Arkansas Certified Nurse-Midwife license renewal and CE requirements
Arkansas nurse-midwives must complete 15 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Arkansas State Board of Nursing (Arkansas Department of Health).
Arkansas licenses the nurse-midwife as an advanced practice registered nurse in the certified nurse midwife role. The board states that it renews licenses on a staggered biennial birth date system, so the license expires every two years on a date tied to the licensee's birth date, and a first license may run anywhere from three to twenty seven months depending on that date. Rule 17 CAR 123-207 states that the date for renewal of licensure to practice as an advanced practice registered nurse coincides with renewal of the applicant's registered nurse license. The APRN license renews only after the underlying registered nurse license: the nurse must hold a valid active Arkansas RN license or a compact multistate RN license, and the RN license must be renewed before the APRN renewal link becomes available. The renewal link appears 60 days before expiration, and the board mails a renewal notice 60 days out under 17 CAR 121-801. A nurse-midwife who has been granted full practice authority renews that certificate every three years, on a clock separate from the two year license.
Summary
Arkansas nurse-midwives must complete 15 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Arkansas State Board of Nursing (Arkansas Department of Health). Arkansas licenses the nurse-midwife as an advanced practice registered nurse in the certified nurse midwife role. The board states that it renews licenses on a staggered biennial birth date system, so the license expires every two years on a date tied to the licensee's birth date, and a first license may run anywhere from three to twenty seven months depending on that date. Rule 17 CAR 123-207 states that the date for renewal of licensure to practice as an advanced practice registered nurse coincides with renewal of the applicant's registered nurse license. The APRN license renews only after the underlying registered nurse license: the nurse must hold a valid active Arkansas RN license or a compact multistate RN license, and the RN license must be renewed before the APRN renewal link becomes available. The renewal link appears 60 days before expiration, and the board mails a renewal notice 60 days out under 17 CAR 121-801. A nurse-midwife who has been granted full practice authority renews that certificate every three years, on a clock separate from the two year license. Arkansas also mandates specific subjects. Pharmacotherapeutics continuing education in the APRN's area of certification: 5 contact hours every renewal cycle (nurse-midwives with prescriptive authority). Maintaining professional boundaries and the prescribing rules, regulations and laws that apply to APRNs in Arkansas: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle (nurse-midwives with prescriptive authority).
Arkansas Certified Nurse-Midwife renewal and continuing education rules
"Not stated" means the board's pages and rules we read do not address it. We do not fill in typical values.
| Renewal cycle | Two-year (24 months) |
|---|---|
| Renewal deadline | Tied to the licensee's birth date |
| Continuing education required | Yes |
| Hours per cycle | 15 contact hours |
| Self-study or online cap | No cap stated |
| Carryover to next cycle | Not stated |
| First renewal exempt | Not stated |
| Other accepted activities | Holding a current nationally recognized certification or recertification, in place of the 15 contact hours; Completing a minimum of one college credit hour course in nursing with a grade of C or better during the licensure period, in place of the 15 contact hours |
Arkansas stacks the advanced practice obligation on top of the base nursing obligation rather than replacing it. The board's continuing education page states that active licensed practical nurses, registered nurses and advanced practice registered nurses all satisfy the requirement before each biennial renewal by one of three methods: 15 contact hours of appropriately accredited practice focused activities, or holding a current nationally recognized certification or recertification, or completing at least one college credit hour course in nursing with a grade of C or better during the licensure period. The same page then adds that for each renewal an advanced practice registered nurse with prescriptive authority must complete an additional five contact hours of pharmacotherapeutics related to the specialty certification, and Rule 17 CAR 123-207 repeats the five hour figure and requires that two of the five address maintaining professional boundaries and the prescribing rules, regulations and laws that apply to APRNs in Arkansas. The certification alternative matters for a nurse-midwife: the board's APRN renewal page requires current national certification related to the area of certification at every renewal, and under the board's own second method holding that certification also satisfies the 15 contact hours, so in practice a certified nurse-midwife with prescriptive authority is left with the five pharmacotherapeutics hours. The certifying body's own recertification totals are not recorded here because Arkansas adopts the fact of certification, not an outside hour count. A nurse returning from inactive status or renewing late within five years completes 20 contact hours instead. Licensees no longer list individual courses at renewal and instead affirm that the required continuing education was completed, and the board conducts random audits for compliance.
