Oregon Certified Nurse-Midwife license renewal and CE requirements
Oregon nurse-midwives must complete continuing education to renew every two years, but the Oregon State Board of Nursing does not publish a fixed hour count.
Oregon licenses nurse-midwives through the Oregon State Board of Nursing as advanced practice registered nurses in the nurse practitioner category, on top of an Oregon registered nurse license. OAR 851-031-0048 provides that a license is valid for two years from the date it is issued, so the expiration date is keyed to when the license was granted rather than to a calendar date or a birth month. A renewal application must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on the expiration date to count as timely. An advanced practice applicant must submit verification of registered nurse licensure, and a nurse practitioner initially licensed after January 1, 2011 must also submit verification of current national certification congruent with license type and population focus. A license expired more than 90 days must be reinstated under OAR 851-031-0051 rather than renewed, and an incomplete application becomes void 12 months after submission.
Summary
Requirements are changing. Oregon does not issue a nurse-midwife license. A nurse-midwife practices on an advanced practice registered nurse license in the nurse practitioner category, so the requirements in this record are the Oregon APRN nurse practitioner requirements. Oregon's competency rules are also mid-transition. As of January 1, 2026 practice hours were dropped and the only education required at renewal is one hour of pain management and two hours of cultural competency, with no general hour total. A further requirement in OAR 851-031-0008(3) starts January 1, 2028, and the board's own summary page describes it differently from the rule text. Confirm your own situation with the board before relying on the 2028 figures.
Oregon nurse-midwives must complete continuing education to renew every two years, but the Oregon State Board of Nursing does not publish a fixed hour count. Oregon licenses nurse-midwives through the Oregon State Board of Nursing as advanced practice registered nurses in the nurse practitioner category, on top of an Oregon registered nurse license. OAR 851-031-0048 provides that a license is valid for two years from the date it is issued, so the expiration date is keyed to when the license was granted rather than to a calendar date or a birth month. A renewal application must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on the expiration date to count as timely. An advanced practice applicant must submit verification of registered nurse licensure, and a nurse practitioner initially licensed after January 1, 2011 must also submit verification of current national certification congruent with license type and population focus. A license expired more than 90 days must be reinstated under OAR 851-031-0051 rather than renewed, and an incomplete application becomes void 12 months after submission. Oregon also mandates specific subjects. Oregon Pain Management Commission pain management education program: 1 contact hour on a periodic schedule set by the board (All LPN, RN and APRN applicants, at initial or endorsement licensure and every 36 months thereafter). Cultural competency continuing education: 2 contact hours on a periodic schedule set by the board (All LPN, RN and APRN renewal applicants, every other renewal cycle).
Oregon 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.
| Renewal cycle | Two-year (24 months) |
|---|---|
| Renewal deadline | Tied to the original issue date |
| Continuing education required | Yes |
| Hours per cycle | Not stated |
| Self-study or online cap | No cap stated |
| Carryover to next cycle | Not stated |
| First renewal exempt | Not stated |
Oregon sets no general continuing education hour total for an advanced practice registered nurse today, so hours_per_cycle is null rather than zero. OAR 851-031-0008 as currently in force requires only two subject specific items of every renewal applicant, including every APRN: one hour of pain management education at initial or endorsement licensure and every 36 months thereafter, and two hours of cultural competency continuing education every other renewal cycle, which the board describes on its website as every 48 months. Section (3) of the rule, which is the part that sets hour counts by license type, does not take effect until January 1, 2028 and is not the law today. When it does take effect it will not put a nurse-midwife on an hour count: subsection (3)(a) sets 20 hours for LPN and RN applicants, subsection (3)(c) requires nurse practitioner and nurse anesthetist applicants to provide primary source evidence of national certification, and subsection (3)(d) sets 75 hours within the prior five years only for a clinical nurse specialist who does not hold current national certification. Because Oregon places nurse-midwifery in the nurse practitioner category, the 2028 path for a nurse-midwife is the national certification path in (3)(c), not the 75 hours in (3)(d). Section (5) of the rule provides that the pain management and cultural competency hours may be counted toward the hours required under section (3) or section (4). Section (4) sets a separate sliding scale for reinstatement or disciplinary reinstatement, from 20 hours for a license expired more than 90 days but no more than two years up to 60 hours for a license expired more than five years. Oregon's national certification requirement is expressed as certification congruent with license type and population focus rather than by naming a certifying body, so no reference to the American Midwifery Certification Board appears in the rules read; AMCB totals are therefore not recorded.
