NP · CRNA · CNM · CNS
California APRN continuing education requirements
30 hours through RN renewal
APRN, NP, CRNA and CNM requirements
Verified Sep 15, 2026
- Advanced practice CE
- 30 hours through RN renewal
- Renewal period
- 2 years
- Pharmacology
- 6 gerontology hours for qualifying NPs
- Who it applies to
- NPs with Schedule II furnishing privileges
- Controlled substances / opioids
- Yes, for Schedule II authority
- Pain and opioid content
- Yes — addiction risks associated with Schedule II drugs
- Prescriptive authority
- Yes
- Who approves the course
- California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN)
- Accepted providers
- BRN-approved CEPs; qualifying state/regional/national professional associations; ANCC-approved regional accrediting bodies for out-of-state courses
What the board publishes
Verified Sep 17, 2026
- Renewal period
- RN/LVN: Generally every 2 years.
- RN requirement
- 30/2 yrs
- LPN / LVN requirement
- 30/2 yrs
- Mandatory topics
- Implicit Bias requirement; NP with >25% patients age 65+ must complete 6 of the 30 hrs in gerontology/dementia/older-patient care
- Required courses
- RN: 30 contact hours every 2 years, plus 1 hour implicit-bias training within the first 2 years of licensure. (California Board of Registered Nursing) LPN/LVN: Do not automatically copy the RN wording; LVN requirements should be sourced from the BVNPT. Source: California Board of Registered Nursing / BVNPT.
- Good to know
- RN: 30 contact hours of CE are required for active renewal through a Board-recognized provider. There is a first-two-years exemption from the general CE requirement, but the 1-hour implicit-bias requirement still applies. (California Board of Registered Nursing) LPN/LVN: Verify against the California Board of Vocational Nursing & Psychiatric Technicians for the LVN-specific renewal rules before final publication. Source: California Board of Registered Nursing for RN requirements.
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