Florida Nurse Practitioner CE Requirements

Renewal cycle

2 years (biennial), staggered expiration groups

Total CE hours

24 hours of CE per biennial renewal (confirmed on the official Florida Board of Nursing APRN renewal page): 16 general hours + mandatory courses (medical errors 2, FL laws & rules 2, human trafficking 2, controlled-substance prescribing 3 counted within the total per the Board's breakdown). Domestic violence (2 hrs, every third biennium) is IN ADDITION to the 24. All CE reported via CE Broker.

Pharmacology CE

No separate general pharmacology-hour requirement in Florida statute/rule beyond the mandatory 3-hour controlled-substance prescribing course (see next field). Florida APRNs must maintain national certification, so certifying-body pharmacology requirements (e.g. ANCC 25 pharm hours per 5-year cycle) apply in practice. Confirmed 'none' for a state-mandated pharm-specific hour count from the official Board renewal page, which lists all mandatory courses.

Controlled-substance CE

3-hour course on Safe and Effective Prescription of Controlled Substances required EVERY biennial renewal for all APRNs regardless of DEA status (§456.0301(1)(d)-related provisions; course must be offered by a statewide professional association of physicians in Florida accredited for AMA PRA Category 1 credit — confirmed on official Board page). Per 2026 legislation, as of July 1, 2026 the course must include treatment of pain for patients with sickle cell disease (reported by multiple CE sources; verify wording with the Board). One-time 1-hour HIV/AIDS course before first renewal; 2-hour Recognizing Impairment in the Workplace every other biennium. Federal DEA MATE 8-hour one-time training applies to DEA registrants.

Good to know

All core numbers verified directly on the official floridasnursing.gov APRN renewal page. The 3-hour controlled-substance course provider restriction (statewide physician association, e.g. FMA) is unusual — generic ANCC pharmacology courses do NOT satisfy it. PMHNPs practicing autonomously under F.S. 464.0123 (autonomous APRN registration) have additional requirements (3,000 practice hours; autonomous-practice-specific CE of 10 hours differential diagnosis/pharmacology at registration). Sickle-cell content addition effective 7/1/2026 is a recent change worth flagging.

Official sources