Texas Nursing CE Requirements for License Renewal: RN, LVN, and APRN

Last Updated: July 31, 2026

The change coming September 1, 2026

Under Senate Bill 912 (89th Legislative Session), Texas nurses will be required to upload all required CE certificates in the Texas Nurse Portal before renewing, beginning September 1, 2026. Texas renewal has historically been attestation-based: you signed a statement that you completed your hours, and you produced certificates only if you were selected for a random audit.

That changes. Every nurse renewing on or after September 1, 2026 needs the actual certificates in hand at the time of renewal, not just the completed hours.

What this means practically:

  • Certificates you cannot retrieve are the same as hours you did not complete.

  • Certificates must contain the elements Board Rule 216.4 specifies (listed below). A course completion screen or a certification card is not sufficient.

  • If your CE provider gates certificate access behind an active subscription, you need to confirm you can still retrieve those certificates at renewal time.

Verify the current implementation status with the Texas Board of Nursing before you renew: Texas Board of Nursing | (512) 305-7400. For a practical walkthrough of the upload process, see Renew Now CE SB 912 guide and Renew Now CE Texas CE verification process.

The rule, stated plainly

Every Texas nurse — LVN, RN, and APRN — must do one of two things each licensing period (Board Rule 216.3):

  1. Complete 20 contact hours of continuing nursing education in the nurse's area of practice, OR

  2. Achieve, maintain, or renew a Board-approved national nursing certification in the nurse's area of practice.

Both paths are subject to targeted CE requirements on top. Choosing the certification path does not exempt you from the mandated topics. This is the single most misunderstood point in Texas renewal.

APRNs are not additive. The 20 hours that satisfy your APRN renewal also satisfy your RN renewal. You do not need 40. (Board Rule 216.3)

APRNs with prescriptive authority need 5 pharmacotherapeutics hours above the 20. These are required whether you take the CE path or the certification path.

Quick answer: what CE do I need to renew my Texas nursing license?

If your question is simply “what CE do I need to renew my Texas nursing license,” the Texas Board of Nursing answer is straightforward: Texas RNs and LVNs need 20 contact hours every 2-year licensing period in their area of practice, or a Board-approved national nursing certification instead. Targeted topics such as Nursing Jurisprudence & Ethics, older adult care when applicable, and Human Trafficking Prevention when applicable still apply on top of that baseline. Texas Board of Nursing

For APRNs, the base rule is still 20 contact hours in the advanced practice role and population focus area or qualifying national certification, but APRNs with prescriptive authority must complete 5 additional pharmacotherapeutics hours above the 20. If the APRN prescribes opioids under a prescriptive authority agreement, the annual pain-management requirement applies too.

For nurses who want the simplest RN/LVN CE path rather than piecing courses together, Renew Now CE Texas Nursing CE Renewal Package is a pay-once 20-hour bundle for Texas RN and LVN renewal: $49, ANCC-accredited under provider P0557, instant certificate download, and both Texas BON-targeted topics included. That matters more heading into the SB 912 certificate-upload change effective September 1, 2026, because retrieval of the actual certificate becomes part of renewal, not just audit readiness.

If you are verifying whether a specific course or package fits your license type, use Renew Now CE’s verification playbook before you buy.

Texas RN and LVN requirements at a glance

Requirement Hours Frequency Applies to
General CE 20 contact hours Every 2-year licensing period All RNs and LVNs on the CE path
National certification (alternative) Set by your certifying body Achieved, maintained, or renewed within the licensing period Substitutes for the 20 hours
Nursing Jurisprudence & Ethics 2 contact hours Before the end of every third licensing period (every 6 years) All nurses. CNE only — certification cannot substitute (Rule 216.3(g))
Older Adult / Geriatric Care 2 contact hours Every renewal Nurses whose practice includes older adult populations (Rule 216.3(h))
Human Trafficking Prevention No specified hour count Every renewal Nurses who provide direct patient care. Free from Texas HHSC
Forensic Evidence Collection 2 contact hours One-time, not recurring Nurses working in emergency department settings (Rule 216.3(d))

CME does not count for RN or LVN renewal. Continuing Medical Education is on the Board's list of activities that do not meet continuing education requirements (Rule 216.6). The only exception is for APRNs, in their advanced practice role and population focus area — see below.

