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Arkansas Nurse Practitioner CE Requirements

Arkansas State Board of Nursing (ASBN), within the Arkansas Department of Health

Last reviewed July 2026 · verify current rules with the board before relying on them

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Renewal cycle

2 years
  • Licenses renew every 2 years (biennial).

Total CE hours

Varies
  • Choose one of three options each biennium (applies to LPN, RN, and APRN) (ASBN, Act 86 of 2001):
    • 15 contact hours of practice-focused CE
    • Current national certification or recertification
    • At least 1 college credit hour in nursing with a grade of C or better
  • Nearly all APRNs use the national-certification option, since national certification is independently required for APRN renewal.

Pharmacology CE

5 hours
  • APRNs with prescriptive authority need 5 contact hours of pharmacotherapeutics CE in their area of certification each biennium (ASBN Rules Chapter Four).
    • This is in addition to the general CE/certification requirement

Controlled-substance CE

2 of 5 hours
  • 2 of the 5 pharmacotherapeutics hours must cover professional boundaries, substance abuse/misuse, and Arkansas APRN prescribing rules, regulations, and laws.
  • ASBN designates mandatory courses through CE Broker that must be completed before renewal.
    • Currently 'Advanced Practice Nursing in Arkansas' and a prescription drug abuse/misuse course

Good to know

  • APRN renewal requires current national certification plus an active, unencumbered Arkansas (or compact) RN license.
  • The 5 pharmacotherapeutics hours are tracked via CE Broker and are the state's key APRN-specific requirement; a PMHNP should take them in psychiatric pharmacology.
  • Arkansas is an NLC state for the RN license; the APRN license is state-specific.

Official sources

healthy.arkansas.gov healthy.arkansas.gov law.cornell.edu

This guide is informational and not legal or licensing advice. National certification (e.g. ANCC PMHNP-BC: 75 CE hours per 5 years including 25 pharmacotherapeutics hours) and the one-time 8-hour DEA MATE Act training may apply in addition to state requirements.

CE Requirements in Other States

Alabama Alaska Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

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Cover Your Arkansas Requirements

The PMHNP CE Program, by Psychopharmacology Institute, is continuing education built around psychopharmacology: 115 CME contact hours, including 75+ pharmacology hours — the category state boards and certifying bodies actually require of prescribers. Every publication is available as video, audio in your podcast app, and text summaries with key points.

Content is taught by academic faculty, focused on real-world prescribing, and free of commercial bias. 1 CME = 1 contact hour, fully AANP-approved.

"The lack of commercial bias in this program gives me peace of mind." — program member
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