health equity (Washington, annually from 2026). One-time requirements are the ones nurses miss when they move states — they don't transfer.
Common questions
Which state has the highest CE requirement for RNs?
Iowa requires 36 contact hours, but on a 3-year cycle — about 12 hours per year. On a per-year basis, California, Delaware, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New Mexico (30 hours per 2 years) are the heaviest. Washington's 8 hours per year plus 96 practice hours is the strictest ongoing check.
I hold a compact (NLC) license. Which state's rules do I follow?
Your home state's. A multistate license renews under your primary state of residence's requirements, regardless of where you practice. If you move your residence to another compact state, you renew under the new state's rules.
Does a national certification replace CE?
In many states, yes — Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and others accept a current national specialty certification in place of CE hours. Check your board's list before paying for courses.
What happens if I'm audited?
Boards audit a random sample each cycle. You'll be asked to produce certificates — typically within 5 to 30 days depending on the state. Most boards require you to keep records for 4 years even though you don't upload them at renewal. Texas begins requiring upload at renewal in September 2026.
How often do these requirements change?
Constantly. In 2026 alone: Tennessee raised its fee from $100 to $140, West Virginia moved its renewal window to June, Washington's health-equity deadline hit, Pennsylvania added an organ-donation requirement, and Oregon began phasing in a 20-hour requirement for 2028. Verify against your board — every row above links to it.
Sources: the 51 boards of nursing linked in the table above, retrieved July 2026. Requirements change — always confirm on your board's page before renewing.
Trust tracks your renewal
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