What topics are required for Arkansas nursing license renewal?

Pharmacotherapeutics related to specialty certification (5 contact hours, every renewal, APRN); Professional boundaries and Arkansas APRN prescribing rules and laws (2 contact hours, every renewal, APRN)

Renewal requirements by state › Arkansas

Arkansas license renewal

Arkansas nursing CE renewal requirements

Arkansas RNs renew every two years and must show continued competence. Continuing education is one way to meet it: 15 contact hours.

Arkansas APRNs renew every two years and must show continued competence. Continuing education is one way to meet it: 20 contact hours.

✓ Verified October 8, 2026 against Arkansas’s board of nursing, state rules and the Nurse Licensure Compact. Sources are listed below.

At a glance

Renewal cycle: Every two years
RN continuing education: 15 contact hours or another competence option
APRN continuing education: 20 contact hours or another competence option
Nurse Licensure Compact: Yes, a member state
Reports to CE Broker: Yes

Required topics

“Part of the total” hours count toward the overall requirement; “on top of the total” hours are extra.

APRNs (in addition to RN requirements)

Topic	Hours	How often	Counts
Pharmacotherapeutics related to specialty certificationAPRNs with prescriptive authority	5	Every renewal	On top of the total
Professional boundaries and Arkansas APRN prescribing rules and lawsAPRNs with prescriptive authority; part of the 5 pharmacotherapeutics hours	2	Every renewal	Part of the total

RN renewal in detail

15 practice-focused contact hours, OR national certification, OR 1 college credit hour.
A current national certification can satisfy the requirement.
When it expires: Staggered biennial by birth date; first license valid 3-27 months.

APRN renewal in detail

15 base + 5 pharmacotherapeutics for prescriptive authority.
APRNs must hold a current national certification.
A current national certification can satisfy the requirement.
When it expires: Staggered biennial by birth date; first license valid 3-27 months.

Using HIVE Nurse for your hours

HIVE Nurse is approved as a provider of continuing nursing education by the Florida Board of Nursing (CE Provider #50-57054). Boards differ on whether they accept CE from a provider approved by another state’s board, so check Arkansas’s rules before you count a course.

Check my renewal Browse courses

The renewal checker builds your own list from these rules and can remind you before your license expires.

Sources

healthy.arkansas.gov healthy.arkansas.gov healthy.arkansas.gov healthy.arkansas.gov help.cebroker.com healthy.arkansas.gov

Rules change. Your board’s website is the final word.