Required CE topics for Oregon certified nurse-midwifes
State-specific subject mandates. Where a mandate applies only to some licensees, the scope is listed.
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Applies to | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon Pain Management Commission pain management education programThe one hour program must be developed by the Oregon Pain Management Commission or delivered through a board approved nursing education program. Because the interval is 36 months and the license cycle is 24 months, this does not fall in every renewal. OAR 851-031-0042(1)(f) also requires it of an applicant for initial advanced practice registered nurse licensure. | 1 contact hour | Periodic | All LPN, RN and APRN applicants, at initial or endorsement licensure and every 36 months thereafter | OAR 851-031-0008(1) |
| Cultural competency continuing educationTwo hours every other renewal cycle. The board's competency requirements page states this as two hours of cultural competency education in the past 48 months and points licensees to the Oregon Health Authority Equity and Inclusion Division cultural competence continuing education listing. | 2 contact hours | Periodic | All LPN, RN and APRN renewal applicants, every other renewal cycle | OAR 851-031-0008(2) |
Documentation and audit
| Proof submitted at renewal | Not stated |
|---|---|
| Keep records for | Not stated |
| Board audits compliance | Not stated |
| Approved providers | OAR 851-031-0008(6) provides that unless the rule says otherwise, all continuing education must be in nursing topics relevant to the applicant's area of practice and license type. The pain management hour must come from the Oregon Pain Management Commission program or a board approved nursing education program. The rules read name no general approver for other continuing education. |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a Oregon CNM need to renew?
- Oregon nurse-midwives must complete continuing education to renew every two years, but the Oregon State Board of Nursing does not publish a fixed hour count. Oregon sets no general continuing education hour total for an advanced practice registered nurse today, so hours_per_cycle is null rather than zero. OAR 851-031-0008 as currently in force requires only two subject specific items of every renewal applicant, including every APRN: one hour of pain management education at initial or endorsement licensure and every 36 months thereafter, and two hours of cultural competency continuing education every other renewal cycle, which the board describes on its website as every 48 months. Section (3) of the rule, which is the part that sets hour counts by license type, does not take effect until January 1, 2028 and is not the law today. When it does take effect it will not put a nurse-midwife on an hour count: subsection (3)(a) sets 20 hours for LPN and RN applicants, subsection (3)(c) requires nurse practitioner and nurse anesthetist applicants to provide primary source evidence of national certification, and subsection (3)(d) sets 75 hours within the prior five years only for a clinical nurse specialist who does not hold current national certification. Because Oregon places nurse-midwifery in the nurse practitioner category, the 2028 path for a nurse-midwife is the national certification path in (3)(c), not the 75 hours in (3)(d). Section (5) of the rule provides that the pain management and cultural competency hours may be counted toward the hours required under section (3) or section (4). Section (4) sets a separate sliding scale for reinstatement or disciplinary reinstatement, from 20 hours for a license expired more than 90 days but no more than two years up to 60 hours for a license expired more than five years. Oregon's national certification requirement is expressed as certification congruent with license type and population focus rather than by naming a certifying body, so no reference to the American Midwifery Certification Board appears in the rules read; AMCB totals are therefore not recorded.
- How often does a Oregon CNM license need to be renewed?
- Certified Nurse-Midwife licenses in Oregon renew every two years. Oregon licenses nurse-midwives through the Oregon State Board of Nursing as advanced practice registered nurses in the nurse practitioner category, on top of an Oregon registered nurse license. OAR 851-031-0048 provides that a license is valid for two years from the date it is issued, so the expiration date is keyed to when the license was granted rather than to a calendar date or a birth month. A renewal application must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on the expiration date to count as timely. An advanced practice applicant must submit verification of registered nurse licensure, and a nurse practitioner initially licensed after January 1, 2011 must also submit verification of current national certification congruent with license type and population focus. A license expired more than 90 days must be reinstated under OAR 851-031-0051 rather than renewed, and an incomplete application becomes void 12 months after submission.