Texas APRN and NP requirements at a glance

Requirement Hours Frequency Applies to
General CE 20 contact hours in the advanced practice role and population focus Every 2-year licensing period All APRNs on the CE path. Also satisfies the RN requirement
National certification (alternative) Set by your certifying body Achieved, maintained, or renewed within the licensing period Substitutes for the 20 hours
Pharmacotherapeutics 5 contact hours, above and beyond the 20 Every renewal APRNs with prescriptive authority. Required on both the CE path and the certification path (Rule 216.3(c)(3))
Pain management / controlled substances 2 contact hours annually (4 per 2-year cycle) Annually APRNs whose prescriptive authority agreement authorizes opioid prescribing (Rule 216.3(c)(4))
Nursing Jurisprudence & Ethics 2 contact hours Every 6 years All APRNs. CNE only — CME cannot substitute
Older Adult / Geriatric Care 2 contact hours Every renewal APRNs whose practice includes older adult populations
Human Trafficking Prevention No specified hour count Every renewal APRNs who provide direct patient care. Free from Texas HHSC
Prescription Monitoring Program 2 contact hours One-time, within the first year of licensure APRNs authorized to access the PMP

ANCC Recertification note:

On the certification path: Texas doesn't specify hours — the requirement is that the certification was achieved, maintained, or renewed within your licensing period. Hours are set by the certifying body. ANCC APRN certification renewal, for example, requires 75 contact hours including 25 in pharmacology. If you already maintain certification, that's work you're doing regardless and Texas accepts it in place of the 20. If you don't, the CE path is fewer hours.

On CME: APRNs — and only APRNs — may use Category I CME toward BON continuing competency requirements, in their advanced practice role and population focus area. This includes the 5 pharmacotherapeutics hours. The exception is Nursing Jurisprudence and Ethics, which must be CNE; CME does not satisfy it.

For RNs and LVNs, CME does not count at all.

Licensing periods and deadlines

Your Texas license expires on the last day of your birth month, in odd-numbered years if you were born in an odd-numbered year and even-numbered years if you were born in an even-numbered year (Board Rule 216.1(14)).

Your licensing period runs from the first day of the month after your birth month through the last day of your birth month two years later. Hours must be earned inside that window. Hours earned in a previous licensing period do not count. Extra hours do not carry forward.

Initial licenses, and the first period after renewing a delinquent license or reactivating an inactive one, may run 6 to 29 months rather than the standard 24.

Do not apply to renew before your hours are complete. Renewing without having met the requirements is grounds for disciplinary action. If your license expires in August and you finish your last course on August 28, you renew after August 28 — and before August 31.

Who can issue CE that Texas accepts

Texas accepts CE from providers approved by Board-recognized credentialing agencies, including the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), AACN, AANA, AANP, ACNM, ENA, NAPNES, NALPN, NAPNAP, NLN, U.S. colleges and universities, other State Boards of Nursing, and TLVN.

Organizations accredited by one of these agencies also qualify. An ANCC-accredited provider's contact hours are acceptable to the Texas BON when the content is in the nurse's area of practice.

Renew Now CE is ANCC Accredited Provider P0557. See the Trust Center for verification paths.

Not acceptable as CE (Rule 216.6): BLS, CPR, employer in-services, orientation programs, nursing refresher courses, self-improvement courses, financial courses, courses designed for lay people, and CME — except when completed by an APRN in their role and population focus, and never for Jurisprudence & Ethics.

Recordkeeping and audits

Texas does not use CE Broker. Unlike Florida and roughly a dozen other states, there is no central registry where your Texas completions are reported and stored on your behalf. Your certificates are your record, and you are responsible for keeping them.

Retention: Keep certificates for a minimum of three consecutive licensing periods or six years (Board Rules 216.7 and 216.3(d)(3)). Forensic Evidence Collection documentation must be kept indefinitely.

What a valid certificate must contain (Board Rule 216.4):

  • Name of the provider

  • Program title, date, and location

  • Number of contact hours

  • Provider number

  • Name of the credentialing agency

Certification cards — ACLS, PALS, and similar — do not meet this standard.

Audits: The Board selects a random sample of nurses 90 days before each renewal month and notifies them by mail (and by email, where an address is on file). The audit runs through an online portal managed by eStrategy Solutions. If you are selected, you cannot renew until your documentation has been submitted, reviewed, and approved — allow up to 10 business days. Failing an audit means automatic re-audit the following licensing period. Falsifying records is grounds for disciplinary action.

Note that the SB 912 upload requirement (September 1, 2026) is separate from and additional to the random audit process.

Human Trafficking Prevention: free from the state

Texas requires nurses who provide direct patient care to complete an HHSC-approved Human Trafficking Prevention course every renewal. Texas Occupations Code

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission provides this course at no cost. It is available through the Texas HHS Learning Portal.

