Continuing-Education Audit Guide
New York Nursing CE Audit Response Guide
What to do if the New York State Education Department (NYSED) audits your continuing education for the current renewal cycle. Built from New York-specific board guidance — not generic advice.
Response window
30 days
from audit notice receipt
Records retention
5 years
required by New York State Education Department (NYSED)
Submission method
Submit via the NYSED Office of the Professions online portal or certified mail.
What New York reviewers actually look for
- New York doesn't require general CE hours but mandates specific courses (Infection Control, Child Abuse Identification, NP pain management with DEA).
- Child Abuse Identification CE must be the updated curriculum under amended Social Services Law § 413, deadline November 17, 2026.
- Infection Control must be from an NYSED-approved provider — check the approval letter dates carefully.
Top reasons audit responses get rejected
- Workplace in-services without an ANCC or state-board-approved provider on the certificate (most states reject these).
- BLS/ACLS/PALS certifications submitted as CE hours — these are competencies, not continuing education.
- Journal article reading without an associated CE quiz/certificate from an approved provider.
- Courses from providers whose accreditation lapsed before the renewal cycle's start date.
- Certificates that don't state the contact hours awarded (reviewers can't credit hours they can't see).
- Courses completed BEFORE the audited renewal cycle's start date (you can't use hours twice).
- Screenshots or phone photos of certificates instead of original PDFs or printed certificates.
- Duplicate certificates for the same course title from the same provider — submit once.
Paper submission address
NYSED Office of the Professions Division of Professional Licensing Services 89 Washington Avenue, 2nd Floor West Wing Albany, NY 12234-1000
Always send by trackable mail (certified return-receipt). Keep proof of delivery for your own records.
Step-by-step: respond to a New York CE audit
- 1Read the audit notice carefully. Note the renewal cycle being audited and the 30-day response deadline.
- 2Pull every CE certificate from the audited cycle. Each must show course title, accredited provider number, completion date, and contact hours.
- 3Group certificates by mandatory topic if New York has them. Verify provider numbers are visible on every page.
- 4Write a brief cover letter listing your full legal name, license number, the audit reference, and a numbered inventory of attached certificates.
- 5Submit via the NYSED Office of the Professions online portal or certified mail.
Audit-ready in one click. RenewRN tracks every CE certificate, provider number, and category, then generates a New York-formatted audit response packet on demand.