Virginia Advanced Practice Registered Nurses CE Requirements, Accreditations & Approvals

Virginia Nurses

In support of improving patient care, NetCE is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

The Virginia Board of Nursing accepts courses from any provider who is ANCC accredited.

Continuing Education Requirement

The Virginia Board of Nursing accepts NetCE courses.

RNs and LPNs are required one of the following every two years:

  • Current specialty certification by a national credentialing body recognized by the Board; or
  • Completion of a Board approved refresher course; or
  • Completion of a minimum of three credit hours of post-licensure academic education related to nursing practice offered by a regionally accredited college or university; or
  • Completion of a nursing-related, evidence-based practice project or research study; or
  • Completion of a publication as the author co-author during a renewal cycle; or
  • Teaching or developing a nursing-related course resulting in no less than three semester hours of college credit, a 15 week course, or specialty certification; or
  • Teaching or developing nursing-related continuing education courses for up to 30 contact hours; or
  • Fifteen (15) contact hours of continuing education activities relevant to the practice and 640 hours of active practice within the previous two (2) years; or
  • Thirty (30) contact hours of continuing education relevant to the practice of nursing.

APRNs are required to maintain national certification, or 40 contact hours in specialty area approved by certifying agency every two years. Licensees authorized to prescribe are required an additional 8 hours in pharmacology.

Beginning with DEA initial registrations or renewals starting June 27, 2023, all DEA-registered practitioners (with the exception of DVM-only license holders) are required 8 hours on treating and managing patients with opioid or other substance use disorders, including the appropriate clinical use of all FDA-approved drugs for the treatment of a substance use disorder, one-time only.

View APN Special Offers
View RN and LPN Special Offers
View Course List

All Accreditations and Approvals
License Renewal Instructions

For More Information

Please contact the Virginia Board of Nursing at (804) 367-4515, or visit their website at https://www.dhp.virginia.gov/Boards/Nursing/.

Additional information regarding your continuing education requirements may be found at:
http://www.dhp.virginia.gov/Boards/Nursing/PractitionerResources/ContinuedCompetency/ - All Licensees.
https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title18/agency90/chapter19/section160/ - RNs and LPNs.
https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title18/agency90/chapter30/section105/ - APRN-NPs.
http://www.dhp.virginia.gov/Boards/Nursing/PractitionerResources/ContinuedCompetency/PrescriptiveAuthority/ - APRN-NPs with prescriptive authority Pharmacology requirement.
https://www.dhp.virginia.gov/media/dhpweb/docs/nursing/leg/PrescriptiveAuth.pdfwww.dhp.virginia.gov/Boards/Medicine/AbouttheBoard/FAQ/ - Regulations for Prescriptive Authority for Nurse Practitioners Rev 2/2/2022.