Of the over 3 million registered nurses working in the United States, over 230,00 of those nurses work in Texas. If you are one of those 230,000 and looking to renew your Texas nursing license, here’s a quick summary of what the Texas Board of Nursing requires for nursing license renewal.
How do I renew my nursing license in Texas?
For each licensure renewal, the Texas Board of Nursing requires every nurse to:
- Complete 20 contact hours of continuing nursing education (CNE) in the nurse’s area of practice within the licensing period OR
- Demonstrate the achievement, maintenance, or renewal of a Board-approved national nursing certification in the nurse’s area of practice within the licensing period.
To get started on the renewal process, visit the Texas Nursing Board’s Nurse Portal.
From this portal, you can log in to your account or set up a new account if you don’t have one. Once you’ve logged in, follow the instructions for your Texas nursing license renewal.
The Texas Board formerly mailed all licenses renewal reminder postcards 60 days before the renewal deadline. However, effective September 1, 2023, the Board will no longer be mailing physical renewal reminders. The Board will only send out email notifications to nurses enrolled in the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s Nursys e-Notify system.
Texas nursing license renewal: Targeted continuing education requirements
Texas nurses with specific areas of practice have additional targeted continuing education requirements. Please note that individual nurses are responsible for selecting the courses that meet targeted CE requirements for their areas of practice. These areas include:
- Any nurse working in an emergency room (ER) setting. This includes one who could float to an ER or have shifts scheduled in an ER. It also includes any nurse who works under contractual, temporary, per diem, agency, traveling. This also covers any another employment relationship whose duties include working in an ER.
- A nurse who performs a forensic examination on a sexual assault survivor.
- Nurses whose practice includes older adult or geriatric populations.
- Any APRN who holds prescriptive authority.
- Any APRN who has entered a prescriptive authority agreement authorizing opioid prescribing.
Additionally, all nurses must complete at least 2 contact hours of CNE relating to nursing jurisprudence and nursing ethics before the end of every third two-year licensing period. Any nurse who provides direct patient care must also complete a human trafficking prevention course. Furthermore, an APRN whose practice includes the treatment of tick-borne diseases is encouraged to complete a CE course related to tick-borne diseases.
Texas nursing license renewal requirements: APNs
As well as the human trafficking prevention and nursing jurisprudence and nursing ethics course requirements, APNs in Texas who are DEA-registered practitioners must complete 8 hours of one-time training on the treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders.
Additionally, APNs with prescriptive authority must complete the following CE courses. This accounts for a total of 25 contact hours every two years:
- 5 hours on Pharmacotherapeutics
- 4 hours (2 hours annually) on safe and effective pain management related to the prescription of opioids and other controlled substances (included in the total 25 hours)
Texas APNs, complete your CE now with the 25-Hour Texas Advance Practice Nurse CE Package.
Where can I complete my CE hours?
Browse dozens of nursing CE courses, accessible 24/7 in Elite’s online library, and meet all the CE required to maintain your Texas nursing license.
Click here to learn more about your Texas nursing continuing education requirements.
Colibri Healthcare, LLC is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation, ANCC Provider # P0456. Nursing boards in most states requiring continuing education (CE) accept courses offered by ANCC accredited providers.
