Louisiana Nurse Practitioner CE Requirements

• Licenses renew every 2 years (biennial).
• LSBN moved RN/APRN licensure from an annual to a 2-year cycle.

• APRNs must maintain current national certification in their role and population; recertification CE largely satisfies board expectations.
• For the underlying RN license, licensees meet CE/nursing-practice requirements with options based on practice status — e.g., 900 practice hours OR 30 board-approved contact hours during the 2-year period (LAC 46:XLVII.3333/3335).
• The APRN-specific state add-on is the pharmacotherapeutics requirement below.

• 6 contact hours of pharmacotherapeutics per year in the APRN's role and population foci, for any APRN holding prescriptive authority — 12 contact hours per biennial renewal period, which is what LSBN's CE audit requests (LAC 46:XLVII.4513).
• Pharmacotherapeutics hours must be delineated on the certificate; providers must be board-approved or board-approved national certifying organizations.

• A one-time 3 credit hours of CE is required of every practitioner holding a Louisiana CDS license as a prerequisite to CDS license renewal — once completed, it is satisfied in full (La. R.S. 40:978.3, Act 76 of 2017)
  • Covers best practices for prescribing controlled dangerous substances, drug diversion training, appropriate treatment for addiction, and treatment of chronic pain
• As of 1/1/2025, LSBN directs APRNs to its board-approved course.
• These 3 hours can also count toward the pharmacotherapeutics hours.
• The federal 8-hour DEA MATE training also applies.

• LSBN's CE audit requests 12 pharmacotherapeutics hours per biennial audit (LAC 46:XLVII.4513).
• Louisiana requires collaborative practice agreements for prescriptive authority — relevant to PMHNPs.

Official sources