Utah Nurse Practitioner license renewal and CE requirements
Utah nurse practitioners must complete 0.5 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Utah Division of Professional Licensing, Board of Nursing (Department of Commerce).
Advanced practice registered nurse licenses expire on January 31 of even numbered years and renew on a two year cycle. Note that this is a different date from the registered nurse license, which expires January 31 of odd numbered years, so a Utah nurse practitioner who also holds a registered nurse license renews the two credentials in alternating years.
Summary
Utah nurse practitioners must complete 0.5 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Utah Division of Professional Licensing, Board of Nursing (Department of Commerce). Advanced practice registered nurse licenses expire on January 31 of even numbered years and renew on a two year cycle. Note that this is a different date from the registered nurse license, which expires January 31 of odd numbered years, so a Utah nurse practitioner who also holds a registered nurse license renews the two credentials in alternating years. Utah also mandates specific subjects. Online suicide prevention training: 0.5 contact hours every renewal cycle. Controlled substance continuing education: required every renewal cycle (nurse practitioners who also hold a Utah controlled substance license).
Utah 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 | Same date for every licensee, 01/31 each cycle |
| Continuing education required | Yes |
| Hours per cycle | 0.5 contact hours |
| Self-study or online cap | No cap stated |
| Carryover to next cycle | Not stated |
| First renewal exempt | Not stated |
| Other accepted activities | Current certification or recertification in the licensee's specialty area of practice, which is the standard way Utah nurse practitioners satisfy continued competence; For a nurse licensed as an advanced practice registered nurse before July 1, 1992: at least 400 hours of practice during the past two years together with 30 hours of approved continuing education |
Utah does not run its nurse practitioner requirement as a stack of contact hours, so the half hour recorded here needs its explanation. Under R156-31b-303, an advanced practice registered nurse renews by being currently certified or recertified in the licensee's specialty area of practice. Only a nurse who was licensed as an advanced practice registered nurse before July 1, 1992 may instead show 400 hours of practice in the past two years plus 30 hours of approved continuing education. Separately, the Division's advanced practice registered nurse renewal page lists a suicide prevention training among the items a licensee must attest to at renewal, satisfied by completing at least one of the Division's online courses, each carrying 0.5 credit and each counting toward continuing education credit. That half hour training is the only fixed hour figure a typical Utah nurse practitioner faces, which is why it is recorded as the hours per cycle. The registered nurse requirement in the same rule, which offers 400 practice hours, or 200 practice hours plus 15 contact hours, or 30 contact hours, is a registered nurse route and is not layered onto the advanced practice license: in Utah the advanced practice registered nurse license stands on its own and expires on its own date.
Required CE topics for Utah nurse practitioners
State-specific subject mandates. Where a mandate applies only to some licensees, the scope is listed.
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Applies to | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online suicide prevention trainingThe Division's advanced practice registered nurse renewal page states that the licensee must have completed at least one of its listed online suicide prevention trainings, which include suicide safety planning, talking to patients about suicide, and counseling on access to lethal means, and that these qualify for continuing education credit. Each listed course is 0.5 credit. The page lists it among the renewal attestations without saying whether it must be repeated at every renewal, so every_cycle reflects how the page presents it rather than an explicit rule statement. | 0.5 contact hours | Every renewal | All licensees | Not stated |
| Controlled substance continuing educationUtah issues a separate controlled substance license that is renewed as part of the practitioner's own license renewal, and Utah Code 58-37-6.5 with R156-37-402 attaches continuing education to it, including a half hour online tutorial and test on the controlled substance database. The Division's advanced practice registered nurse renewal page did not state an hour count for nurses, so hours is left null rather than borrowed from another profession's page. | Not stated | Every renewal | Nurse practitioners who also hold a Utah controlled substance license | Utah Code 58-37-6.5; Utah Admin. Code R156-37-402 |
Documentation and audit
| Proof submitted at renewal | No, attestation only |
|---|---|
| Keep records for | Not stated |
| Board audits compliance | Not stated |
| Approved providers | Continuing education must be approved, and the suicide prevention training must be one of the courses the Division lists. The sources read do not name an accrediting body for nursing continuing education. |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a Utah NP need to renew?
