North Carolina Continuing Education Requirements

• 15 Contact Hours of continued education and 640 hours of active practice within previous 2 years 
• National Certification or Re-certification by a National Credentialing Body recognized by the Board
• 30 Contact Hours of continued education
• Completion of a Board-Approved Refresher Course
• Completion of a minimum of two (2) semester hours of post-licensure academic education related to nursing practice
• 15 Contact Hours of continued education and completion of a nursing project as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator to include statement of problem, project objectives, methods, date of completion and summary of findings
• 15 Contact Hours of continued education and Authoring or Co-Authoring a nursing-related article, paper, book or book chapter
• 15 Contact Hours of continued education and developing and conducting a nursing continuing education presentation or presentations totaling a minimum of five contact hours, including program brochure or course syllabi, objectives, date and location of presentation, and approximate number of attendees

• 30 Contact Hours of continued education
• 15 Contact Hours of continued education and 640 hours of active practice within previous 2 years 
• National Certification or Re-certification by a National Credentialing Body recognized by the Board
• Completion of a Board-Approved Refresher Course
• Completion of a minimum of two (2) semester hours of post-licensure academic education related to nursing practice
• 15 Contact Hours of continued education and completion of a nursing project as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator to include a statement of a problem, project objectives, methods, date of completion and summary of findings
• 15 Contact Hours of continued education and Authoring or Co-Authoring a nursing-related article, paper, book or book chapter
• 15 Contact Hours of continued education and developing and conducting a nursing continuing education presentation or presentations totaling a minimum of five contact hours, including program brochure or course syllabi, objectives, date, and location of presentation, and approximate number of attendees

50 contact hours of continuing education is the requirement for one contact hour of continuing education every 2 years. A minimum of 20 hours of the required 50 hours must be within the nurse practitioner's national certification. The 20 hours must have the approval from a national credentialing body (ANCC) or ACCME. The remaining CE hours must be at the advanced practice level.

Prior to prescribing controlled substances, nurse practitioners shall have completed a minimum of 1 CE hour within the preceding 12 months on one or more of the following topics:

• Controlled substances prescription practices
• Prescribing controlled substances for chronic pain management
• Recognizing signs of controlled substance abuse or misuse; or
• Non-opioid treatment options as an alternative to controlled substances

• 15 Contact hours of continued education and 640 hours of active practice within previous 2 years
• National Certification or Re-certification by a National Credentialing Body recognized by the board
• 30 contact hours of continued education
• Completion of a Board-Approved refresher course
• Completion of a minimum of two semester hours of post-licensure academic education related to nursing practice
• 15 contact hours of continued education and completion of a nursing project as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator to include statement of problem, project objectives, methods, date of completion and summary of findings
• 15 contact hours of continued education and authoring or co-authoring a nursing-related article, paper, book or book chapter
• 15 contact hours of continued education and developing and conducting a nursing continuing education presentation or presentations totaling a minimum of five contact hours, including program brochure or course syllabi, objectives, date and location of presentation, and approximate number of attendees

• Performed at least eight (8) hours of nursing or nursing-related services for pay within your current registration/listing period.
• The nursing or nursing-related services performed were delegated and supervised by a Registered Nurse (RN).