If you hold an Illinois Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) license, IDFPR requires 80 hours of continuing education every two-year renewal cycle — one of the highest totals in the country. At least 50 hours must be formal CE, including no fewer than 20 hours of pharmacotherapeutics, of which at least 10 must be opioid prescribing or substance abuse education. Several one-hour mandates also apply (sexual harassment prevention, implicit bias), plus an Alzheimer's course for those treating adults 26+. Below is the full breakdown.
80 hours / 2 years
Eighty contact hours each biennial renewal cycle.
20 pharmacotherapeutics hours
Including at least 10 hours of opioid/substance abuse education.
Sexual harassment & implicit bias
1 hour each per renewal period.
Alzheimer's (adults 26+)
1-hour course for APRNs treating adults 26 and older.
How many CE hours Illinois nurse practitioners need
Illinois requires 80 hours of continuing education every two years for APRNs, with at least 50 hours in formal CE programs.
Pharmacotherapeutics, opioid, and mandated topics
- Pharmacotherapeutics: at least 20 hours, including at least 10 hours of opioid prescribing or substance abuse education.
- Schedule II registrants: additional safe-opioid-prescribing hours apply.
- Sexual harassment prevention: 1 hour.
- Implicit bias: 1 hour.
- Alzheimer's: 1 hour for APRNs treating adults 26+.
Renewal cycle and deadlines
Illinois APRN licenses renew every two years. Complete and document your 80 hours, including the pharmacotherapeutics and one-hour mandates, before your renewal deadline.
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View pricingIllinois Nurse Practitioners (NP/APRN) CME at a glance
- Pharmacotherapeutics20 hrs
At least 20 hours of pharmacotherapeutics within the formal-CE portion of the 80-hour total.
- Opioid Prescribing / Substance Abuse10 hrs
At least 10 of the 20 pharmacotherapeutics hours must be opioid prescribing or substance abuse education. Schedule II Controlled Substances registrants must complete 3 hours specific to safe opioid prescribing; licensed prescribers of controlled substances have a statutory mandate of at least 1 hour on safe opioid prescribing (renewals on/after Jan 1, 2025).
- Sexual Harassment Prevention1 hr
1 hour of sexual harassment prevention training is required for all DPR-licensed professionals who need CE to renew.
- Implicit Bias Awareness1 hr
1 hour of implicit bias awareness training per renewal period.
- Alzheimer's Disease & Dementia1 hr · per cycle if applicable
Beginning with the 2024 renewal, APRNs who provide care to adults 26 and older must complete a 1-hour course in diagnosis, treatment, and care of Alzheimer's disease.
Always confirm with your licensing board
Illinois APRNs must complete 80 hours of continuing education each renewal cycle. At least 50 of those hours must be in formal CE programs, including no fewer than 20 hours of pharmacotherapeutics, of which at least 10 hours must be opioid prescribing or substance abuse education. Several profession-wide one-hour mandates also apply (sexual harassment prevention, implicit bias). APRNs serving adults 26+ must take a one-hour Alzheimer's course, and Schedule II controlled-substance registrants have additional safe-opioid-prescribing requirements.
CE requirements change. Confirm current rules with the Illinois Board of Nursing (IDFPR) before relying on these figures.
Source: Illinois Board of Nursing (IDFPR). Board website · Researched as of 2026-06-01 · CME rules change; this is administrative guidance, not legal or CME-accreditation advice.
Licensed in more than one state?
APRN Compact: enacted but not yet active. Enacted by several states but NOT yet operational — no multistate APRN license is being issued. APRNs/NPs license state-by-state today (an APRN who is also an RN may hold an NLC multistate RN license).
Each state license carries its own CME requirement and renewal date — if you hold more than one, you need a plan for each.
Also licensing in Illinois or beyond?
Our sister teams handle the licensing side with the same concierge service.
White Glove APRN
Advanced practice (NP, CRNA, CNS, CNM) state-by-state licensing, DEA, and CSR. The APRN Compact is not yet active, so we handle single-state licensing.
whitegloveaprn.comWhite Glove NLC
RN and LPN/LVN licensing — Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) multistate and single-state.
whiteglovenlc.comIllinois Nurse Practitioner CE Requirements — Frequently Asked Questions
How many CE hours do Illinois nurse practitioners need?
+
80 contact hours every two years, with at least 50 in formal CE programs.
How many pharmacology hours do Illinois APRNs need?
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At least 20 hours of pharmacotherapeutics, of which at least 10 must be opioid prescribing or substance abuse education.
Does Illinois require implicit bias training for APRNs?
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Yes — 1 hour of implicit bias awareness training per renewal, plus 1 hour of sexual harassment prevention.
Related
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