Kentucky Nurse Practitioner CE Requirements

Renewal cycle

1 year (annual; licensure year runs November 1 – October 31)

Total CE hours

The RN-level requirement is 14 contact hours per year, which is deemed met by maintaining current national APRN certification (required for all APRNs). On top of that, APRNs must complete the state-specific pharmacology CE below each year.

Pharmacology CE

5 contact hours of pharmacology EVERY YEAR (Nov 1 – Oct 31), required of all APRNs. Content must include drug-specific information, safe prescribing practices, or similar pharmacology objectives (201 KAR 20:215; KBN APRN Continuing Education page). Note: 5 hours annually ≈ 10 hours per 2-year equivalent, and it is a recurring, hard requirement.

Controlled-substance CE

APRNs who are DEA-registered and have a KASPER (Kentucky PDMP) account must complete at least 3 of the required 5 annual pharmacology hours in pain management or addiction disorders. APRNs authorized to certify medicinal cannabis need an additional 3 contact hours/year on cannabis topics. Federal one-time 8-hour DEA MATE training also applies to DEA registrants.

Good to know

Verified directly from the official KBN APRN Continuing Education page. Highly relevant for a PMHNP audience: the 3-of-5 pain-management/addiction-disorders hours apply to any DEA-registered PMHNP. CE must come from a KBN-approved provider, another state BON, or a national nursing organization (201 KAR 20:220).

Official sources