“Texas SB 912 forces nurses into a new mandatory CE registry”

What nurses hear

"Texas passed SB 912, so nurses now have to report all their CE to a new mandatory, maybe even national, tracking registry, and it's going to cost money."

The reality

SB 912 (Texas 89th Legislature) requires Texas nurses, starting September 1, 2026, to upload their completed CE certificates to the Texas Board of Nursing's own free Texas Nurse Portal before the license will renew. It is a Texas state portal, not a national registry and not a third-party paid service, and it does not change the number of CE hours required. The only thing that changes is how you submit your documentation: from attest-and-keep to upload-at-renewal. The viral "new national CE database" framing is simply false.

Why this one spreads

• Social posts compressed a documentation-method change into an alarming "mandatory national registry."
• Confusion with the unrelated Texas "SB 12" bill added noise.
• "Upload your CE to renew" sounds like a new fee or database when it's the Board's existing free portal.

The nuance that survives

• It applies to renewals on or after Sept 1, 2026, earlier cycles aren't retroactively affected.
• The number of CE hours you owe is unchanged; only the submission step is new.
• Keep digital copies of every CE certificate so the upload is quick at renewal.

Sources

Texas BON, CE tracking & documentation

Last verified: 2026-07-05

Texas SB 912, enrolled bill text

Last verified: 2026-07-05

Frequently asked questions

Is SB 912 a national CE registry?

No. It's the Texas Board of Nursing's own free state portal (the Texas Nurse Portal). It's not national and not a paid third-party service.

Does SB 912 change how many CE hours I need?

No. The hour requirements are the same. The only change is that, from Sept 1, 2026, you upload your certificates in the portal before the license renews.

Keep going

Related myths

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