South Carolina is a certification-based state for nurse practitioners: there is no general CE hour total beyond maintaining current national certification. APRN licenses expire every two years on April 30. APRNs with prescriptive authority must complete 20 contact hours of pharmacotherapeutics within the two years before renewal, including 2 hours on controlled substances. Below is the full breakdown.
Certification-based
Maintain national certification to renew your APRN license.
20 pharmacotherapeutics hours
Prescribers complete 20 hours per cycle.
2 controlled-substance hours
Two of the 20 must relate to controlled substances.
Expires April 30
APRN licenses renew biennially, expiring April 30.
How South Carolina nurse practitioners renew
South Carolina does not set a general CE total for APRNs beyond maintaining current national certification. Licenses expire every two years on April 30.
Pharmacotherapeutics requirement for prescribers
- Pharmacotherapeutics: 20 contact hours within the two years before renewal.
- Controlled substances: 2 of those 20 hours.
Renewal cycle and deadlines
South Carolina APRN licenses renew every two years, expiring April 30. Keep your national certification current and complete prescriber pharmacotherapeutics CE before that date.
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View pricingSouth Carolina Nurse Practitioners (NP/APRN) CME at a glance
- Pharmacotherapeutics (Prescribers)20 hrs
APRNs with prescriptive authority must complete 20 contact hours in pharmacotherapeutics within the two years before renewal.
- Controlled Substances2 hrs
2 of the 20 pharmacotherapeutics hours must relate to controlled substances.
Always confirm with your licensing board
South Carolina does not impose a general CE hour total for APRNs beyond maintaining current national certification. APRN licenses expire every 2 years on April 30. APRNs with prescriptive authority must complete 20 contact hours in pharmacotherapeutics within the two years before renewal, of which 2 hours must relate to controlled substances.
CE requirements change. Confirm current rules with the South Carolina Board of Nursing before relying on these figures.
Source: South Carolina Board of Nursing. 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 South Carolina 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.comSouth Carolina Nurse Practitioner CE Requirements — Frequently Asked Questions
Does South Carolina require CE hours for nurse practitioners?
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No general CE total beyond national certification; prescribers complete 20 pharmacotherapeutics hours per cycle.
How many pharmacology hours do South Carolina APRN prescribers need?
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20 contact hours of pharmacotherapeutics, with 2 hours on controlled substances.
When do South Carolina APRN licenses expire?
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Every two years on April 30.
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