Connecticut Nurse Practitioner license renewal and CE requirements

Summary

Connecticut nurse practitioners must complete 50 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Connecticut Department of Public Health, Board of Examiners for Nursing. An advanced practice registered nurse license is renewed every year during the month of the licensee's birth. The department will not renew unless it is satisfied that the nurse maintains current national certification as a nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist or nurse anesthetist from a recognized certifying body. Connecticut allows a 90 day grace period after expiration during which the licensee may keep practicing and renew; on day 91 the license becomes void and reinstatement is required. Online renewal is mandatory for nurses, and most licensees get a renewal notice about 60 days before expiration. Connecticut also mandates specific subjects. Pharmacotherapeutics: 5 contact hours every renewal cycle. Infectious diseases, including but not limited to acquired immune deficiency syndrome and human immunodeficiency virus: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Risk management: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Sexual assault: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Domestic violence: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Cultural competency: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Substance abuse, including but not limited to prescribing controlled substances and pain management: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Mental health conditions common to veterans and family members of veterans, including screening for post-traumatic stress disorder, risk of suicide, depression and grief, and suicide prevention training: 2 contact hours on a periodic schedule set by the board. The first renewal is exempt.

Connecticut Nurse Practitioner 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.

Connecticut does not layer the advanced practice obligation on the registered nurse obligation. It replaces it: the nurse practitioner meets the standalone APRN requirement in C.G.S. 20-94d rather than the registered nurse requirement in 20-94e. Note that the counting periods differ from the renewal period. The license renews every year, but the requirement is a minimum of 50 contact hours earned within the preceding 24 month period, so the same 50 hours cover two annual renewals. A contact hour is at least 50 minutes. The hours must be in the nurse practitioner's area of practice and reflect the professional needs of the licensee. Inside the 50 sit five contact hours of pharmacotherapeutics and one contact hour in each of six named subjects. The statute also permits, but does not require, two contact hours on diagnosing and treating cognitive or mental health conditions including Alzheimer's disease, dementia, delirium, related cognitive impairments and geriatric depression, during the first renewal period in which continuing education is required and at least once every six years after that. A licensee applying for the first time for license renewal is exempt. A licensee not in active practice may apply for an exemption, and one exempt for less than two years then completes 25 contact hours in the 12 months before returning to practice. The commissioner may waive up to 10 contact hours for a nurse serving on the Board of Examiners for Nursing or assisting the department with board and commission duties.

Required CE topics for Connecticut nurse practitioners

State-specific subject mandates. Where a mandate applies only to some licensees, the scope is listed.

Documentation and audit

Common questions

How many CE hours does a Connecticut NP need to renew?

Connecticut nurse practitioners must complete 50 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Connecticut Department of Public Health, Board of Examiners for Nursing. Connecticut does not layer the advanced practice obligation on the registered nurse obligation. It replaces it: the nurse practitioner meets the standalone APRN requirement in C.G.S. 20-94d rather than the registered nurse requirement in 20-94e. Note that the counting periods differ from the renewal period. The license renews every year, but the requirement is a minimum of 50 contact hours earned within the preceding 24 month period, so the same 50 hours cover two annual renewals. A contact hour is at least 50 minutes. The hours must be in the nurse practitioner's area of practice and reflect the professional needs of the licensee. Inside the 50 sit five contact hours of pharmacotherapeutics and one contact hour in each of six named subjects. The statute also permits, but does not require, two contact hours on diagnosing and treating cognitive or mental health conditions including Alzheimer's disease, dementia, delirium, related cognitive impairments and geriatric depression, during the first renewal period in which continuing education is required and at least once every six years after that. A licensee applying for the first time for license renewal is exempt. A licensee not in active practice may apply for an exemption, and one exempt for less than two years then completes 25 contact hours in the 12 months before returning to practice. The commissioner may waive up to 10 contact hours for a nurse serving on the Board of Examiners for Nursing or assisting the department with board and commission duties.

