Pennsylvania added a requirement in May 2026, and it is a good moment to lay out the whole RN picture rather than just the new piece. The headline number has not moved — 30 contact hours every two years — but the mandated courses inside and alongside it are where compliance actually lives.
The 30-hour biennial core
Pennsylvania RN licenses renew biennially, and the requirement is 30 contact hours of Board-approved CE per cycle. That is a moderate-to-higher load — more than Florida's 24 and Ohio's 24, structured very differently from Washington's annual 8. Two mandated courses count toward the 30.
Child abuse recognition and reporting
2 hours, every renewal. Of the 30 contact hours, 2 must be Board-approved CE in child abuse recognition and reporting, every cycle. It counts toward the total. This recurring mandate is part of the quiet but common child-abuse reporting requirement several states share.
The new organ and tissue donation course
2 hours, one-time, effective May 1, 2026. RNs must complete a one-time 2-hour course in organ and tissue donation and recovery within five years of initial licensure or licensure renewal, whichever comes first. It counts toward the 30-hour total. Because it is one-time and tied to a five-year window rather than a recurring schedule, it is the one most likely to slip — I covered it on its own in Pennsylvania added an organ-donation CE requirement, and it behaves like the one-time mandates that quietly stack up.
The first-renewal exemption (with a catch)
Nurses are exempt from the general CE requirement for their first renewal following initial Pennsylvania licensure by examination — but the child-abuse course may still apply, and the organ-donation window starts running from licensure. So "first renewal is exempt" does not mean "do nothing." New nurses should confirm exactly which mandated courses still apply, a textbook first-cycle quirk.
If you work across state lines
Pennsylvania is a Nurse Licensure Compact state, so many RNs here practice on or hold multistate privileges. Pennsylvania-specific courses do not transfer to satisfy other states' rules — see the practice-state CE overlay and the multistate CME explainer. If Pennsylvania is your practice state, these courses are yours to complete here.
A clean Pennsylvania RN cycle
Bank 30 hours including the recurring 2-hour child-abuse course, complete the one-time organ-donation course early in your window, and keep certificates. A simple tracking habit handles this, and clean records are most of what a board audit wants. Confirm current rules and approved providers with the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing.
Pennsylvania is one of several states changing nursing rules right now — see the 2026-to-2028 roundup for the full set. If keeping a recurring course, a new one-timer, and 30 hours straight sounds like more than you want to manage, we will map it. White Glove CME builds a written Pennsylvania RN plan tied to your renewal for a flat $99 per license renewal — planning only, no credit granted, no board login. See pricing or tell us your renewal month. The breakdown is on our Pennsylvania RN page and the Pennsylvania overview.
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Stop guessing what CME you need. Tell us your license type, state, and renewal date, and we'll map exactly which continuing-education hours and mandated topics you need — and by when. Flat $99 per plan.