Colorado Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist license renewal and CE requirements
Colorado nurse anesthetists must complete 2 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Colorado State Board of Nursing (Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations).
A Colorado nurse anesthetist holds a professional nurse (RN) license plus an advanced practice registered nurse registration on the Advanced Practice Registry in the certified registered nurse anesthetist role, shown as APN, and, if the nurse prescribes, prescriptive authority shown as RXN. All of them renew together: Board Rule 1.14 states that renewal of an APRN's registration is required at the time of the Colorado professional nurse license renewal. The board's own homepage shows the current RN, APN and RXN licenses expiring on September 30, 2026, with the renewal window staying open through November 30, 2026, which is the sixty day grace period allowed by C.R.S. 12-20-202(1)(e).
Summary
Colorado nurse anesthetists must complete 2 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Colorado State Board of Nursing (Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations). A Colorado nurse anesthetist holds a professional nurse (RN) license plus an advanced practice registered nurse registration on the Advanced Practice Registry in the certified registered nurse anesthetist role, shown as APN, and, if the nurse prescribes, prescriptive authority shown as RXN. All of them renew together: Board Rule 1.14 states that renewal of an APRN's registration is required at the time of the Colorado professional nurse license renewal. The board's own homepage shows the current RN, APN and RXN licenses expiring on September 30, 2026, with the renewal window staying open through November 30, 2026, which is the sixty day grace period allowed by C.R.S. 12-20-202(1)(e). Colorado also mandates specific subjects. Substance use prevention training: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle (advanced practice registered nurses with prescriptive authority, which under Rule 1.15 includes nurse anesthetists who hold RXN).
Colorado Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist 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 | Same date for every licensee, 09/30 each cycle |
| Continuing education required | Yes |
| Hours per cycle | 2 contact hours |
| Self-study or online cap | No cap stated |
| Carryover to next cycle | Not stated |
| First renewal exempt | Not stated |
| Other accepted activities | Continuing education courses; Self study of scholarly materials; Peer review proceedings involving opioid prescribing; Volunteer service; Conference attendance; Teaching a course or giving a relevant presentation |
Colorado is a low hour state and the layers work differently from most states. The board's own FAQ states that continuing education hours are not currently required to renew a registered nurse license, and that for APRNs there are no additional continuing education requirements other than what is required to maintain professional certification. Board Rule 1.14 is the shared advanced practice rule: it names the nurse practitioner, certified registered nurse anesthetist, certified nurse midwife and clinical nurse specialist roles together, renews the registry entry with the professional nurse license, and requires the APRN to maintain current certification by a certifying body or petition the board with an alternative method of establishing competency. For a nurse anesthetist the rule points at the national certification examination administered by the Council on Certification of Nurse Anesthetists, so the certifying body's recertification requirement is the practical driver. That is a renewal condition and not a state hour count, and the NBCRNA four year credit structure is not adopted as a Colorado figure. The one state hour count is Board Rule 1.23, which requires an advanced practice registered nurse with prescriptive authority to complete at least two hours of substance use prevention training per renewal period. Rule 1.15 confirms that a nurse anesthetist may hold Colorado prescriptive authority: it lists the nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified registered nurse anesthetist and certified nurse midwife as the roles that may obtain RXN. A nurse anesthetist who does not hold prescriptive authority owes the state no hours at all. The two hours can be met through several activity types, not only formal coursework, and the board may audit compliance.
Required CE topics for Colorado certified registered nurse anesthetists
State-specific subject mandates. Where a mandate applies only to some licensees, the scope is listed.
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Applies to | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Substance use prevention trainingAt least two hours per renewal period demonstrating competency in preventing substance abuse or in treating patients with substance use disorders, also required on reactivation and reinstatement. The rule reaches an advanced practice registered nurse with prescriptive authority and a certified midwife with prescriptive authority; it does not name the nurse anesthetist role separately. The board exempts applicants who qualify under C.R.S. 12-30-114(1)(b). Applicants attest to compliance or exemption at renewal and the board may audit and request documentation. | 2 contact hours | Every renewal | advanced practice registered nurses with prescriptive authority, which under Rule 1.15 includes nurse anesthetists who hold RXN | 3 CCR 716-1, Rule 1.23; C.R.S. 12-30-114 |
Documentation and audit
| Proof submitted at renewal | No, attestation only |
|---|---|
| Keep records for | Not stated |
| Board audits compliance | Yes |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a Colorado CRNA need to renew?
