If you hold a Virginia nurse practitioner license, the Board of Nursing requires 30 hours of continuing education plus an additional 8 hours of pharmacology every two years (38 hours total), with 2 of the pharmacology hours on prescribing controlled substances. Alternatively, you may maintain current national certification or complete 40 specialty contact hours approved by your certifying agency. Below is the full breakdown.
38 hours / 2 years
30 CE hours plus 8 pharmacology hours.
8 pharmacology hours
Additional pharmacology beyond the 30 CE hours.
2 controlled-substance hours
Within the pharmacology requirement.
Certification alternative
Maintain national certification or 40 specialty hours.
How many CE hours Virginia nurse practitioners need
Virginia requires 30 CE hours plus 8 pharmacology hours every two years (38 total), or maintaining national certification / 40 specialty hours.
Pharmacology and controlled-substance requirements
- Pharmacology: 8 additional hours per cycle.
- Controlled substances: 2 of the 8 pharmacology hours on prescribing controlled substances.
Renewal cycle and deadlines
Virginia NP licenses renew every two years. Complete and document your 38 hours (or certification alternative) before your renewal deadline.
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View pricingVirginia Nurse Practitioners (NP/APRN) CME at a glance
- Pharmacology8 hrs
APRNs must complete an additional 8 hours of pharmacology each cycle (on top of the 30 CE hours), for 38 total.
- Controlled Substance Prescribing2 hrs
2 of the 8 pharmacology hours must relate to prescribing controlled substances.
Always confirm with your licensing board
Virginia nurse practitioners must complete 30 hours of continuing education plus an additional 8 hours of pharmacology each two-year cycle (38 hours total), with 2 of the pharmacology hours relating to prescribing controlled substances. Alternatively, NPs may maintain current national certification or complete 40 contact hours in their specialty area approved by the certifying agency every two years.
CE requirements change. Confirm current rules with the Virginia Board of Nursing before relying on these figures.
Source: Virginia 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 Virginia 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.comVirginia Nurse Practitioner CE Requirements — Frequently Asked Questions
How many CE hours do Virginia nurse practitioners need?
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30 CE hours plus 8 pharmacology hours every two years (38 total), or maintain national certification.
How many pharmacology hours do Virginia NPs need?
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8 additional pharmacology hours, with 2 of those relating to prescribing controlled substances.
Can national certification satisfy Virginia's CE?
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Yes — NPs may maintain national certification or complete 40 specialty contact hours approved by the certifying agency.
Related
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