Renew Now CE does not sell a Texas human trafficking course. The state provides one free, and the HHSC approval list is closed to new applicants. Take the free course, download the certificate, and keep it with your records.

Some CE vendors bundle a human trafficking course into paid Texas packages. Verify any such course appears on the HHSC-approved list before relying on it.

Renew Now CE Texas packages

Package Hours Price Built for
Texas Nursing CE Renewal Package — RN & LVN 20 contact hours (4 courses) $49 one-time RNs and LVNs taking the CE path. Covers all 20 hours plus Jurisprudence & Ethics and Geriatric Care
Texas NP & APRN Mandatory CE Package 17 contact hours, 12 pharmacotherapy $99 one-time APRNs taking the certification path who still need targeted topics and the +5 pharmacotherapeutics
Texas APRN/NP Complete CE Renewal Package 25 contact hours, 15 pharmacology $149 one-time APRNs taking the CE path who need general hours and pharmacotherapeutics together

Which one:

  • RN or LVN → the 20-hour package.

  • APRN who maintains national certification → the 17-hour Mandatory package. Your certification covers the 20 general hours; it does not cover your targeted topics or your +5 pharmacotherapeutics.

  • APRN who does not maintain certification → the Complete package.

  • Opioid prescriber → any package above covers Year 1 of the annual 2-hour pain management requirement. You need 2 more hours for Year 2.

  • ER nurse who has never taken Forensic Evidence Collection → that one-time 2-hour requirement is not in any package. Contact Renew Now CE.

Pay once for exactly this renewal

Renew Now CE has no subscription, no membership, and no auto-renewal. You buy the hours your license requires, once.

This matters more in Texas than in most states, for a specific reason: Texas has no CE Broker and, from September 1, 2026, requires you to produce certificates at renewal. Your proof of completion is entirely your own. It should not be held behind a membership you have to keep paying for in order to retrieve it.

Renew Now CE certificates are issued instantly on completion, contain every element Rule 216.4 requires including provider number P0557, and remain accessible in your account.

Frequently asked questions

How many CE hours do Texas RNs need? 20 contact hours every 2-year licensing period, in the nurse's area of practice — or achieve, maintain, or renew a Board-approved national nursing certification instead. Targeted CE requirements apply on top of either path.

Do LVNs have different requirements than RNs? No. LVNs and RNs have the same 20-hour requirement, the same certification alternative, and the same targeted CE requirements.

Do I have to upload my CE certificates to renew in Texas? Beginning September 1, 2026, yes — under SB 912, in the Texas Nurse Portal. Before that date, renewal is attestation-based and certificates are produced only on audit. Confirm current status with the Texas BON.

Does national certification get me out of CE entirely? No. It substitutes for the 20 general hours. Jurisprudence & Ethics, Geriatric Care, Human Trafficking Prevention, and — for prescribing APRNs — the 5 pharmacotherapeutics hours all still apply. Jurisprudence & Ethics specifically cannot be satisfied by certification.

How often do I need Nursing Jurisprudence & Ethics? 2 contact hours before the end of every third two-year licensing period — every 6 years. Completing it early is fine; the hours count toward your 20 for that period.

Do APRNs need 20 hours for the APRN license plus 20 for the RN license? No. The same 20 hours satisfy both. Only the +5 pharmacotherapeutics hours are additional.

How many pharmacotherapeutics hours do Texas APRNs need? 5 contact hours above the 20, every renewal, for APRNs with prescriptive authority — on both the CE path and the certification path.

Can APRNs use CME for Texas BON requirements? Yes for most requirements, in your advanced practice role and population focus area — including the 5 pharmacotherapeutics hours. Not for Nursing Jurisprudence & Ethics, which must be CNE.

Can RNs and LVNs use CME? No. CME is not acceptable for RN or LVN continuing competency under Rule 216.6. The APRN allowance does not extend to RN or LVN renewal.

Is the Texas human trafficking course free? Yes. Texas HHSC provides it at no cost through the HHS Learning Portal. You should not pay for it.

Does Texas use CE Broker? No. Texas nurses keep their own records. Retain certificates for six years, or three consecutive licensing periods.

How long do I keep my Texas CE certificates? Six years, or three consecutive licensing periods. Forensic Evidence Collection documentation: indefinitely.

When does my Texas nursing license expire? The last day of your birth month, every two years — odd years if you were born in an odd-numbered year, even years if even.

Does the Texas BON accept online CE? Yes, from providers approved by Board-recognized credentialing agencies including the ANCC, when the content is in your area of practice.

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