Delaware Certified Nurse-Midwife license renewal and CE requirements

Summary

Delaware nurse-midwives must complete 30 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Delaware Board of Nursing (Division of Professional Regulation). Delaware licenses the nurse-midwife as an advanced practice registered nurse in the certified nurse midwife role. Board rule 8.12.3 states that renewal of APRN licensure shall be on a date consistent with the current registered nurse renewal period, and the board's renewal page says an APRN license expires on the same date as the holder's Delaware RN license and that the RN license must be renewed first. Delaware staggers nursing expirations across three dates in odd-numbered years: February 28, May 31 or September 30. An APRN who holds no Delaware RN license expires September 30 of odd-numbered years. A late renewal may be filed within two months after expiration with a late fee. Renewal also depends on two things beyond the fee: meeting the certifying agency's recertification requirements under rule 8.12.1, and practising at least 1,500 hours in the past five years or at least 600 hours in the past two years in the role and population focus, under rule 8.12.2. Delaware also mandates specific subjects. Continuing education in the area of substance abuse: 3 contact hours every renewal cycle. Recognition of and response to suspected or known sexual abuse, physical abuse, exploitation, trafficking or domestic violence of vulnerable persons: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Continuing education in controlled substance prescribing practices, treatment of chronic pain, or other topics related to the prescribing of controlled substances: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle (nurse-midwives who hold a Delaware controlled substance registration). Hours do not carry over between cycles and the first renewal is exempt.

Delaware 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.

Delaware puts no separate hour count on the advanced practice licence. Rule 9.2.1.1 requires each registered nurse to earn 30 contact hours per biennium, of which at least three must be in substance abuse and at least one on recognizing and responding to suspected or known sexual abuse, physical abuse, exploitation, trafficking or domestic violence of vulnerable persons, or on mandatory reporting obligations. Rule 8.12 then lists what an APRN must add at renewal and it is not hours: meeting the certifying agency's recertification requirements and 1,500 practice hours in five years or 600 in two years in the role and population focus. So CNM continuing education is neither stacked nor parallel; it is the registered nurse requirement, and the advanced practice licence layers practice hours and certification on top. A nurse-midwife's American Midwifery Certification Board recertification does double duty: rule 8.12.1 makes maintaining it a condition of keeping the licence, and rule 9.2.1.2.6 credits certification or recertification as 20 of the 30 contact hours in the biennium it is awarded, so it counts toward hours without replacing the requirement. AMCB's own five year Certificate Maintenance Program totals are not recorded in hours_per_cycle. Hours do not roll over: rule 9.2.3 states that contact hours from a previous licensure period will not count and credits may not be accumulated for a future period. A nurse licensed by examination within a biennial renewal period is exempt from continuing education for that biennium. A nurse who endorses in, reactivates or reinstates during a biennium with more than a full calendar year remaining earns 15 contact hours instead of 30, at least three of them in substance abuse. Two conversions matter for planning: one academic semester hour is five contact hours, one CME is one contact hour and one CEU is ten contact hours. Rules 8.12.7.2 and 8.12.7.3 set separate pharmacotherapeutics totals of 24 hours and 45 hours, but only for an APRN reinstating after more than two or more than five years out of practice, so they are not per cycle requirements.

Required CE topics for Delaware certified nurse-midwifes

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 Delaware CNM need to renew?

Delaware nurse-midwives must complete 30 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Delaware Board of Nursing (Division of Professional Regulation). Delaware puts no separate hour count on the advanced practice licence. Rule 9.2.1.1 requires each registered nurse to earn 30 contact hours per biennium, of which at least three must be in substance abuse and at least one on recognizing and responding to suspected or known sexual abuse, physical abuse, exploitation, trafficking or domestic violence of vulnerable persons, or on mandatory reporting obligations. Rule 8.12 then lists what an APRN must add at renewal and it is not hours: meeting the certifying agency's recertification requirements and 1,500 practice hours in five years or 600 in two years in the role and population focus. So CNM continuing education is neither stacked nor parallel; it is the registered nurse requirement, and the advanced practice licence layers practice hours and certification on top. A nurse-midwife's American Midwifery Certification Board recertification does double duty: rule 8.12.1 makes maintaining it a condition of keeping the licence, and rule 9.2.1.2.6 credits certification or recertification as 20 of the 30 contact hours in the biennium it is awarded, so it counts toward hours without replacing the requirement. AMCB's own five year Certificate Maintenance Program totals are not recorded in hours_per_cycle. Hours do not roll over: rule 9.2.3 states that contact hours from a previous licensure period will not count and credits may not be accumulated for a future period. A nurse licensed by examination within a biennial renewal period is exempt from continuing education for that biennium. A nurse who endorses in, reactivates or reinstates during a biennium with more than a full calendar year remaining earns 15 contact hours instead of 30, at least three of them in substance abuse. Two conversions matter for planning: one academic semester hour is five contact hours, one CME is one contact hour and one CEU is ten contact hours. Rules 8.12.7.2 and 8.12.7.3 set separate pharmacotherapeutics totals of 24 hours and 45 hours, but only for an APRN reinstating after more than two or more than five years out of practice, so they are not per cycle requirements.

