Tennessee Nurse Practitioner CE Requirements

• APRN licenses renew every 2 years (biennial).

• No fixed total CE-hour requirement.
• To renew, you show two things (Rule 1000-01-.18(2)):
  • Current national certification (ANCC, AANP, etc.)
  • One item from the RN continued-competence menu
• One menu option is 10 contact hours of CE per renewal period — but employer evaluation, a peer letter, self-evaluation, and other options also satisfy it.

• No pharmacology CE required at renewal.
• The pharmacology requirement (3 quarter hours of graduate pharmacology instruction) applies only to the initial Certificate of Fitness application.
• Ongoing pharmacology is effectively deferred to national certification maintenance.

• At least 2 contact hours per biennial renewal on controlled-substance prescribing practices, required for every APRN holding a Certificate of Fitness (prescriptive authority) (Rule 1000-01-.18(2)).
• Must include instruction in the Tennessee Department of Health treatment guidelines on opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and carisoprodol.

• The key split (Rule 1000-01-.18(2)(a)(b)(c)):
  • APRN without a Certificate of Fitness: certification + 1 RN competence item
  • APRN with a Certificate of Fitness: certification + 1 RN competence item + the 2-hour controlled-substance CE
• A PMHNP who prescribes (holds a Certificate of Fitness) must complete the 2-hour requirement.
• Keep your evidence for 4 years — the Board can request it.

Official sources