South Dakota Nurse Practitioner license renewal and CE requirements
South Dakota does not require continuing education for NP license renewal, which happens every two years.
Certified nurse practitioner licensure is renewed every two years on the same schedule as the registered nurse license, which expires on the licensee's birth date in the second calendar year after issuance and every two years on that birth date afterward. A nurse practitioner practicing on a multistate registered nurse privilege from another compact state instead expires on the second birthday after the nurse practitioner license was issued. The board sends a renewal notice at least 90 days before expiration, but failing to receive it does not excuse a late renewal.
Summary
South Dakota does not require continuing education for NP license renewal, which happens every two years. Certified nurse practitioner licensure is renewed every two years on the same schedule as the registered nurse license, which expires on the licensee's birth date in the second calendar year after issuance and every two years on that birth date afterward. A nurse practitioner practicing on a multistate registered nurse privilege from another compact state instead expires on the second birthday after the nurse practitioner license was issued. The board sends a renewal notice at least 90 days before expiration, but failing to receive it does not excuse a late renewal.
South Dakota 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.
| Renewal cycle | Two-year (24 months) |
|---|---|
| Renewal deadline | Tied to the licensee's birth date |
| Continuing education required | No |
South Dakota sets no continuing education hour requirement for nurse practitioners, and none is layered on top of the registered nurse license either: the Board of Nursing's continuing education chapter, ARSD 20:48:12, was repealed effective November 3, 1980 and the current renewal rules contain no hour count. What the state requires instead is credentialing. ARSD 20:62:02:06 lists exactly four renewal items: evidence of an unencumbered South Dakota registered nurse license or a privilege to practice, evidence of current national certification specific to the nurse practitioner role and educational preparation as described in ARSD 20:62:02:02(3), an affidavit of no misconduct under SDCL 36-9A-29, and the fee. A person licensed under SDCL 36-9A-4 before June 26, 1996 is exempt from the national certification item. Maintaining national certification is therefore the practical continuing education obligation for a South Dakota nurse practitioner, since the certifying bodies impose their own recertification requirements, but the state itself counts no hours. No pharmacology, pharmacotherapeutics, opioid or controlled substance continuing education requirement was found for nurse practitioners; ARSD 20:62:03 requires a nurse practitioner who prescribes controlled substances to register with the prescription drug monitoring program and sets patient record standards, but attaches no education hours to that.
Required CE topics for South Dakota nurse practitioners
The South Dakota 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
| Proof submitted at renewal | Yes |
|---|---|
| Keep records for | Not stated |
| Board audits compliance | Not stated |
| Approved providers | Not applicable. The renewal application requires evidence of current certification from a board approved, nationally recognized certifying body rather than continuing education from approved providers. |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a South Dakota NP need to renew?
- South Dakota does not require continuing education for NP license renewal, which happens every two years. South Dakota sets no continuing education hour requirement for nurse practitioners, and none is layered on top of the registered nurse license either: the Board of Nursing's continuing education chapter, ARSD 20:48:12, was repealed effective November 3, 1980 and the current renewal rules contain no hour count. What the state requires instead is credentialing. ARSD 20:62:02:06 lists exactly four renewal items: evidence of an unencumbered South Dakota registered nurse license or a privilege to practice, evidence of current national certification specific to the nurse practitioner role and educational preparation as described in ARSD 20:62:02:02(3), an affidavit of no misconduct under SDCL 36-9A-29, and the fee. A person licensed under SDCL 36-9A-4 before June 26, 1996 is exempt from the national certification item. Maintaining national certification is therefore the practical continuing education obligation for a South Dakota nurse practitioner, since the certifying bodies impose their own recertification requirements, but the state itself counts no hours. No pharmacology, pharmacotherapeutics, opioid or controlled substance continuing education requirement was found for nurse practitioners; ARSD 20:62:03 requires a nurse practitioner who prescribes controlled substances to register with the prescription drug monitoring program and sets patient record standards, but attaches no education hours to that.
- How often does a South Dakota NP license need to be renewed?
- Nurse Practitioner licenses in South Dakota renew every two years. Certified nurse practitioner licensure is renewed every two years on the same schedule as the registered nurse license, which expires on the licensee's birth date in the second calendar year after issuance and every two years on that birth date afterward. A nurse practitioner practicing on a multistate registered nurse privilege from another compact state instead expires on the second birthday after the nurse practitioner license was issued. The board sends a renewal notice at least 90 days before expiration, but failing to receive it does not excuse a late renewal.
- Do South Dakota nurse practitioners have to submit CE certificates at renewal?
- Proof of completion must be submitted with the renewal. Not applicable. The renewal application requires evidence of current certification from a board approved, nationally recognized certifying body rather than continuing education from approved providers.
Sources
Last verified September 8, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- ARSD Article 20:62, Nurse Practitioners and Midwives (Chapters 20:62:02 Licensure and Licenses and 20:62:03 Practice)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
- SDCL 36-9A-22, Renewal of license (certified nurse practitioners and certified nurse midwives)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
- ARSD Article 20:48, Nurses (Chapter 20:48:03 Licensing and Licenses; Chapter 20:48:12 Continuing Education, repealed)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
- Renewal Application, South Dakota Board of NursingState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
South Dakota keeps nurse practitioners in their own statute and their own rule article rather than folding them into the general nursing rules: SDCL chapter 36-9A and ARSD article 20:62 cover certified nurse practitioners and certified nurse midwives, while registered nurses sit in SDCL chapter 36-9 and ARSD article 20:48. Clinical nurse specialists (ARSD 20:48:03.01) and nurse anesthetists (ARSD 20:48:05) are handled separately again, so this record is genuinely the nurse practitioner role and not a shared advanced practice rule. The expiration mechanics were read in ARSD 20:62:02:05 and ARSD 20:48:03:10, which is why the basis is the licensee's birth date rather than a fixed statewide date. The board's own renewal page carries no substantive requirements, only a link into the nurse portal, so the rule text is the source for everything except the 90 day notice. The pages at sdlegislature.gov are JavaScript rendered and return only a loading shell to a plain fetch; the rule and statute text quoted here was read through the same site's public JSON API for those identical citations. No continuing education requirement, mandatory subject, carryover rule or first renewal exemption exists to record.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the South Dakota Board of Nursing before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.