Required CE topics for Arkansas certified nurse-midwifes
State-specific subject mandates. Where a mandate applies only to some licensees, the scope is listed.
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Applies to | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pharmacotherapeutics continuing education in the APRN's area of certificationFive contact hours each biennium, additional to the 15 hour base requirement, in the nurse-midwife's area of APRN certification and completed within the two years before renewal. Two of these five hours are the professional boundaries and prescribing law hours recorded separately, so the five hours are not all pharmacology content. | 5 contact hours | Every renewal | nurse-midwives with prescriptive authority | 17 CAR 123-207 |
| Maintaining professional boundaries and the prescribing rules, regulations and laws that apply to APRNs in ArkansasThese two hours sit inside the five pharmacotherapeutics hours rather than being additional to them. They are not a separate obligation, and the rule and the board's APRN renewal page state the requirement the same way. | 2 contact hours | Every renewal | nurse-midwives with prescriptive authority | 17 CAR 123-207 |
Documentation and audit
| Proof submitted at renewal | No, attestation only |
|---|---|
| Keep records for | Not stated |
| Board audits compliance | Yes |
| Approved providers | Contact hours must come from appropriately accredited practice focused activities. Current national certification related to the area of certification must be on file with the board and is submitted at each renewal. |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a Arkansas CNM need to renew?
- Arkansas nurse-midwives must complete 15 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Arkansas State Board of Nursing (Arkansas Department of Health). Arkansas stacks the advanced practice obligation on top of the base nursing obligation rather than replacing it. The board's continuing education page states that active licensed practical nurses, registered nurses and advanced practice registered nurses all satisfy the requirement before each biennial renewal by one of three methods: 15 contact hours of appropriately accredited practice focused activities, or holding a current nationally recognized certification or recertification, or completing at least one college credit hour course in nursing with a grade of C or better during the licensure period. The same page then adds that for each renewal an advanced practice registered nurse with prescriptive authority must complete an additional five contact hours of pharmacotherapeutics related to the specialty certification, and Rule 17 CAR 123-207 repeats the five hour figure and requires that two of the five address maintaining professional boundaries and the prescribing rules, regulations and laws that apply to APRNs in Arkansas. The certification alternative matters for a nurse-midwife: the board's APRN renewal page requires current national certification related to the area of certification at every renewal, and under the board's own second method holding that certification also satisfies the 15 contact hours, so in practice a certified nurse-midwife with prescriptive authority is left with the five pharmacotherapeutics hours. The certifying body's own recertification totals are not recorded here because Arkansas adopts the fact of certification, not an outside hour count. A nurse returning from inactive status or renewing late within five years completes 20 contact hours instead. Licensees no longer list individual courses at renewal and instead affirm that the required continuing education was completed, and the board conducts random audits for compliance.
- How often does a Arkansas CNM license need to be renewed?
- Certified Nurse-Midwife licenses in Arkansas renew every two years. Arkansas licenses the nurse-midwife as an advanced practice registered nurse in the certified nurse midwife role. The board states that it renews licenses on a staggered biennial birth date system, so the license expires every two years on a date tied to the licensee's birth date, and a first license may run anywhere from three to twenty seven months depending on that date. Rule 17 CAR 123-207 states that the date for renewal of licensure to practice as an advanced practice registered nurse coincides with renewal of the applicant's registered nurse license. The APRN license renews only after the underlying registered nurse license: the nurse must hold a valid active Arkansas RN license or a compact multistate RN license, and the RN license must be renewed before the APRN renewal link becomes available. The renewal link appears 60 days before expiration, and the board mails a renewal notice 60 days out under 17 CAR 121-801. A nurse-midwife who has been granted full practice authority renews that certificate every three years, on a clock separate from the two year license.