- What specific CE topics are required for Oregon nurse-midwives?
- Oregon Pain Management Commission pain management education program: 1 contact hour on a periodic schedule set by the board (All LPN, RN and APRN applicants, at initial or endorsement licensure and every 36 months thereafter). Cultural competency continuing education: 2 contact hours on a periodic schedule set by the board (All LPN, RN and APRN renewal applicants, every other renewal cycle). Citations: Oregon Pain Management Commission pain management education program (OAR 851-031-0008(1)) and cultural competency continuing education (OAR 851-031-0008(2)).
Sources
Last verified September 10, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- OAR 851-031-0008, Competency Requirements, Oregon State Board of NursingStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 10, 2026
- OAR 851-031-0048, Renewal of License, Oregon State Board of NursingStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 10, 2026
- OAR 851-031-0042, Initial Licensure, Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, Oregon State Board of NursingStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 10, 2026
- OAR Chapter 851 Division 31, Licensure, Oregon State Board of Nursing, rule listStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 10, 2026
- Competency Requirements, Oregon State Board of NursingState board page, accessed September 10, 2026
- Licenses by Type, Oregon State Board of Nursing reportsState board page, accessed September 10, 2026
- Nurse Practitioners, Oregon Business Xpress License Directory (Oregon State Board of Nursing entry)State board page, accessed September 10, 2026
- OAR 851-050-0005, Nurse Practitioner Scope of Practice, repealed effective July 1, 2021Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 10, 2026
Oregon has no distinct nurse-midwife credential. The board's own Licenses by Type report, read on September 10, 2026, lists exactly three advanced practice license types, APRN-CNS, APRN-CRNA and APRN-NP, with no nurse-midwife type. OAR 851-031-0042, the current initial APRN licensure rule, names only CRNA and NP applicants and contains no mention of midwife, midwifery or the American Midwifery Certification Board. The rule that used to describe a nurse-midwife as a nurse practitioner category, OAR 851-050-0005, was repealed effective July 1, 2021 and the OARD page for it now shows only the repeal history. So this record covers the license an Oregon nurse-midwife actually holds, an APRN-NP license with a nurse-midwifery population focus, and does not manufacture a nurse-midwife specific figure. The board describes the nurse-midwifery population focus only in its nurse practitioner application directions, which are published as a PDF that the no download rule excludes, so that URL is listed in the report rather than cited here. Two traps were checked directly. First, effective dates: section (3) of OAR 851-031-0008, the part with the hour counts, opens with the words Starting January 1, 2028, and the rule's history shows BN 23-2025 effective January 1, 2026 and BN 4-2026 effective September 1, 2026. Nothing in section (3) is in force today, so no hour total from it is recorded as a present requirement. Second, which subsection reaches a nurse-midwife: the 75 hours belong to subsection (3)(d) and are scoped to a clinical nurse specialist without current national certification, while nurse practitioners, which is the category a nurse-midwife falls in, are covered by subsection (3)(c) and its national certification evidence path. The 75 hours are therefore not attached to this record. One divergence worth flagging, and the reason this record carries an advisory: the board's competency requirements page summarises the 2028 change as APRN applicants will need to provide evidence of national certification or 75 hours of continuing education related to their advanced practice role, which offers the 75 hour alternative to every APRN, while the rule offers it only to an uncertified clinical nurse specialist. That divergence concerns a requirement that does not begin until 2028; the requirements in force today, the pain management hour and the cultural competency hours, are stated identically on the board page and in the rule, so no conflict is recorded against the current values. The board's own site does not publish a separate general hour count, and neither does the Business Xpress directory entry for nurse practitioners, which lists continuing education requirements as None. Whether records must be retained, for how long, and whether the board audits are not stated in the rules or pages read, so those fields are null.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the Oregon State Board of Nursing before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.