- Utah nurse practitioners must complete 0.5 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Utah Division of Professional Licensing, Board of Nursing (Department of Commerce). Utah does not run its nurse practitioner requirement as a stack of contact hours, so the half hour recorded here needs its explanation. Under R156-31b-303, an advanced practice registered nurse renews by being currently certified or recertified in the licensee's specialty area of practice. Only a nurse who was licensed as an advanced practice registered nurse before July 1, 1992 may instead show 400 hours of practice in the past two years plus 30 hours of approved continuing education. Separately, the Division's advanced practice registered nurse renewal page lists a suicide prevention training among the items a licensee must attest to at renewal, satisfied by completing at least one of the Division's online courses, each carrying 0.5 credit and each counting toward continuing education credit. That half hour training is the only fixed hour figure a typical Utah nurse practitioner faces, which is why it is recorded as the hours per cycle. The registered nurse requirement in the same rule, which offers 400 practice hours, or 200 practice hours plus 15 contact hours, or 30 contact hours, is a registered nurse route and is not layered onto the advanced practice license: in Utah the advanced practice registered nurse license stands on its own and expires on its own date.
- How often does a Utah NP license need to be renewed?
- Nurse Practitioner licenses in Utah renew every two years. Advanced practice registered nurse licenses expire on January 31 of even numbered years and renew on a two year cycle. Note that this is a different date from the registered nurse license, which expires January 31 of odd numbered years, so a Utah nurse practitioner who also holds a registered nurse license renews the two credentials in alternating years.
- What specific CE topics are required for Utah nurse practitioners?
- Online suicide prevention training: 0.5 contact hours every renewal cycle. Controlled substance continuing education: required every renewal cycle (nurse practitioners who also hold a Utah controlled substance license). Citations: controlled substance continuing education (Utah Code 58-37-6.5; Utah Admin. Code R156-37-402).
- Do Utah nurse practitioners have to submit CE certificates at renewal?
- Licensees attest to completion at renewal rather than submitting certificates. Continuing education must be approved, and the suicide prevention training must be one of the courses the Division lists. The sources read do not name an accrediting body for nursing continuing education.
Sources
Last verified September 8, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- Renew an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse License, Utah Division of Professional LicensingState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
- Utah Admin. Code R156-31b-303, Renewal Cycle, Procedures (Nurse Practice Act Rule), Cornell LII mirrorThird-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
- Utah Admin. Code R156-1-308a, Renewal Dates (Cornell LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
- Utah Admin. Code R156-37-402, Controlled Substance Continuing Education (Cornell LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
- Nursing, Utah Division of Professional LicensingState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
The topic key controlled_substances is not on the canonical list and is used because the Utah requirement covers controlled substances generally rather than opioids. The alternating expiration dates are the detail most likely to catch a Utah nurse practitioner out, and they were read in R156-1-308a: registered nurse January 31 of odd years, advanced practice registered nurse January 31 of even years, physician assistant May 31 of even years. Utah's own rules site at rules.utah.gov now redirects to an eRules portal, and the direct adminrules.utah.gov rule URLs tried here returned 404, so the rule text was read on the Cornell mirror; the Division's own renewal pages supplied the dates and the suicide prevention item. No pharmacology or pharmacotherapeutics hour requirement was found for Utah nurse practitioners, which is unusual: the state leans on specialty certification instead. This record covers the nurse practitioner role only. Because the requirement is certification based rather than hour based, a reader should treat the certifying body's own recertification rules as the practical continuing education burden.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the Utah Division of Professional Licensing, Board of Nursing (Department of Commerce) before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.