Vermont Nursing CE Requirements (2026): 20 Hours Every 2 Years
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Requirements Overview
Vermont offers three distinct pathways for biennial RN license renewal, and only one requires continuing education. Pathway 1 is practice hours: 400 hours (50 days) in the past two years or 960 hours (120 days) in the past five years — no CE needed. Pathway 2 is 20 hours of qualifying CE in the two years preceding renewal. Pathway 3 is holding a current nationally recognized certification — no CE or practice hours needed.
This means most full-time and even many part-time nurses will qualify through practice hours alone, making Vermont effectively a no-CE state for working nurses. Only nurses who don't meet the practice threshold and lack national certification need to complete CE hours.
CE must be approved by ANCC's Commission on Accreditation or another Board-approved verifying authority. Hours cannot be carried over between renewal periods. Vermont joined the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) on February 1, 2022.
Renewal Pathways
Exemptions
- Exemption — Initial licensees issued a license within 90 days of the end of a licensing period are exempt from renewal requirements through the next full licensure period.
- Exemption — Late renewal penalty fees may be waived if the applicant did not practice in Vermont during the lapse period.
How You Can Complete Your CE
Vermont CE Rules & Limits
Details specific to Vermont that generic CE guides tend to miss:
- Carry-over — CE must be completed in the two years immediately preceding the renewal application. No carry-over provision mentioned in the administrative rules.
- Vermont is a Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) state (joined February 1, 2022).
- Renewal requires ONE of three pathways: (1) practice hours, (2) 20 hours CE, or (3) national certification.
- Practice under an expired license is prohibited (3 V.S.A. § 127).
- License expired for 2-5 years: reinstate upon proof of continuous practice or meeting renewal requirements.
- License expired for 5+ years: case-by-case assessment; nursing re-entry program typically required.
- Administrative rules effective May 11, 2023; governing law is 26 V.S.A. § 1571 et seq.
Provider Requirements
CE must be approved and assigned a credit value by an organization approved by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's (ANCC) Commission on Accreditation, or by another verifying authority approved by the Board, or directly by the Board.
Tips for Vermont RNs
- Calculate your practice hours first. If you've worked 400+ hours in the past two years (roughly 8 hours per week), you qualify for renewal with zero CE hours.
- If you hold a current national certification (ANCC, AACN, etc.), that alone satisfies Vermont's renewal requirement — no CE hours or practice hours needed.
- The 20-hour CE pathway is only necessary if you fall below 400 practice hours in 2 years and don't hold a national certification. This typically applies to per diem or recently inactive nurses.
- Vermont joined the NLC in 2022. If Vermont is your home state, your multistate license follows Vermont's three-pathway system.
Sources
- Cross-checked against the official published rules of the Vermont Board of Nursing (Office of Professional Regulation, Secretary of State)
- Each stated figure recorded with its exact source excerpt
- 1 source cited — 1 primary (official board)
RN Requirements in Nearby States
Other Professions in Vermont
All Nursing CE Requirements by State
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