Florida Registered Nurse license renewal and CE requirements

Summary

Florida registered nurses must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Florida Board of Nursing. RN licenses renew every two years on fixed dates and the department renews RNs in three groups: Group 1 licenses currently expire at midnight Eastern on April 30, 2028, Group 2 on July 31, 2028, and Group 3 on April 30, 2027. Renew through the MQA Online Services portal at flhealthsource.gov; the Renew My License option appears no later than 90 days before expiration. CE must be reported in CE Broker before the department renews the license. Florida also mandates specific subjects. Prevention of Medical Errors: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle. Florida Laws and Rules: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle. Recognizing Impairment in the Workplace: 2 contact hours on a periodic schedule set by the board. Human Trafficking: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle. Domestic Violence: 2 contact hours on a periodic schedule set by the board. HIV/AIDS: a one-time requirement of 1 contact hour. The first renewal is exempt.

Florida Registered Nurse 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.

Fla. Admin. Code R. 64B9-5.002(1): during each biennium one contact hour must be earned for each calendar month of the licensure cycle, which the board expresses as 24 hours per biennium: 16 general hours plus the mandatory courses listed in mandatory_topics (medical errors, laws and rules, impairment, human trafficking). All courses can be live or home study. A nurse certified by a specialty program accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies or the Accreditation Board for Specialty Nursing Certification is exempt from continuing education requirements except the human trafficking course; the exemption must be reported in CE Broker. First biennium: nurses licensed by examination (or by endorsement after passing the exam in another state during the biennium) are exempt from the general hours but must still complete 2 hours medical errors, 2 hours Florida laws and rules, 2 hours recognizing impairment, 2 hours human trafficking, and 1 hour HIV/AIDS. Licenses issued for less than 24 months require one hour per month held, including the mandatory hours; no hours are required if six months or less remain in the biennium (64B9-5.002(3)). Military spouses absent from Florida are exempt. The same requirement applies to RNs and LPNs; an RN who also holds an LPN license satisfies both by completing RN continuing education (64B9-5.002(4)).

Required CE topics for Florida registered nurses

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 Florida RN need to renew?

Florida registered nurses must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Florida Board of Nursing. Fla. Admin. Code R. 64B9-5.002(1): during each biennium one contact hour must be earned for each calendar month of the licensure cycle, which the board expresses as 24 hours per biennium: 16 general hours plus the mandatory courses listed in mandatory_topics (medical errors, laws and rules, impairment, human trafficking). All courses can be live or home study. A nurse certified by a specialty program accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies or the Accreditation Board for Specialty Nursing Certification is exempt from continuing education requirements except the human trafficking course; the exemption must be reported in CE Broker. First biennium: nurses licensed by examination (or by endorsement after passing the exam in another state during the biennium) are exempt from the general hours but must still complete 2 hours medical errors, 2 hours Florida laws and rules, 2 hours recognizing impairment, 2 hours human trafficking, and 1 hour HIV/AIDS. Licenses issued for less than 24 months require one hour per month held, including the mandatory hours; no hours are required if six months or less remain in the biennium (64B9-5.002(3)). Military spouses absent from Florida are exempt. The same requirement applies to RNs and LPNs; an RN who also holds an LPN license satisfies both by completing RN continuing education (64B9-5.002(4)).

How often does a Florida RN license need to be renewed?

Registered Nurse licenses in Florida renew every two years. RN licenses renew every two years on fixed dates and the department renews RNs in three groups: Group 1 licenses currently expire at midnight Eastern on April 30, 2028, Group 2 on July 31, 2028, and Group 3 on April 30, 2027. Renew through the MQA Online Services portal at flhealthsource.gov; the Renew My License option appears no later than 90 days before expiration. CE must be reported in CE Broker before the department renews the license.

What specific CE topics are required for Florida registered nurses?

Prevention of Medical Errors: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle. Florida Laws and Rules: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle. Recognizing Impairment in the Workplace: 2 contact hours on a periodic schedule set by the board. Human Trafficking: 2 contact hours every renewal cycle. Domestic Violence: 2 contact hours on a periodic schedule set by the board. HIV/AIDS: a one-time requirement of 1 contact hour. Citations: prevention of Medical Errors (Fla. Admin. Code R. 64B9-5.002(2)(a); 64B9-5.011), Florida Laws and Rules (Fla. Admin. Code R. 64B9-5.002(2)(c); 64B9-5.013), Recognizing Impairment in the Workplace (Fla. Admin. Code R. 64B9-5.002(2)(d)), Human Trafficking (Fla. Admin. Code R. 64B9-5.002(2)(e); s. 464.013, F.S.), Domestic Violence (Fla. Admin. Code R. 64B9-5.002(2)(f)), and HIV/AIDS (Fla. Admin. Code R. 64B9-5.002(2)(b)).

Do Florida registered nurses have to submit CE certificates at renewal?

Licensees attest to completion at renewal rather than submitting certificates. Do not submit certificates to the board; report hours to the Department of Health through CE Broker (cebroker.com). General hours must be approved by a state or national organization empowered to accredit nursing continuing education. All mandatory courses must be offered by a Florida Board of Nursing approved provider except the two hour human trafficking course.

Is the first Florida RN renewal exempt from CE?

Yes. Florida does not require continuing education for a RN's first renewal.

Sources

Last verified September 7, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.

• Registered Nurse (RN) Renewal, Florida Board of Nursing (requirements, continuing education, fees, process tabs)State board page, accessed September 7, 2026
• Fla. Admin. Code R. 64B9-5.002 Continuing Education Requirement (rule text downloaded from flrules.org)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 7, 2026
• Fla. Admin. Code R. 64B9-5.011 Continuing Education on Prevention of Medical ErrorsStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 7, 2026
• Fla. Admin. Code R. 64B9-5.013 Continuing Education on Laws and RulesStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 7, 2026
• Fla. Admin. Code R. 64B9-5.003 Standards for Continuing EducationStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 7, 2026

Hours, biennial cycle, and every mandatory course confirmed on the board renewal page and in rule 64B9-5.002 (7-30-19 version downloaded from flrules.org). The board page and rule 64B9-5.002(2)(e) both say two hours for human trafficking for nurses (other Florida professions have a one hour requirement under s. 456.0341). Licensee record retention and audit practice are not stated on the pages read; rule 64B9-5.003(8)(i) sets a four year retention duty on providers, not licensees, so retention_years is null. The statute s. 464.013 itself was not fetched. Carryover is not addressed in the rule read. The RN page lists three fixed expiration groups, so basis is recorded as other rather than fixed_date.