- What specific CE topics are required for Arkansas nurse-midwives?
- Pharmacotherapeutics continuing education in the APRN's area of certification: 5 contact hours every renewal cycle (nurse-midwives with prescriptive authority). Maintaining professional boundaries and the prescribing rules, regulations and laws that apply to APRNs in Arkansas: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle (nurse-midwives with prescriptive authority). Citations: pharmacotherapeutics continuing education in the APRN's area of certification (17 CAR 123-207) and maintaining professional boundaries and the prescribing rules, regulations and laws that apply to APRNs in Arkansas (17 CAR 123-207).
- Do Arkansas nurse-midwives have to submit CE certificates at renewal?
- Licensees attest to completion at renewal rather than submitting certificates and the board audits a sample of renewals and asks for documentation. Contact hours must come from appropriately accredited practice focused activities. Current national certification related to the area of certification must be on file with the board and is submitted at each renewal.
Sources
Last verified September 10, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- Advanced Practice, Arkansas State Board of NursingState board page, accessed September 10, 2026
- Continuing Education, Arkansas State Board of NursingState board page, accessed September 10, 2026
- APRN Renewal Application Information, Arkansas State Board of NursingState board page, accessed September 10, 2026
- Renewal of Arkansas License, Arkansas State Board of NursingState board page, accessed September 10, 2026
- 17 CAR 123-207, Renewals (advanced practice registered nurse)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 10, 2026
- 17 CAR 121-801, Renewals generallyStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 10, 2026
- Licensed Lay Midwifery, Arkansas Department of HealthState board page, accessed September 10, 2026
Arkansas has a distinct nurse-midwife credential. The Arkansas State Board of Nursing's advanced practice page lists the four APRN roles it licenses as Certified Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist and Certified Nurse Midwife, and states that every APRN must keep current national certification on file with the board to hold an active APRN license. The board pattern is a board of nursing licensing the nurse-midwife as an APRN with a role designation; the board sits inside the Arkansas Department of Health but is a nursing board, and no medical board approval appears in the rules read. The rule read here was established to govern the nurse-midwife rather than another kind of midwife in two ways: 17 CAR 123-207 is the renewal rule for the advanced practice registered nurse license, the credential the board issues to a CNM, and the Arkansas Department of Health's own licensed lay midwifery page draws the line explicitly, stating that although the Licensed Lay Midwife is not a Physician or Certified Nurse Midwife, she is trained in prenatal care, labor and delivery, postpartum care and newborn care. That program is run by a different part of the department, the Women's Health program, under Board of Health rules, and nothing from it is recorded here. The 15 contact hour base requirement, the three methods of satisfying it, the additional five pharmacotherapeutics hours for prescribers, the random audits and the affirmation instead of course listing were read on the board's own continuing education page; the five hours and the two boundary and prescribing law hours were read again on the board's APRN renewal page and in 17 CAR 123-207 on the official Arkansas code host. CNM continuing education is stacked: the 15 hours come through the nursing license and the five pharmacotherapeutics hours are added on top for a prescriber. National certification is both a renewal condition and, under the board's second method, an accepted substitute for the 15 contact hours, so it is recorded in alternatives_accepted as well as described in the notes. Topic keys pharmacology and jurisprudence are used; the two jurisprudence hours are a subset of the five pharmacotherapeutics hours, not an addition, and that is stated in both topic entries so a reader does not double count. These values match the existing ar-np and ar-crna records, which record the same 15 hour base and the same five and two hour figures. One ordinary gap: the board did not state carryover, first renewal proration or a record retention period on the pages read, so those fields are null. The board's own pages and rules read here require current national certification without naming the American Midwifery Certification Board, so no certifying body is named in this record's fields.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the Arkansas State Board of Nursing (Arkansas Department of Health) before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.