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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

A Middle Eastern male nurse in grey scrubs studying on a laptop in a hospital break room

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.

A registered nurse performs a respiratory and mobility assessment with an adolescent who has muscular dystrophy and uses a power wheelchair in a neuromuscular clinic.4 contact hours
Clinical Practice

A practical nursing overview of muscular dystrophies, with emphasis on recognition, diagnosis, Duchenne care, complication surveillance, and interdisciplinary management.

Updated Sep 19, 2026
$20.00($5 per contact hour) or included with All-AccessView course
A diverse team of nurses and a patient participate in a respectful bedside discussion while a qualified interpreter supports communication.2 contact hours
Cultural Competency

Build practical skills to recognize and interrupt implicit bias in clinical decisions, communication, staffing, and systems of care.

Updated Sep 19, 2026
$10.00($5 per contact hour) or included with All-AccessView course
A registered nurse calmly assesses an adult with asthma in a bright clinical examination room, listening to lung sounds while reviewing respiratory effort and oxygen saturation.3 contact hours
Clinical Practice

After 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.

Updated Sep 19, 2026
$15.00($5 per contact hour) or included with All-AccessView course
A registered nurse and adult patient reviewing glucose trends and an individualized diabetes care plan in a professional outpatient clinical setting.4 contact hours
Clinical Practice

Build nursing competence in recognizing, diagnosing, monitoring, and managing type 1, type 2, gestational, and monogenic diabetes across care settings.

Updated Sep 19, 2026
$20.00($5 per contact hour) or included with All-AccessView course
Improving Interprofessional Communication and Collaboration1 contact hours
Clinical Practice
Free

To provide healthcare professionals an overview of common interprofessional communication and collaboration principles, and tools for conflict prevention within the healthcare setting.

A nurse's gloved hands disinfecting a bedside surface in a hospital room.4 contact hours
Infection Control

The 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).

Updated Mar 28, 2026
PA
WA
$19.00($5 per contact hour) or included with All-AccessView course
Two nurses and an adult patient seated in a private clinical consultation, reviewing care choices together with attentive, respectful communication.10 contact hours
Law & Ethics

Apply current nursing ethics codes, structured reasoning, informed consent standards, advocacy practices, and professional accountability to common clinical dilemmas.

Updated Sep 19, 2026
$29.99($5 per contact hour) or included with All-AccessView course
Registered nurse reviewing an antibiotic order, culture results, renal laboratory values, and allergy history at a hospital workstation before medication administration.4 contact hours
Pharmacology

Build practical nursing knowledge of antibiotic classes, selection, resistance, adverse effects, administration, monitoring, and patient education.

Updated Sep 19, 2026
$20.00($5 per contact hour) or included with All-AccessView course
Browse every course for this state

North Carolina nursing CE questions

Straight from the North Carolina board

What the board publishes
Verified Sep 14, 2026
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)
North Carolina Board of Nursing
APRN, NP, CRNA and CNM requirements
Verified Sep 14, 2026
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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Ask about requirements, a course, pricing or your license. Answers come from our own course list and state notes.

Ask about your license or a course

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.