Pennsylvania Nurse Practitioner CE Requirements

• Licenses renew every 2 years (biennial); CRNP certification renews with the RN license.

• 30 hours of Board-approved CE in the 2 years prior to biennial renewal of CRNP certification (49 Pa. Code §21.331).
  • Must include at least 2 hours of approved training in child abuse recognition and reporting; effective May 1, 2026, also a one-time 2 hours of Board-approved organ and tissue donation CE (completed within 5 years, countable within the 30 hours).

• 16 of the 30 hours must be Board-approved pharmacology CE, required as a condition of biennial renewal of prescriptive authority approval (49 Pa. Code §21.331; also §21.283).

• CRNPs renewing prescriptive authority who hold a DEA registration need at least 2 hours of Board-approved CE in pain management, identification of addiction, or practices of prescribing or dispensing opioids (49 Pa. Code 21.331; required once per renewal regardless of the number of prescriptive authority approvals).
  • May count within the 30/16 hours

• CRNPs without prescriptive authority still need 30 hours total (including 2 hrs child abuse) but not the 16-hour pharmacology component.
• The RN license carries its own CE (30 hrs including child abuse) — the CRNP hours can overlap.
• Applies equally to PMHNP-certified CRNPs; pharmacology CE must relate to pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of drug categories or drugs used in the CRNP's specialty.

Official sources