CEUs & License Renewal
See exactly what CE your state board requires to renew. Two quick steps.
1Your profession
Free CEUs
Free CE you can take today
Accredited courses that cost nothing, or are free with a membership you may already have. We checked every link and offer on Oct 19, 2026. Make sure your board accepts the CE type.
More help
National certification CENBRC, ARRT, ASCP, NBSTSA, ASHA, NBCOT, ANCC and more
Your national credential has its own CE clock, separate from your state license. Many state boards also require you to keep it current.
NBRC (CRT, RRT and specialty RT credentials)
- Credentials earned under the Credential Maintenance Program last 5 years.
- Keep them with quarterly online assessments plus up to 30 CE hours, depending on your results (15 for the “yellow zone,” 30 for the “red zone” or if you skip the assessments). You can also earn another NBRC credential or retake the exam.
- State licenses have their own CE rules (see above). Several states accept AARC-approved CE, for example Kentucky, Vermont and Virginia.
ARRT (radiologic technology)
- 24 CE credits every 2-year biennium. Sonography credential holders need 16 of those in sonography.
- Registered radiologist assistants (R.R.A.): 50 credits.
- Renew annually by the end of your birth month. If your credential was earned on or after Jan 1, 2011, you also complete Continuing Qualifications Requirements (CQR) every 10 years.
ASCP BOC (MLS and MLT)
- 36 CMP points every 3 years for MLS and MLT.
- Must include 2 points each in blood banking, chemistry, hematology and microbiology, 1 in lab or patient safety, and 1 in medical ethics. The other 26 points are your choice.
AMT (MT/MLT and other lab credentials)
- Certification Continuation Program (CCP): 45 points over 3 years (15 per year), plus an annual fee.
NBSTSA (CST and CSFA)
- CST: 30 CE credits every 2 years, at least 4 live. CSFA: 38 credits, at least 8 live. No carryover.
- CE is reported to AST, and you renew with NBSTSA. AST gives members 3 free online CE credits a year.
ASHA CCC-SLP
- 30 professional development hours (PDHs) every 3 years.
- Effective Jan 1, 2026: at least 1 hour in ethics and 2 hours in cultural responsiveness and related topics, plus a one-time 2-hour supervision course if you supervise.
NBCOT (OTR and COTA)
- 36 professional development units every 3 years.
- Renewal season runs January through March of your renewal year.
Nursing specialty certifications
- ANCC: 75 CE contact hours every 5 years (25 in pharmacology for NPs and CNSs) plus one more professional development category.
- AACN CCRN: 100 CERPs every 3 years, plus 432 clinical practice hours.
- BCEN (CEN, CPEN, TCRN and others): 100 CE hours every 4 years, at least 75 clinical.
- In some states a current national nursing certification can count toward license renewal (Texas, New Mexico, South Carolina and Oklahoma among them; see the state list).
Sources: the NBRC, ARRT, ASCP BOC, AMT, NBSTSA/AST, ASHA, NBCOT, ANCC, AACN and BCEN pages linked above (checked Oct 2026).
Lab, rad & surg techWhich states license these fields
These fields aren’t licensed everywhere. Where a state does license you, its CE rule usually works alongside your national credential.
Lab (MLS/MLT): state licensure
Only some states license lab staff: California, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Tennessee and West Virginia, plus Puerto Rico (per ASCLS). These states may have their own CE rules apart from your ASCP or AMT credential, so check with each one.
Surgical technologists: state laws
Per AST’s legislative overview, states with education or certification laws include Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, North Dakota and Washington require registration. Confirm the current rule with each state.
Radiologic technologists: state licensure
Most states regulate radiologic technology, and requirements (including CE) vary by state. An ARRT credential by itself doesn’t mean you can work in a state. Use ASRT’s state list to find each agency, and confirm before you start a contract.
Tips for multiple licenses8 tips for travelers juggling several states
- Track your licenses by expiration date, not by state. Make one list with each license, its renewal date, the hours owed and any required topics. Finish the CE for the earliest deadline first.
- Look for courses that count in more than one place. A general clinical course can often count toward several state licenses and your national credential. State-specific topics (Florida laws & rules, Texas jurisprudence, Pennsylvania child abuse reporting) usually only count in that state.
- Check required topics first. Ethics, human trafficking, implicit bias, infection control and medical errors are common add-ons. Many states count them inside the total hours, but some add them on top.
- National certification can do double duty. Some nursing boards (Texas, New Mexico, South Carolina, Oklahoma and others) accept a current specialty certification for renewal, and some RT boards give credit for NBRC exams (Rhode Island, for example).
- Compacts change where you can work, not always what CE you owe. With a multistate (NLC) nursing license you renew through your home state, so plan on your home state’s CE rules (NLC details). For RT, PT, OT and SLP compacts, check each compact’s rules for privilege renewals.
- Your first renewal may be prorated or exempt. Many boards (Massachusetts and Iowa nursing, Illinois and New Jersey RT, among others) waive or reduce CE for a first renewal. Don’t assume it, though; check the rule.
- Keep every certificate for audits. Many boards audit at random, and some ask you to keep records for 4 years (Massachusetts and Iowa nursing, for example). Save PDFs in one cloud folder named by year and state.
- Use the state’s tracker when it has one. Florida, Alabama and other states use CE Broker. Upload as you go so renewal isn’t a scramble.
Need a board’s phone number or compact status? See the Licensing page.
About this dataSources and what our labels mean
- Where the numbers come from: each result links to the state board page, statute or rule we read. Some rule text was read via Cornell LII or state code sites.
- Board-reported (PT only): some PT numbers come from the FSBPT Jurisdiction Licensure Reference Guide, which boards report to FSBPT.
- “Check with the board” means we couldn’t confirm the rule on an official source, so we link the board instead of guessing.
- CE rules change often. Always confirm with your board before you renew.