North Carolina Nursing CE Courses
Last updated Mar 1, 2026
North Carolina Nursing Continuing Education Requirements
RN Requirements
- 30 Contact Hours of continued education; or 15 Contact Hours of continued education combined with another qualifying learning option of continuing education each renewal period
- RN/
- Must meet one of the Board's approved continuing-competence options; not simply “30 CE hours”
LPN Requirements
- 30 Contact Hours of continued education; or 15 Contact Hours of continued education combined with another qualifying learning option of continuing education each renewal period
- LPN: Generally every 2 years, with renewal due by the last day of the nurse's birth month. (NCBON)
- Must meet one of the Board's approved continuing-competence options; not simply “30 CE hours”
APRN Requirements
- 50 hours OR current national certification of continuing education for advanced practice nurses
- Renewal cycle: 2 years
- Pharmacology: 1 hour controlled-substance CE for NPs who prescribe controlled substances
- Required topic: Controlled-substance prescribing, misuse/abuse, chronic-pain prescribing
Show me the course list for my licence

North Carolina RN required courses
32 contact hours in this list, included with your yearly pass. Always confirm with your board before you renew.
This board names no specific required topic for RNs — any of our courses count toward your hours.
Elective courses
Pick from these to finish your hours. Every one is included with the yearly pass.
4 contact hoursA practical nursing overview of muscular dystrophies, with emphasis on recognition, diagnosis, Duchenne care, complication surveillance, and interdisciplinary management.
2 contact hoursBuild practical skills to recognize and interrupt implicit bias in clinical decisions, communication, staffing, and systems of care.
3 contact hoursAfter completing this course, the nurse will be able to recognize variable asthma symptoms, assess exacerbation severity, and explain the objective tests used to confirm airflow variability.
4 contact hoursBuild nursing competence in recognizing, diagnosing, monitoring, and managing type 1, type 2, gestational, and monogenic diabetes across care settings.
1 contact hoursTo provide healthcare professionals an overview of common interprofessional communication and collaboration principles, and tools for conflict prevention within the healthcare setting.
4 contact hoursThe role of infection control is to reduce and prevent the risk for hospital-acquired infections. To practice effective infection control practices, the healthcare professional must be knowledgeable of methods to prevent infection transmission. This training provides an overview on infection control and barrier precautions and covers the most current and scientifically accepted practices in infection control as recommended by the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
10 contact hoursApply current nursing ethics codes, structured reasoning, informed consent standards, advocacy practices, and professional accountability to common clinical dilemmas.
4 contact hoursBuild practical nursing knowledge of antibiotic classes, selection, resistance, adverse effects, administration, monitoring, and patient education.
North Carolina nursing CE questions
Straight from the North Carolina board
- Renewal period
- RN/LPN: Generally every 2 years, with renewal due by the last day of the nurse's birth month. (NCBON)
- RN requirement
- Continuing competency pathways; 30 CE is one pathway
- LPN / LVN requirement
- Continuing competency pathways; 30 CE is one pathway
- Mandatory topics
- Must meet one of the Board's approved continuing-competence options; not simply “30 CE hours”
- Required courses
- RN/LPN: One approved option is 30 contact hours CE. Another is 15 CE hours + 640 active practice hours during the preceding 2 years. Other options include national certification, refresher course, academic education, nursing projects, publications, or CE presentations. (NCBON)
- Good to know
- North Carolina does not require a fixed 30 CE hours. RN/LPNs must complete the Board's Continuing Competence requirement and select one of eight approved learning options. Evidence is generally submitted only if selected for audit. (NCBON)
- Advanced practice CE
- 50 hours OR current national certification
- Renewal period
- 2 years
- Pharmacology
- 1 pharmacology contact hours. 1 hour controlled-substance CE for NPs who prescribe controlled substances
- Who it applies to
- APRNs prescribing controlled substances
- Controlled substances / opioids
- Yes
- Pain and opioid content
- Yes — chronic pain management
- Prescriptive authority
- Yes
- Who approves the course
- North Carolina Board of Nursing
- Accepted providers
- Board-recognized continuing education providers/organizations
Source citation pending admin review (placeholder). Reviewed Mar 1, 2026. User self-report (confirm with Board)
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Answers come from Fast CE For Less's own course list and our notes on state requirements. Always check your board's own rules before you count hours.