How often does a Delaware CNM license need to be renewed?

Certified Nurse-Midwife licenses in Delaware renew every two years. Delaware licenses the nurse-midwife as an advanced practice registered nurse in the certified nurse midwife role. Board rule 8.12.3 states that renewal of APRN licensure shall be on a date consistent with the current registered nurse renewal period, and the board's renewal page says an APRN license expires on the same date as the holder's Delaware RN license and that the RN license must be renewed first. Delaware staggers nursing expirations across three dates in odd-numbered years: February 28, May 31 or September 30. An APRN who holds no Delaware RN license expires September 30 of odd-numbered years. A late renewal may be filed within two months after expiration with a late fee. Renewal also depends on two things beyond the fee: meeting the certifying agency's recertification requirements under rule 8.12.1, and practising at least 1,500 hours in the past five years or at least 600 hours in the past two years in the role and population focus, under rule 8.12.2.

What specific CE topics are required for Delaware nurse-midwives?

Continuing education in the area of substance abuse: 3 contact hours every renewal cycle. Recognition of and response to suspected or known sexual abuse, physical abuse, exploitation, trafficking or domestic violence of vulnerable persons: 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Continuing education in controlled substance prescribing practices, treatment of chronic pain, or other topics related to the prescribing of controlled substances: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle (nurse-midwives who hold a Delaware controlled substance registration). Citations: continuing education in the area of substance abuse (24 Del. Admin. Code 1900, rule 9.2.1.1) and recognition of and response to suspected or known sexual abuse, physical abuse, exploitation, trafficking or domestic violence of vulnerable persons (24 Del. Admin. Code 1900, rule 9.2.1.1).

Do Delaware 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. All contact hours must be earned through an approved method or from an approved provider. Licensees retain original certificates or transcripts verifying completion and the award of contact hours, and the board's continuing education page tells nurses not to upload certificates or practice documentation into DELPROS unless notified they have been selected for audit.

Is the first Delaware CNM renewal exempt from CE?

Yes. Delaware does not require continuing education for a CNM's first renewal.

Sources

Last verified September 10, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.

• Renewal, Delaware Board of NursingState board page, accessed September 10, 2026
• Continuing Education and Audit Information, Delaware Board of NursingState board page, accessed September 10, 2026
• 24 Del. Admin. Code 1900, Board of Nursing, sections 8.0 and 9.0Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 10, 2026
• Continuing Education and Audit Information, Delaware Office of Controlled SubstancesState board page, accessed September 10, 2026
• Midwifery, Delaware Division of Professional Regulation, Board of Medical Licensure and DisciplineState board page, accessed September 10, 2026
• 16 Del. Admin. Code 4106, Practice of Non-Nurse Midwifery, repealed effective December 11, 2024Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 10, 2026

Delaware has a distinct nurse-midwife credential. Board rule 1900 defines Certified Nurse Midwife as a Registered Nurse who is a provider for normal maternity, newborn and well-woman gynecological care, whose designation follows an accredited post-basic nursing program in midwifery and a certification examination administered by the American Midwifery Certification Board or another nationally recognized board approved certifying organization, and it lists the American Midwifery Certification Board among the approved certifying agencies. That definition, which opens with the words Registered Nurse, is how this record was established to govern the nurse-midwife. The board pattern is a board of nursing licensing the nurse-midwife as an APRN with a role designation. Delaware also carries the credential trap in a sharp form and it moved recently. The Division of Public Health's non-nurse midwifery regulation, 16 Del. Admin. Code 4106, was repealed effective December 11, 2024, and non-nurse midwives are now licensed on the other side of the Division of Professional Regulation: the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline licenses both the Certified Professional Midwife, certified by the North American Registry of Midwives, and the Certified Midwife, certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board but not a nurse, under 24 Del. Admin. Code 1795. So Delaware has two AMCB certified credentials sitting under two different boards, and this record covers only the nurse one. Every figure was read on an official host: the Board of Nursing's own renewal and continuing education pages, the Office of Controlled Substances page, and the text of 24 Del. Admin. Code 1900 on the state's own regulations site. A plain automated fetch of regulations.delaware.gov returns a shell page with no rule text, so the rule was read in a browser tab where the full chapter renders. Topic keys substance_abuse and human_trafficking are used; substance_abuse is not in the canonical list and is the board's own wording. The 30 hour total, the three substance abuse hours and the one vulnerable persons hour match the existing de-np and de-crna records. Nothing read contradicts those records. Two details they do not carry are recorded here because the rule states them: the no carryover rule in 9.2.3 and the examination exemption in 9.2.6.1, and the credit of 20 contact hours for certification or recertification in the biennium it is awarded, which is directly relevant to a nurse-midwife holding AMCB certification. The board did not state a record retention period in years, so retention_years is null even though rule 9.2.5 requires originals to be kept. No page or rule read states a per cycle pharmacology requirement for a nurse-midwife; the 24 and 45 hour pharmacotherapeutics figures in rule 8.12.7 apply only on reinstatement after time out of practice and are described in the notes rather than recorded as mandated topics.