- Colorado nurse anesthetists must complete 2 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Colorado State Board of Nursing (Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations). Colorado is a low hour state and the layers work differently from most states. The board's own FAQ states that continuing education hours are not currently required to renew a registered nurse license, and that for APRNs there are no additional continuing education requirements other than what is required to maintain professional certification. Board Rule 1.14 is the shared advanced practice rule: it names the nurse practitioner, certified registered nurse anesthetist, certified nurse midwife and clinical nurse specialist roles together, renews the registry entry with the professional nurse license, and requires the APRN to maintain current certification by a certifying body or petition the board with an alternative method of establishing competency. For a nurse anesthetist the rule points at the national certification examination administered by the Council on Certification of Nurse Anesthetists, so the certifying body's recertification requirement is the practical driver. That is a renewal condition and not a state hour count, and the NBCRNA four year credit structure is not adopted as a Colorado figure. The one state hour count is Board Rule 1.23, which requires an advanced practice registered nurse with prescriptive authority to complete at least two hours of substance use prevention training per renewal period. Rule 1.15 confirms that a nurse anesthetist may hold Colorado prescriptive authority: it lists the nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified registered nurse anesthetist and certified nurse midwife as the roles that may obtain RXN. A nurse anesthetist who does not hold prescriptive authority owes the state no hours at all. The two hours can be met through several activity types, not only formal coursework, and the board may audit compliance.
- How often does a Colorado CRNA license need to be renewed?
- Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist licenses in Colorado renew every two years. A Colorado nurse anesthetist holds a professional nurse (RN) license plus an advanced practice registered nurse registration on the Advanced Practice Registry in the certified registered nurse anesthetist role, shown as APN, and, if the nurse prescribes, prescriptive authority shown as RXN. All of them renew together: Board Rule 1.14 states that renewal of an APRN's registration is required at the time of the Colorado professional nurse license renewal. The board's own homepage shows the current RN, APN and RXN licenses expiring on September 30, 2026, with the renewal window staying open through November 30, 2026, which is the sixty day grace period allowed by C.R.S. 12-20-202(1)(e).
- What specific CE topics are required for Colorado nurse anesthetists?
- Substance use prevention training: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle (advanced practice registered nurses with prescriptive authority, which under Rule 1.15 includes nurse anesthetists who hold RXN). Citations: substance use prevention training (3 CCR 716-1, Rule 1.23; C.R.S. 12-30-114).
- Do Colorado nurse anesthetists 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.
Sources
Last verified September 8, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- Colorado Nursing Homepage, Division of Professions and OccupationsState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
- Colorado Nursing FAQs, Continued Competency and Continued EducationState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
- 3 CCR 716-1, Rule 1.14, Advanced Practice Registered NursesThird-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
- 3 CCR 716-1, Rule 1.15, Prescriptive AuthorityThird-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
- 3 CCR 716-1, Rule 1.23, Substance Use Prevention TrainingThird-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
- 3 CCR 716-1, Rules and Regulations, Colorado State Board of Nursing (official Code of Colorado Regulations)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 10, 2026
Held at medium and not published because the one state hour figure, the two hours of substance use prevention training, could be read only on the Cornell LII mirror. The Code of Colorado Regulations is served exclusively as generated PDFs from the Secretary of State site (the 3 CCR 716-1 URL returns Content-Type application/pdf), which the no download rule excludes, and dpo.colorado.gov returns 403 to automated clients so its pages were read in a rendered browser. What the board's own pages do confirm on an official host is the September 30 expiration with the November 30 grace period, and the FAQ answers that no continuing education hours are required to renew a registered nurse license and that APRNs owe no additional continuing education other than what is needed to maintain professional certification. That FAQ answer and Rule 1.23 are not in conflict: the FAQ addresses the APRN registration, while the two hour training attaches to the separate RXN prescriptive authority credential, so it is recorded with that scope rather than as a general APRN requirement. Colorado does not issue a distinct CRNA credential: Rule 1.14 registers the nurse anesthetist as one of four advanced practice roles on the Advanced Practice Registry, so this record covers the RN license plus the APN registration in the nurse anesthetist role. Compared with the Colorado nurse practitioner record the requirement is the same, because Rule 1.14, Rule 1.15 and Rule 1.23 are all shared rules rather than nurse practitioner specific ones, and Rule 1.15 explicitly lists the nurse anesthetist among the roles eligible for prescriptive authority. Rule 1.15 cross references the substance use prevention training as Rule 1.25, but the current Rule 1.25 on the mirror is the electronic prescribing rule and the training text sits at Rule 1.23, so a licensee should expect the rule number to move between revisions. Retention period and any approved provider rule were not stated in the sources read. The Colorado nurse practitioner record was published at high confidence on the strength of a review of the official Secretary of State text; that read could not be repeated here without opening a PDF, so this record is held back. Raised to high confidence 2026-09-10. The two hour substance use prevention training is set by 3 CCR 716-1 Rule 1.23, and the official Code of Colorado Regulations text of 3 CCR 716-1 was read on the Secretary of State site during this build. That reading is recorded in co-np, whose notes state that Rule 1.23 reaches every advanced practice registered nurse with prescriptive authority and every certified midwife with prescriptive authority, which covers this role directly. Colorado publishes the CCR only as generated PDFs and dpo.colorado.gov returns 403 to automated clients, so the Cornell LII entries are kept as corroboration rather than as the basis for the figure. This record previously sat at medium while co-np was published on the same sentence of the same rule.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the Colorado State Board of Nursing (Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations) before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.