Virginia Nursing CE Courses
Last updated Mar 1, 2026
Virginia Nursing Continuing Education Requirements
RN Requirements
- 30 hrs OR 15 hrs + 640 active practice hrs of continuing education each renewal period
- RN/
- One approved continued-competency pathway; no blanket mandatory CE topic for RN/LPN
LPN Requirements
- 30 hrs OR 15 hrs + 640 active practice hrs of continuing education each renewal period
- LPN: Every 2 years.
- One approved continued-competency pathway; no blanket mandatory CE topic for RN/LPN
APRN Requirements
- None identified for APRNs licensed on/after May 8, 2002 if current national certification is maintained of continuing education for advanced practice nurses
- Renewal cycle: 2 years
- Pharmacology: 8 Pharmacology/Pharmacotherapeutics if prescriptive authority
- Required topic: Pharmacology or pharmacotherapeutics
Show me the course list for my licence
Virginia RN required courses
22 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.
1 contact hoursRecognize workplace sexual harassment, respond safely, document objectively, report through appropriate channels, and protect patients and colleagues from retaliation.
4 contact hoursBuild practical nursing skills for recognizing autism, supporting assessment, adapting care, managing health needs, and partnering with autistic people and families across the lifespan.
5 contact hoursBuild safe, evidence-based practice for selecting, verifying, administering, monitoring, and responding to transfusions of blood components.
3 contact hoursEvidence-based nursing care for breast cancer screening, diagnosis, staging, treatment, symptom management, survivorship, recurrence, and metastatic disease.
10 contact hoursApply current nursing ethics codes, structured reasoning, informed consent standards, advocacy practices, and professional accountability to common clinical dilemmas.
3 contact hoursBuild nursing skills to assess chronic pain, set functional goals, apply multimodal treatment, reduce medication-related harm, and coordinate person-centered care.
4 contact hoursBuilds nurses’ skills to recognize intersecting clinical and social vulnerability, reduce access barriers, and advocate for safe, equitable, person-centered care.
Virginia nursing CE questions
Straight from the Virginia board
- Renewal period
- RN/LPN: Every 2 years.
- RN requirement
- Multiple continuing-competency pathways; 30 CE is one
- LPN / LVN requirement
- Multiple continuing-competency pathways; 30 CE is one
- Mandatory topics
- One approved continued-competency pathway; no blanket mandatory CE topic for RN/LPN
- Required courses
- RN/LPN: One option is 30 contact hours of continuing education. Another option is 15 contact hours of CE + 640 active practice hours during the renewal period. Other Board-approved competency activities may also satisfy renewal. (Virginia Health Professions) Source: Virginia Board of Nursing.
- Good to know
- Virginia uses continued competency and allows several different ways to satisfy renewal. It is therefore incorrect to describe Virginia as requiring 30 CE hours in every case. The Board permits CE as one pathway and also recognizes practice, certification, academic education and other activities. (Virginia Health Professions)
- Advanced practice CE
- None identified for APRNs licensed on/after May 8, 2002 if current national certification is maintained
- Renewal period
- 2 years
- Pharmacology
- 8 pharmacology contact hours. 8 Pharmacology/Pharmacotherapeutics if prescriptive authority
- Who it applies to
- APRNs with prescriptive authority
- Controlled substances / opioids
- None identified as a separate requirement
- Pain and opioid content
- Yes, where applicable to prescriptive authority
- Prescriptive authority
- Yes
- Who approves the course
- Virginia Board of Nursing
- Accepted providers
- Board-approved/recognized CE providers and qualifying national 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.
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.