Washington Nurse Practitioner CE Requirements

Renewal cycle

The ARNP license itself renews every OTHER year (biennial), by the practitioner's birthday — official Board of Nursing renewal page: 'All ARNPs in Washington state must renew their license every other year, by their birthday.' It is the underlying RN license that renews annually by birthday. The claim's 'license renews annually on the practitioner's birthday' is wrong for the ARNP credential.

Total CE hours

30 contact hours of CE per 2-year renewal for each ARNP designation is confirmed (WAC 246-840-360/-361), but the '250 hours of advanced practice per 2-year cycle' is NOT in the current renewal rule: WAC 246-840-360 (current text, read directly at leg.wa.gov) requires only (a) active WA RN license, (b) current certification, and (c) 30 CE hours per designation. Neither the Board's renewal page nor its Continuing Competency FAQ (eff. 8/15/2025) lists a 250-hour ARNP practice requirement; the current RN-level continuing competency (which ARNPs must also meet) is a minimum of 96 practice hours and 8 CE hours yearly.

Pharmacology CE

15 contact hours of pharmacotherapeutics CE per 2-year reporting cycle for ARNPs with prescriptive authority (WAC 246-840-450/-451), related to the ARNP's scope of certification/practice. These 15 hours are in addition to the 30-hour ARNP CE requirement.

Controlled-substance CE

One-time 4-hour CE in best practices for opioid prescribing for ARNPs who prescribe opioids (WAC 246-840-4655, from the 2019 opioid prescribing rules). Also a one-time 6-hour suicide prevention training for RNs/ARNPs (RCW 43.70.442; CRNAs exempt), and 2 hours of health equity CE every 4 years for all WA health professionals (RCW 43.70.613). Federal DEA MATE Act 8-hour one-time training applies to DEA registrants.

Good to know

30-hour ARNP CE and 15-hour pharmacotherapeutics numbers verified directly in the Washington Administrative Code (official leg.wa.gov). A PMHNP with prescriptive authority therefore needs 30 ARNP CE hours + 15 pharmacotherapeutics hours per 2-year cycle. RN-level continuing competency (recent rule updates added annual CE elements) is tracked separately from the ARNP requirements.

Official sources