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Massachusetts Nurse Practitioner CE Requirements

Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing (Department of Public Health)

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

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Renewal cycle

2 years
  • RN license and APRN authorization renew together every 2 years.
  • Renewal falls on your birthday in even-numbered years (RN licenses and APRN authorization expire on the licensee's birthday in even years; odd years apply only to LPNs).

Total CE hours

15 hours
  • 15 contact hours per 2-year renewal cycle — the same requirement for RNs and APRNs (244 CMR 5.00).
  • APRNs must also hold current national certification from a Board-recognized certifying organization to renew APRN authorization (244 CMR 4.05).

Pharmacology CE

None
  • Massachusetts sets no fixed pharmacology contact-hour count for APRN renewal.
  • Advanced pharmacotherapeutics is a graduate-coursework prerequisite for initial authorization — not a renewal CE quota.
  • CE content need only be consistent with 244 CMR 5.00.

Controlled-substance CE

Varies
  • APRNs holding a Massachusetts Controlled Substance Registration (MCSR) must comply with all state and federal CE requirements at initial application and each APRN authorization renewal (244 CMR 4.07(5)).
  • State prescriber law and Board policy require training in these areas, with no fixed hour count in the nursing regulations:
    • Pain management
    • Identifying patients at high risk for substance use disorder
    • Counseling patients on medication risks
  • DEA registrants: one-time 8-hour federal DEA MATE Act training.

Good to know

  • PMHNPs (the PNMHCS category) with less than 2 years of prescriptive practice need signed supervision guidelines with a qualified healthcare professional.
  • There is no separate RN/APRN CE split — the only APRN-side addition is maintaining national certification.

Official sources

mass.gov masscrna.com mass.gov mass.gov

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 Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland 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 Massachusetts 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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