Home / State requirements / Colorado
Colorado CME and nursing CE requirements
Continuing education and license renewal rules for physicians, advanced practice clinicians and nurses licensed in Colorado, as recorded by ClinLicense for planning.
Planning aid only. ClinLicense is not legal or compliance advice. Boards change rules between cycles, so confirm every requirement with the board before you rely on it.
- Licensing board
- Colorado Medical Board
- License lookup
- Public license verification
- License renewal
- Every 2 years
MD CME requirements
Reviewed 2026-10-31 This entry was last reviewed on 2026-10-31. That date records our own review and is not a board approval. Some details below are marked for confirmation, so treat those as unverified until the board confirms them. Always confirm with the board before you rely on it.
- Total hours
- No hour minimum recorded every 2 years
- License renewal
- Every 2 years
Required topics
No mandated topics are recorded for this profession in this state. That is not the same as the board having none, so confirm with the board.
Notes. No fixed CME-hour requirement; licensees attest to competency/professional development. Colorado has added prescriber-related training expectations that are not captured here; confirm with the Board.
DO CME requirements
Not yet verified Not yet verified, confirm with the board. This entry has not been checked against the board’s own published rules.
- Total hours
- No hour minimum recorded every 2 years
- License renewal
- Every 2 years
Required topics
No mandated topics are recorded for this profession in this state. That is not the same as the board having none, so confirm with the board.
Notes. Copied from the MD block as a planning default; the osteopathic rules were not separately confirmed. Confirm with the board.
NP CME requirements
Reviewed 2026-11-01 This entry was last reviewed on 2026-11-01. That date records our own review and is not a board approval. Always confirm with the board before you rely on it.
- Total hours
- No hour minimum recorded, and the renewal cycle is not recorded
- License renewal
- Every 2 years
Required topics
No mandated topics are recorded for this profession in this state. That is not the same as the board having none, so confirm with the board.
Notes. Colorado Board of Nursing FAQ: no continuing education hours required to renew RN/LPN, and APRNs have no additional CE beyond what is needed to maintain national professional certification.
PA CME requirements
Not yet verified Not yet verified, confirm with the board. This entry has not been checked against the board’s own published rules.
- Total hours
- Not recorded, and the renewal cycle is not recorded
- License renewal
- Every 2 years
Required topics
No mandated topics are recorded for this profession in this state. That is not the same as the board having none, so confirm with the board.
Notes. Colorado PA licensing page read does not state a CE/CME hour requirement. Confirm with the board (NCCPA maintenance normally applies).
CRNA CME requirements
Reviewed 2026-11-01 This entry was last reviewed on 2026-11-01. That date records our own review and is not a board approval. Always confirm with the board before you rely on it.
- Total hours
- No hour minimum recorded, and the renewal cycle is not recorded
- License renewal
- Every 2 years
Required topics
No mandated topics are recorded for this profession in this state. That is not the same as the board having none, so confirm with the board.
Notes. Colorado Board of Nursing FAQ: no continuing education hours required to renew RN/LPN, and APRNs have no additional CE beyond what is needed to maintain national professional certification.
CAA CME requirements
Not yet verified Not yet verified, confirm with the board. This entry has not been checked against the board’s own published rules.
- Total hours
- Not recorded, and the renewal cycle is not recorded
- License renewal
- Every 2 years
Required topics
No mandated topics are recorded for this profession in this state. That is not the same as the board having none, so confirm with the board.
Notes. Colorado Medical Board licenses anesthesiologist assistants (Anesthesiologist Assistant tab on the Medical Applications page and the board's PA and AA Licensing Guide). The guide states no CE hour requirement; its 100 CME hours in 2 years (25 Category I in the last year) appear only as the competency route for reinstatement or reactivation (Rule 1.9). Confirm renewal CE with the board.
Colorado nursing CE requirements
Nursing boards usually count continuing education in contact hours rather than CME credits, and the nursing license renews on its own schedule, which may differ from the medical board dates above. Nurse practitioners and nurse anesthetists have their own sections above.
Nurse Licensure Compact Colorado has implemented the Nurse Licensure Compact. A registered or practical nurse whose primary state of residence is Colorado can hold a multistate license issued by Colorado, which carries the privilege to practice in the other compact states, and a nurse with a multistate license from another compact state can practice in Colorado under that privilege. Renewal and CE for a multistate license follow the rules of the home state that issued it. The compact covers RN and LPN/LVN licenses only, and advanced practice authority is still granted state by state. This compact list was last reviewed on November 3, 2026. Read the compact guide for RNs and LPNs.
Registered nurses (RN)
Reviewed 2026-11-03 This entry was last reviewed on 2026-11-03 against the source linked below. That date records our own review and is not a board approval.
- Continuing education
- The board requires no continuing education for this license.
- Continuing competency
- A nurse who has not worked on an active license in the last two years must show continued competency, usually through a board-recognized refresher course.
- Nursing license renewal
- Every 2 years
- Board
- Colorado Board of Nursing
- Source
- The board page this entry was checked against
Notes. Colorado requires no continuing education hours to renew an RN or practical nurse license. A nurse who has not worked on an active license in the last two years must show continued competency, usually through a board-recognized refresher course.
Licensed practical and vocational nurses (LPN/LVN)
Reviewed 2026-11-03 This entry was last reviewed on 2026-11-03 against the source linked below. That date records our own review and is not a board approval.
- Continuing education
- The board requires no continuing education for this license.
- Continuing competency
- A nurse who has not worked on an active license in the last two years must show continued competency, usually through a board-recognized refresher course.
- Nursing license renewal
- Every 2 years
- Board
- Colorado Board of Nursing
- Source
- The board page this entry was checked against
Notes. Colorado requires no continuing education hours to renew an RN or practical nurse license. A nurse who has not worked on an active license in the last two years must show continued competency, usually through a board-recognized refresher course.
Certified nurse-midwives (CNM)
Reviewed 2026-11-03 This entry was last reviewed on 2026-11-03 against the source linked below. That date records our own review and is not a board approval.
- Continuing education
- The board requires no continuing education for this license.
- Continuing competency
- A nurse who has not worked on an active license in the last two years must show continued competency, usually through a refresher course.
- Nursing license renewal
- Every 2 years
- Board
- Colorado Board of Nursing
- Source
- The board page this entry was checked against
Notes. The board FAQ states there are no continuing education requirements for APRNs other than those needed to maintain professional certification. A nurse who has not worked on an active license in the last two years must show continued competency, usually through a refresher course.
Clinical nurse specialists (CNS)
Reviewed 2026-11-03 This entry was last reviewed on 2026-11-03 against the source linked below. That date records our own review and is not a board approval.
- Continuing education
- The board requires no continuing education for this license.
- Continuing competency
- A nurse who has not worked on an active license in the last two years must show continued competency, usually through a refresher course.
- Nursing license renewal
- Every 2 years
- Board
- Colorado Board of Nursing
- Source
- The board page this entry was checked against
Notes. The board FAQ states there are no continuing education requirements for APRNs other than those needed to maintain professional certification. A nurse who has not worked on an active license in the last two years must show continued competency, usually through a refresher course.
See nursing CE requirements by state to compare Colorado with other states.
Plan this renewal
Use the free opioid CME planner to see the controlled-substance rules for Colorado next to other states, or the license cost calculator to estimate fees. Read how multi-state CME works if you hold more than one license.
Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurse anesthetists and anesthesiologist assistants usually also maintain national certification, which has its own cycle. The recertification basics guide explains how that fits alongside state rules. Nurses who hold licenses in more than one state can read the Nurse Licensure Compact for RNs and LPNs.
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