Virginia Nurse Practitioner CE Requirements

• NP licenses renew every 2 years (biennial).
• Renewal falls by the last day of your birth month, in odd- or even-numbered years matching your year of birth.

• If you were initially licensed on or after May 8, 2002, you MUST hold current professional certification in your specialty to renew — there is no CE alternative (18VAC90-30-105, amended effective Nov. 8, 2023).
• Only APRNs licensed before May 8, 2002 (or CNSs registered with a retired certification) may choose between current certification OR at least 40 hours of CE in the specialty area per biennium.
• Framing this as a general '40 hours OR certification' option overstates who can use the 40-hour pathway.

• 8 contact hours of pharmacology or pharmacotherapeutics per 2-year renewal cycle for NPs with prescriptive authority, in addition to the general continued-competency requirement (18VAC90-40).
• No pharmacology-specific hours if you do not hold prescriptive authority.

• No recurring state-mandated opioid or pain CE specific to NP license renewal.
• The federal one-time 8-hour DEA MATE Act training applies if you hold a DEA registration.
• Keep evidence of the 8 pharmacology hours for 4 years — it is subject to random audit.

• The 8-hour pharmacology requirement applies to PMHNPs with prescriptive authority the same as other NPs.
• The 40-hours-or-certification option is the general NP continued-competency rule; because national certification is a condition of Virginia NP licensure, recertification usually satisfies it.

Official sources