Every CE requirement verified against official state nursing board sources. How RenewRN verifies the data →
Every CE requirement verified against official state nursing board sources. How RenewRN verifies the data →
CE Questions / Do my CE hours report to the board automatically, or do I submit them?
The short answer
In most states, no — you don't formally submit your CE at renewal at all. You attest that you completed it and keep the certificates yourself, in case of a random audit. A smaller group of states uses CE Broker, where board-approved providers can report your completed hours directly to a tracking account. But even there, the responsibility to confirm the hours posted and to retain your own proof stays with you — providers miss reports, and 'they said they'd report it' is not a defense at audit.
This trips people up because 'reporting' means two different things. At renewal, almost every state uses attestation: you check a box, you don't upload anything. Separately, your CE may or may not flow into a tracking system during the year. Those are different processes, and conflating them is how nurses end up assuming the board already has their hours when it doesn't.
In CE Broker states, an approved provider can push your completion into your CE Broker account, and the board can see your running total. That's genuinely convenient — but it's not automatic for every course, only from providers set up to report, and only when your profile is matched correctly. Plenty of audit problems start with a nurse who assumed CE Broker had everything and never checked.
The safe habit is the same everywhere: treat yourself as the system of record. Save every certificate the day you finish a course, in one place you control — not an employer portal you lose when you change jobs. Whether your state auto-reports or not, the certificate in your own file is what answers an audit.
Boards in our data that use CE Broker, where approved providers can report your CE directly. If your state isn't listed, assume you self-report and self-retain — and confirm via the official source on your state's page.
| State | Verified rule | Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | Board uses CE Broker — board-approved providers can report your completed CE directly, but you remain responsible for confirming it posted and keeping your own certificates. | Jun 2026 |
| Georgia | Board uses CE Broker — board-approved providers can report your completed CE directly, but you remain responsible for confirming it posted and keeping your own certificates. | May 2026 |
| Alabama | Board uses CE Broker — board-approved providers can report your completed CE directly, but you remain responsible for confirming it posted and keeping your own certificates. | May 2026 |
| District of Columbia | Board uses CE Broker — board-approved providers can report your completed CE directly, but you remain responsible for confirming it posted and keeping your own certificates. | Jun 2026 |
| Kentucky | Board uses CE Broker — board-approved providers can report your completed CE directly, but you remain responsible for confirming it posted and keeping your own certificates. | Jun 2026 |
| New Hampshire | Board uses CE Broker — board-approved providers can report your completed CE directly, but you remain responsible for confirming it posted and keeping your own certificates. | Jun 2026 |
| New Mexico | Board uses CE Broker — board-approved providers can report your completed CE directly, but you remain responsible for confirming it posted and keeping your own certificates. | Jun 2026 |
| South Carolina | Board uses CE Broker — board-approved providers can report your completed CE directly, but you remain responsible for confirming it posted and keeping your own certificates. | May 2026 |
| West Virginia | Board uses CE Broker — board-approved providers can report your completed CE directly, but you remain responsible for confirming it posted and keeping your own certificates. | May 2026 |
A contact hour is 60 minutes of approved instruction — the unit most boards count in. A CEU (Continuing Education Unit) is a standardized 10 contact hours. 'CE' is the general term for the activity itself. So '20 contact hours' and '2.0 CEUs' describe the same amount. Most state nursing boards express requirements in contact hours; always match the unit your board uses, not the one a course advertises.
Yes. CE Broker is a convenience, not a guarantee — reports can be missing, miscategorized, or attached to the wrong profile. Boards still expect you to produce the actual certificates in an audit, so keep them in your own records regardless.
Only in CE Broker states, and only if that provider is set up to report and your accounts are matched. Don't assume — log into your tracking account and confirm the hours posted, and keep the certificate either way.
Pick your state and license, add the hours you've completed, and see what you still owe — including the mandatory topics. Free, no login.
Last updated Jun 4, 2026. State excerpts come from rules we verify against official board sources — each state's page links the primary source. Always confirm specifics with your board of nursing before relying on them.