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North Carolina CME and nursing CE requirements
Continuing education and license renewal rules for physicians, advanced practice clinicians and nurses licensed in North Carolina, 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
- North Carolina Medical Board
- License lookup
- Public license verification
- License renewal
- Every 1 year
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
- 60 hours every 3 years, with at least 20 in Category 1 or the equivalent
- License renewal
- Every 1 year
Required topics
| Topic | Hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opioid & controlled-substance prescribing | 3 | Every cycle | DEA registrants | Controlled-substance prescribing, per 3-year cycle, for DEA-registered prescribers |
Notes. 60 hours per 3 years, at least 20 Category 1 (confirm).
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
- 60 hours every 3 years, with at least 20 in Category 1 or the equivalent
- License renewal
- Every 1 year
Required topics
| Topic | Hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opioid & controlled-substance prescribing | 3 | Every cycle | DEA registrants | Controlled-substance prescribing, per 3-year cycle, for DEA-registered prescribers |
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
- 50 hours every 2 years
- License renewal
- Every 1 year
Required topics
| Topic | Hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opioid & controlled-substance prescribing | 1 | Every cycle | DEA registrants | One contact hour on controlled substance prescribing practices, signs of abuse or misuse, and chronic pain prescribing; included within the 50; for NPs who prescribe controlled substances without national certification |
Notes. Rule 21 NCAC 36.0807: NPs maintain national certification or earn 50 contact hours every 2 years (at least 20 from ANCC/ACCME/other national body or higher-education courses; remaining 30 at advanced practice level). A current national certification is deemed compliance with the 50-hour paragraph. Renewal falls in the birth month.
PA 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. 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
- 50 hours every 2 years, with at least 50 in Category 1 or the equivalent
- License renewal
- Every 1 year
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. NC Medical Board PA renewal page: at least 50 hours of NCCPA Category I CME every two years; not required to report on the annual renewal if currently NCCPA-certified or within two years of graduation (attestation). Secondary sources for the rule text (21 NCAC 32S .0216) indicate 2 hours of controlled substances CME for prescribers within the 50, but the rule text is not confirmed here; confirm with the board. PA licenses renew annually.
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
- Not recorded every 2 years
- License renewal
- Every 1 year
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. 21 NCAC 36 .0226: a nurse anesthetist must be credentialed as a CRNA by the Council on Certification and maintain recertification through the Council on Recertification of Nurse Anesthetists. The NC Board of Nursing rule sets no separate state CE hour count for CRNAs; the 50-hour/1 controlled-substance-hour rule in .0807 applies to nurse practitioners only. RN license renewal (biennial) carries the board continued-competence requirement, which is not detailed here.
CAA 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. 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
- 40 hours every 2 years
- License renewal
- Every 1 year
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. NC Medical Board AA renewal page: anesthesiologist assistants complete at least 40 hours of CME as required by the NCCAA for every two-year period, keep documentation for inspection, and comply with NCCAA recertification including the CDQ exam. The board page lists an annual renewal fee of $125 (late fee $25), which differs from the $200 in the October 2026 fee schedule PDF cited in the earlier note; confirm the current fee with the board.
North Carolina 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 North Carolina has implemented the Nurse Licensure Compact. A registered or practical nurse whose primary state of residence is North Carolina can hold a multistate license issued by North Carolina, 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 North Carolina 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
- 30 contact hours every 2 years
- Other ways to meet it
- 21 NCAC 36 .0232 offers eight options: national certification, 30 contact hours, a Board-approved refresher course, 2 semester hours of academic education, or 15 contact hours combined with a nursing project, a publication, a presentation of at least 5 contact hours, or 640 hours of active practice in the previous two years.
- Nursing license renewal
- Every 2 years, based on end of your birth month
- Board
- North Carolina Board of Nursing
- Source
- The board page this entry was checked against
No mandated topics are recorded for this license. That is not the same as the board having none, so confirm with the board.
Notes. 21 NCAC 36 .0232 offers eight options: national certification, 30 contact hours, a Board-approved refresher course, 2 semester hours of academic education, or 15 contact hours combined with a nursing project, a publication, a presentation of at least 5 contact hours, or 640 hours of active practice in the previous two years. Licenses expire on the last day of the birth month every two years and the Board audits compliance.
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
- 30 contact hours every 2 years
- Other ways to meet it
- 21 NCAC 36 .0232 offers eight options: national certification, 30 contact hours, a Board-approved refresher course, 2 semester hours of academic education, or 15 contact hours combined with a nursing project, a publication, a presentation of at least 5 contact hours, or 640 hours of active practice in the previous two years.
- Nursing license renewal
- Every 2 years, based on end of your birth month
- Board
- North Carolina Board of Nursing
- Source
- The board page this entry was checked against
No mandated topics are recorded for this license. That is not the same as the board having none, so confirm with the board.
Notes. 21 NCAC 36 .0232 offers eight options: national certification, 30 contact hours, a Board-approved refresher course, 2 semester hours of academic education, or 15 contact hours combined with a nursing project, a publication, a presentation of at least 5 contact hours, or 640 hours of active practice in the previous two years. Licenses expire on the last day of the birth month every two years and the Board audits compliance.
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
- Not recorded, so confirm the figure with the board.
- Nursing license renewal
- Every 1 year, based on end of your birth month
- Board
- North Carolina Midwifery Joint Committee (Medical Board and Board of Nursing)
- Source
- The board page this entry was checked against
Required topics
| Topic | Contact hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opioid & controlled-substance prescribing | 1 | Every cycle | DEA registrants | One contact hour within the preceding 12 months on controlled substance prescribing, chronic pain prescribing, recognizing misuse, or non-opioid alternatives, required before prescribing controlled substances; MATE Act training satisfies it for the CE period |
Notes. 21 NCAC 33 .0111: a CNM maintains approval by meeting the AMCB Certificate Maintenance Program, including its continuing education, which the rule incorporates by reference without stating an hour total. Approval is renewed annually by the last day of the birth month under .0114, and CNMs are approved by the Midwifery Joint Committee.
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
- 30 contact hours every 2 years
- Other ways to meet it
- Only CNSs recognized before April 1, 2023 without certification must show 75 or 150 CE hours over five years.
- Nursing license renewal
- Every 2 years, based on end of your birth month
- Board
- North Carolina Board of Nursing
- Source
- The board page this entry was checked against
No mandated topics are recorded for this license. That is not the same as the board having none, so confirm with the board.
Notes. 21 NCAC 36 .0228: a CNS must hold a master's degree and current national certification as a CNS and renews every two years with the RN license, so the RN options under .0232 apply, and national certification is one of them. Only CNSs recognized before April 1, 2023 without certification must show 75 or 150 CE hours over five years.
See nursing CE requirements by state to compare North Carolina with other states.
Plan this renewal
Use the free opioid CME planner to see the controlled-substance rules for North Carolina 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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