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 / Does BLS or CPR count toward nursing CE?
The short answer
Usually not. Most state boards of nursing treat BLS/CPR certification as a condition of employment — a competency card, not accredited continuing education. Some states do allow it with limits (Nebraska, for example, caps CPR/BLS at 4 of its required hours), so check your state's rule before counting it toward renewal.
The distinction boards draw is between a certification course and accredited CE. BLS teaches (and re-tests) a fixed psychomotor skill set, and your employer already requires it — so most boards don't let the same card do double duty as continuing education, which is supposed to advance your knowledge beyond baseline competency.
ACLS and PALS sit in a gray zone. Because they're longer, more clinical courses, some providers issue ANCC-accredited contact hours alongside the certification card. If your ACLS certificate explicitly lists accredited contact hours from an approved provider, those hours may count where plain BLS wouldn't — the certificate, not the course name, is what your board cares about.
The trap: assuming your CPR renewal covers part of your CE requirement, then discovering at renewal time that you're hours short. If you're not sure, treat BLS as zero CE and let anything more be a bonus.
These are the states whose verified rules in our data explicitly address CPR/BLS. If your state isn't listed, its published CE rules don't address it directly — assume it doesn't count and confirm with your board.
| State | Verified rule | Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | At least 10 hours must be peer-reviewed; no more than 4 hours may be CPR/BLS | May 2026 |
If the hours were issued by an accredited provider (look for an ANCC or state-board accreditation statement on the certificate), they generally count like any other accredited CE — subject to your state's rules. The accreditation statement is the deciding factor, not the course name.
Usually not, for the same reason — competency validation isn't accredited CE. The exception is when the education department issues accredited contact-hour certificates for specific sessions. Check what's printed on the certificate you receive.
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 June 3, 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.