Minnesota Licensed Practical Nurse license renewal and CE requirements

Summary

Minnesota licensed practical nurses must complete 12 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Minnesota Board of Nursing. Registration must be renewed by the registration expiration date, which is set from the date of licensure as it relates to the month and year of the licensee's birth. The first licensure period runs 6 to 29 months depending on birth date and the start of the registration period; after that the registration is in effect for two years. The board mails a reminder postcard about three full calendar months before the expiration date, and the renewal application, fee, and continuing education report must reach the board by that date or the nurse must apply for reregistration. Hours do not carry over between cycles.

Minnesota Licensed Practical 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.

A licensed practical nurse must participate in at least one contact hour of acceptable continuing education for each two months of registration, which is 12 contact hours in a standard 24 month registration period. This is half the registered nurse requirement of 24 hours, and the board and the rule state the two side by side. If the registration period is shorter or longer than 24 months the same ratio applies, so a first period of 6 to 29 months carries a proportionate number of hours. A contact hour is 60 minutes and the shortest creditable activity is 0.25 contact hours. A quarter academic credit is 10 contact hours and a semester credit is 15. Content must be designed to enhance the licensee's ability to practice nursing, must have written learning objectives, must be taught by someone other than the licensee, and must be completed within the participation period. A licensee short of hours may defer the shortfall to the immediately following participation period, but only if no hours are already deferred; deferred hours are added to the next period's requirement rather than reducing it, so this is a shortfall mechanism rather than carryover of surplus hours.

Required CE topics for Minnesota licensed practical nurses

The Minnesota Board of Nursing pages and rules we read do not mandate specific subject areas for this license type. Hours may be in any approved subject.

Documentation and audit

Common questions

How many CE hours does a Minnesota LPN/LVN need to renew?

Minnesota licensed practical nurses must complete 12 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Minnesota Board of Nursing. A licensed practical nurse must participate in at least one contact hour of acceptable continuing education for each two months of registration, which is 12 contact hours in a standard 24 month registration period. This is half the registered nurse requirement of 24 hours, and the board and the rule state the two side by side. If the registration period is shorter or longer than 24 months the same ratio applies, so a first period of 6 to 29 months carries a proportionate number of hours. A contact hour is 60 minutes and the shortest creditable activity is 0.25 contact hours. A quarter academic credit is 10 contact hours and a semester credit is 15. Content must be designed to enhance the licensee's ability to practice nursing, must have written learning objectives, must be taught by someone other than the licensee, and must be completed within the participation period. A licensee short of hours may defer the shortfall to the immediately following participation period, but only if no hours are already deferred; deferred hours are added to the next period's requirement rather than reducing it, so this is a shortfall mechanism rather than carryover of surplus hours.

How often does a Minnesota LPN/LVN license need to be renewed?

Licensed Practical Nurse licenses in Minnesota renew every two years. Registration must be renewed by the registration expiration date, which is set from the date of licensure as it relates to the month and year of the licensee's birth. The first licensure period runs 6 to 29 months depending on birth date and the start of the registration period; after that the registration is in effect for two years. The board mails a reminder postcard about three full calendar months before the expiration date, and the renewal application, fee, and continuing education report must reach the board by that date or the nurse must apply for reregistration.

Does Minnesota require specific CE topics for licensed practical nurses?

The Minnesota Board of Nursing does not list mandated subject areas for LPN/LVN renewal on the pages we verified; the 12 contact hours may be in any approved subject.

Do Minnesota licensed practical nurses 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 2 years.

Is the first Minnesota LPN/LVN renewal exempt from CE?

No. Minnesota applies the continuing education requirement to the first renewal as well.

Sources

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

• FAQ Renewal of Licensure, Minnesota Board of Nursing (revised 1/2026)State board page, accessed September 7, 2026
• Minnesota Rules 6310.2800 Registration Renewal RequirementsStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 7, 2026
• Minnesota Rules 6310.2600 DefinitionsStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 7, 2026
• Minnesota Rules 6310.3000 Substantiation of Participation in Continuing EducationStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 7, 2026
• Minnesota Statutes 148.231 Registration; Failure to Register; Reregistration; VerificationStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 7, 2026

The mn.gov board site sits behind a Radware bot wall that blocks WebFetch, curl, and an automated browser, so the board's own HTML renewal pages could not be read. The board's Renewal of Licensure FAQ PDF on mn.gov is served outside that wall and was downloaded and read in full; it states the LPN requirement of 12 contact hours per 24 month registration period, the RN requirement of 24, the birth-based licensure period, and the two year record retention. Minnesota Rules 6310.2800 subpart 3 states the LPN requirement separately from the RN requirement as a ratio of one contact hour for each two months of registration, and 6310.2600 subpart 4 defines the continuing education participation period as the 24 month interval immediately before the registration expiration date. Both records cite the same sources because the rule and the FAQ address RNs and LPNs together, but the hour counts differ and were read separately. mandatory_topics is empty because neither the rule nor the board FAQ names a required subject; the rule states only content criteria, and the FAQ says the infection control continuing education requirement was discontinued on July 3, 2000. carryover_allowed is recorded as false because the rule's only provision of this kind is deferment of a shortfall under subpart 6c, which adds hours to the next period rather than crediting surplus hours forward. exempt_first_renewal is false because the ratio applies to shorter first periods rather than waiving them. The board does not publish an approved provider list, so approved_provider_requirement is null.