Nursing CE Requirements by State: 2026 Quick Reference for RNs and LPNs

Continuing nursing education rules look simple on paper — earn X hours, renew your license — and then you actually try to renew in two states with two different cycles, two different mandatory-topic lists, and two different reporting systems. This is the 2026 quick reference we use internally for RN and LPN renewals: hours per cycle, the mandatory topics that catch nurses off guard, the handful of states that still require zero CE, and where audit risk is highest. It is intentionally tier-organized so you can find your obligation in under a minute.

Tier 1: High-Hour States (30+ Hours Per Cycle)

These states sit at the top of the contact-hour curve. If you hold one of these licenses, plan your CE pacing across the cycle rather than scrambling in the renewal month.

California (RN/LVN): 30 contact hours every two years. New licensees must also complete a one-hour direct-participation implicit bias course within their first two years (AB 1407). Random audits are routine — Title 16 CCR §1451 lets the BRN pull any active license at renewal.
Iowa (RN/LPN): 36 contact hours every three years (triennial cycle), with mandatory child and dependent adult abuse identification training every three to five years depending on practice setting.
Nevada (RN/LPN): 30 contact hours per two-year renewal, including 4 hours of bioterrorism (one-time), and required courses on suicide assessment and cultural competence.
New York (RN/LPN): No general CE hours, but mandatory coursework: child abuse identification (one-time), infection control (every four years), and 2 hours of training on the prevention of intimate partner violence (one-time).

Tier 2: Mid-Range States (20-28 Hours Per Cycle)

Most compact-state nurses sit in this band. Hours alone are manageable; it is the mandatory-topic carve-outs that create the audit risk.

Florida (RN/LPN): 24 contact hours per biennial renewal, plus a fixed list of mandatory topics: 2 hours medical errors, 2 hours Florida laws and rules, 2 hours human trafficking (every third renewal), 2 hours domestic violence (every third renewal), and 1 hour HIV/AIDS at first renewal. Florida reports through CE Broker, and post-renewal audits are common.
Texas (RN/LVN): 20 contact hours every two years, with targeted-topic requirements depending on practice area: 2 hours older-adult/geriatric care for nurses with 50%+ adult/geriatric load, plus forensic evidence collection for nurses in emergency settings.
Illinois (RN/LPN): 20 hours per two-year cycle, including 1 hour implicit bias (HB 158, every renewal) and 1 hour Alzheimer's/dementia training. Sexual harassment prevention is also required for any Illinois professional license.
Pennsylvania (RN/LPN): 30 hours per cycle for RNs, with 2 hours of opioid and pain management CE required at every renewal, plus 2 hours of child abuse recognition and reporting (one-time, but verified at renewal).
New Jersey (RN/LPN): 30 hours per renewal including 1 hour of opioid prescribing/addiction CE and 1 hour of organ and tissue donation awareness for first renewal.
Massachusetts (RN/LPN): 15 contact hours per renewal, plus a one-time 2-hour course in identifying and reporting child abuse and a 2-hour endocrine disruptor course as part of recent rule updates.

Tier 3: Lower-Hour and Annual-Cycle States

A handful of states use annual cycles or smaller hour totals — easy to underestimate because the absolute number is small, but missing an annual deadline is just as disqualifying as missing a biennial one.

Kentucky (RN/LPN): 14 contact hours per year, or alternative competencies including a national certification or evidence-based practice project. Mandatory pediatric abuse head trauma recognition (1.5 hours) is required for many practice categories.
Washington (RN/LPN): 45 hours every three years, plus 531 practice hours. The 2-hour health equity CE rule is now fully phased in for 2026 renewals.
Ohio (RN/LPN): 24 contact hours every two years, with 1 hour required on Category A (Ohio law and rules).
Michigan (RN/LPN): 25 hours per two-year cycle, including 2 hours of pain and pain symptom management, 2 hours of implicit bias training (every renewal under PA 154 of 2021), and 1 hour of human trafficking.

Tier 4: No-CE States

A small group of states require zero general CE hours for routine RN or LPN renewal. This does not mean your employer or specialty certification will not require CE — only that the Board of Nursing itself does not. If you carry a multistate license with one of these as your home state and you also work in a CE-required state, your home state's rules govern. Nurses cross-checked under the NLC follow their primary-state-of-residence requirements.

Missouri — no CE for renewal; $85 renewal fee.
Tennessee — no general CE; some specialty practice areas have separate rules.
Indiana — no CE requirement for RN/LPN.
Maryland — no general CE for RN/LPN renewal (CNAs and APRNs differ).
Wisconsin — no general CE for RN/LPN renewal.
Connecticut, Colorado, New Hampshire, Vermont, South Dakota — also operate without standard CE hour requirements, though several mandate practice-hour minimums or one-time topics.

Mandatory-Topic Cheat Sheet (The Real Audit Trap)

The hour totals are rarely what trips nurses up at audit. The mandatory topics are. Here is the 2026 grid we use:

HIV/AIDS: Florida (1 hour at first licensure), New York (one-time), California (one-time at first renewal in some categories).
Opioid / pain management: Pennsylvania (every renewal), New Jersey (every renewal), Massachusetts (one-time), Tennessee (prescribers).
Implicit bias: California (first two years post-licensure), Illinois (every renewal), Michigan (every renewal), Washington (one-time as part of health equity 2-hour rule).
Child abuse identification and reporting: New York (one-time), Kentucky (pediatric abusive head trauma, repeating), Massachusetts (one-time), Pennsylvania (one-time, verified each renewal).
Human trafficking: Florida (every third renewal), Michigan (one-time), Texas (recommended for ED nurses).
Domestic / intimate partner violence: Florida (every third renewal), New York (one-time, 2 hours).

CE Broker States and Audit Risk

CE Broker is the official CE tracking system for nursing in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Carolina, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, and several others. If your state uses CE Broker, your CE provider typically reports completed courses directly into your account, but you remain responsible for confirming the entries and pulling a transcript before renewal. CE Broker states generally run higher post-renewal audit rates because the auditing infrastructure is built in. California, by contrast, audits without CE Broker but at high enough rates that practical compliance behavior is identical: keep certificates for at least four years, pulled and stored in one place.

How the NLC Affects Your CE Obligations

The Nurse Licensure Compact gives you one multistate license tied to your primary state of residence. Your home state's Board of Nursing sets your CE rules — even when most of your practice is across state lines. Move your residence and you change CE regimes; the new home state's hours and topics replace the old ones at the next renewal. If you work in a non-compact state (California, New York, Oregon, etc.) on a single-state license, that license's CE rules also apply to that license, separately from your compact requirements. Holding both simultaneously means stacking both sets of obligations.

What We Do for CE-Heavy Renewals

For NLC clients renewing in a high-hour state or one with multiple mandatory topics, we map the renewal cycle, audit each topic-by-topic requirement against the current Board rule (these change), confirm CE Broker or equivalent reporting is current, and flag the audit-risk cycle date. The goal is that nothing about CE is a surprise in the renewal month.

Sources: California Board of Registered Nursing — CE for License Renewal; Texas Board of Nursing — Continuing Nursing Education; Illinois Nursing Workforce Center — CE; Washington State Board of Nursing — Continuing Competency; Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing — Mandatory CE; Nurse.org — CE Requirements by State.

CE rules are the unglamorous part of nursing licensure and the part that most often blocks a renewal at the last minute. Build a tracking habit at the start of every cycle, store your certificates, and keep an eye on mandatory-topic changes — most state-level CE surprises in 2026 are new topic mandates, not new hour totals.