Continuing Education Requirements
All nurses who renew their license are required to complete continuing education courses during the licensure/renewal period, from November 1 through October 31 each year.
Annual CE Requirements
Annual CE requirements, as well as the documents required for proof of completion and instructions on how to report and submit them via CE Broker, are provided in the links below.
Selecting CE
Continuing Education Providers approved or accepted by KBN
The KBN accepts continuing education from KBN approved CE providers and providers approved by other state boards of nursing or by one of the national nursing organizations listed in
201 KAR 20:220 Section 2(5)
KBN - Free CE Offerings
The KBN is currently offering a free CE course to meet the new one-time specific CE requirements in Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of Dementia via Qualtrics.
For information on the KBN Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of Dementia Click Here
Access Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of Dementia course Click Here
The KBN is currently offering free CE courses via CE Broker, including nurse leadership program courses.
To find information on and access KBN free CE Courses are available Click Here.
If you do not already have a CE Broker account, you can obtain a free basic account Click Here.
While KBN offers free courses, nurses are not required to take these specific courses and can take CE courses from any provider approved to offer nursing CE by the KBN, another state board of nursing, or one of the national nursing organizations listed in 201 KAR 20:220.
KBN Approved CE Providers
Continuing Education Records
Maintain all continuing education records for at least 5 years. All documents related to these courses including announcements, presentation schedules and completion certificates should be maintained in your own records. You will not need to send them to the Board unless selected for the
CE Audit.
Nurses may use CE Broker to maintain CE records electronically. All nurses have access to a Free Basic Account with
CE Broker. The only account necessary to store CE documents electronically and to comply with a CE Audit.
Additional information on CE Broker is available on the
CE Broker Tracking and Reporting website page.
Annual continuing education records should not be submitted within the KBN Nurse Portal.
Completion certificates for CE must include the following information:
- Nurse’ name;
- Course title;
- Date of completion;
- Contact hours awarded;
- Provider information; and
- Who the provider is approved by to offer nursing CE.
One-Time Content Specific CE Requirements
Requirements for completion of continuing education in a particular subject or topic are based on the date of completion of a Kentucky Program of Nursing, or completion of a program of nursing outside of Kentucky.
These are one-time requirements, when required must be completed within 3 years of licensure, and once completed do not need to be retaken.
Additional information on content-specific CE in Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of Dementia, domestic violence, pediatric abusive head trauma, suicide prevention, and LPN infusion therapy is available
here.
Education that is not acceptable for Nursing Continuing Education
The following cannot be accepted for nursing continuing education:
- Education completed before issuance of a license;
- Activities that are designed to provide information related to the work setting;
- On-the-job training or orientation;
- Contact hours awarded;
- BLS/CPR [basic cardiopulmonary life support] classes or certifications;
- ACLS PALS certifications
[Please note that while the certification itself cannot be used as a national nursing certification, an RN or LPN may use a CE certificate issued by a KBN-approved provider that lists the number of contact hours completed, the provider’s information, who the provider is approved by to offer nursing CE, the date of completion, course title, and nurse’s name. They may apply the contact hours awarded towards their annual CE requirements for the earning period in which it is completed.];
- In-service education; and/or
- Equipment demonstrations.