How often does a Connecticut NP license need to be renewed?

Nurse Practitioner licenses in Connecticut renew every year. An advanced practice registered nurse license is renewed every year during the month of the licensee's birth. The department will not renew unless it is satisfied that the nurse maintains current national certification as a nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist or nurse anesthetist from a recognized certifying body. Connecticut allows a 90 day grace period after expiration during which the licensee may keep practicing and renew; on day 91 the license becomes void and reinstatement is required. Online renewal is mandatory for nurses, and most licensees get a renewal notice about 60 days before expiration.

What specific CE topics are required for Connecticut nurse practitioners?

Pharmacotherapeutics: 5 contact hours every renewal cycle. Infectious diseases, including but not limited to acquired immune deficiency syndrome and human immunodeficiency virus: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Risk management: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Sexual assault: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Domestic violence: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Cultural competency: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Substance abuse, including but not limited to prescribing controlled substances and pain management: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Mental health conditions common to veterans and family members of veterans, including screening for post-traumatic stress disorder, risk of suicide, depression and grief, and suicide prevention training: 2 contact hours on a periodic schedule set by the board. Citations: pharmacotherapeutics (C.G.S. 20-94d(b)(3)), infectious diseases, including but not limited to acquired immune deficiency syndrome and human immunodeficiency virus (C.G.S. 20-94d(b)(4)(A)), risk management (C.G.S. 20-94d(b)(4)(B)), sexual assault (C.G.S. 20-94d(b)(4)(C)), domestic violence (C.G.S. 20-94d(b)(4)(D)), cultural competency (C.G.S. 20-94d(b)(4)(E)), substance abuse, including but not limited to prescribing controlled substances and pain management (C.G.S. 20-94d(b)(4)(F)), and mental health conditions common to veterans and family members of veterans, including screening for post-traumatic stress disorder, risk of suicide, depression and grief, and suicide prevention training (C.G.S. 20-94d(b)(5)).

Do Connecticut nurse practitioners have to submit CE certificates at renewal?

Licensees attest to completion at renewal rather than submitting certificates, the board audits a sample of renewals and asks for documentation, and records must be kept for 3 years. Qualifying activities include courses, including online courses, offered or approved by the American Nurses Association, the Connecticut Hospital Association, the Connecticut Nurses Association, the Connecticut League for Nursing, a specialty nursing society or an equivalent organization in another jurisdiction, an educational offering sponsored by a hospital or other health care institution, or a course offered by a regionally accredited academic institution or a state or local health department. The licensee signs an attestation at renewal, keeps records for at least three years after the year the activity was completed, and must produce them to the department within 45 days of a request.

Is the first Connecticut NP renewal exempt from CE?

Yes. Connecticut does not require continuing education for a NP's first renewal.

Sources

Last verified September 8, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.

• Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 378, Nursing, including 20-94d (APRN continuing education)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
• Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 368a, including 19a-88 (license renewal by health care providers)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
• Health Care Practitioner Renewal Information, Connecticut Department of Public HealthState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
• Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Licensure, Connecticut Department of Public HealthState board page, accessed September 8, 2026

The statute text was read in full on the Connecticut General Assembly's own site. That host presents a certificate chain the fetching tool could not verify, so the pages were read with a client that tolerated the chain; the content is the state's published statute text. Topic keys pharmacology, risk_management, sexual_assault and substance_abuse are not in the canonical list. C.G.S. 20-94d is the shared APRN rule and covers the nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist and nurse anesthetist roles alike, so it is not nurse practitioner specific. The relationship to the Connecticut registered nurse requirement is replacement rather than layering: 20-94e asks an RN or LPN only for two contact hours of veteran mental health and suicide prevention training at the first renewal and at least once every six years, while the APRN owes the full 50 hours under 20-94d. Carryover is not addressed in the statute, so that field is null.