Updated for 2026

Arkansas PMHNP Continuing Education Requirements

Here's what a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) must complete to renew in Arkansas.

These are the Arkansas APRN license requirements for a board-certified PMHNP who prescribes controlled substances. Your RN license, ANCC certification and DEA registration renew separately; see every credential.

Topic minimums
5pharmacology
2professional boundaries and arkansas APRN prescribing rules and laws (ASBN course "advanced practice nursing in arkansas")

The renewal cycle is biennial and is tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.

Where this comes from
State source
Arkansas board rule
Last verified
October 2026
Ruleset version
2026.2

Every figure on this page is read from this rule, and the page refreshes when the ruleset changes. How we verify

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Requirements

Arkansas PMHNP requirements

Total

Arkansas sets no APRN hour total that applies to every board-certified PMHNP. The topic minimums below still apply. Your ANCC certification renewal sets its own hours, listed with your other credentials. The renewal cycle is biennial and is tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.

Topic minimums

Pharmacology
5
You need 5 hours each cycle.
Professional boundaries and Arkansas APRN prescribing rules and laws (ASBN course "Advanced Practice Nursing in Arkansas")
2
You need 2 hours each cycle.

Cycle and record rules

Renewal
The renewal cycle is biennial and is tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.
Renewal fee
The board renewal fee is $65 every 2 years.
Approved providers
Hours must come "from a nationally recognized or state continuing education approval body recognized by the Arkansas State Board of Nursing" (17 CAR § 121-704(a)(1)(A)(i)); the Board "shall identify organizations, agencies, and groups that shall be recognized as valid approval bodies/providers" (§ 121-706) and its CE FAQ says the accreditation statement must appear on the certificate, that the Board does not itself approve providers, and that hours from other states count if the approver is recognized. Acceptable activities are "national/ regional educational conferences, classroom instruction, individualized instruction (home study/programmed instruction), academic courses, and institutional based instruction" whose content "shall be relevant to nursing practice" (§ 121-707); in-service programs, refresher courses, orientation programs and "Courses designed for lay people" are not (§ 121-708). A non-recognized activity may be submitted for individual review with a fee (§ 121-709). Hours count only in the twenty-four months before the renewal date and do not carry over (§ 121-703(b), § 121-704(f)).
Recordkeeping
Keep CE documentation for 4 years after each renewal.
Board audit
The board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance.
Late renewal
A late renewal adds a late fee.

To keep your proof in order, see what to keep for a CE audit, which covers every state’s retention period and what the audit notice asks for.

Credential stack

Every credential an Arkansas PMHNP renews

Each one renews on its own date, and a lapse at any of them stops prescribing. The ANCC certification and DEA registration are the same in every state.

  1. APRNAdvanced Practice Registered Nurse
    Arkansas · Biennial

    5 hours of pharmacology and 2 hours of professional boundaries and arkansas APRN prescribing rules and laws (ASBN course "advanced practice nursing in arkansas") every 2 years.

    Requirements above
  2. RNRegistered Nurse
    Arkansas · Biennial

    No fixed CE hour total applies to a board-certified, prescribing PMHNP.

    Requirements above
  3. CSRState Controlled Substance Registration
    Arkansas

    Arkansas does not issue a separate CSR.

  4. PMHNP-BCPsychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Board Certified
    ANCC · Every 5 years

    75 CE hours every 5 years, including 25 hours of pharmacology.

    PMHNP-BC renewal requirements
  5. DEADEA Registration
    DEA · Triennial

    No recurring CE hours, but a one-time training applies.

    DEA renewal requirements
Your hours

Check where you stand

Enter the hours you have completed this cycle to see what is left before your renewal.

Your result appears here as you enter hours.

Also hold a Arkansas Psychologist or LPC license? Each board runs its own CE cycle. See the Arkansas Psychologist and Arkansas LPC requirements.

Full board policy details
  • National certification in place of the fifteen hours: "Certification or recertification during the renewal period by a national certifying body recognized by the board" is one of the three ways to meet 17 CAR § 121-704(a)(1), and for the APRN "Continuing education submitted to the certifying body to meet the qualifications for recertification shall be accepted as meeting the statutory requirement for continuing education" (17 CAR § 123-207(f)). The Board's CE FAQ: "Certification or re-certification during the renewal period is acceptable to meet the ASBN requirements" and is not "in addition to" other hours. The fifteen-hour total is therefore gated on not holding `pmhnp bc`. The pharmacotherapeutics hours are a separate obligation of prescriptive authority holders (§ 123-207(h)) that the Board's checklist lists alongside, not inside, the certification option, so they are not gated. The academic-course option ("An academic course in nursing or related field", a grade of "C" or better or "pass", § 121-707(c)) is not modeled as a substitute; a logged academic course counts as hours.
  • First renewal: the rules set the fifteen hours "during each renewal period" with no first-renewal exception, but the Board's practice waives them when the initial period is short. Renewal FAQ: "The initial period of licensure in Arkansas, whether licensed by examination or endorsement, is for a period of three (3) to twenty-seven (27) months, depending on the nurse's date of birth", and "If the first renewal cycle is less than 24 months, there is no continuing education requirement for that first renewal period ... Late renewals require 20 contact hours of continuing education." The waiver turns on the length of the first period rather than on first renewal as such, and it is Board guidance rather than rule text, so no first-cycle override is modeled; a nurse whose first period is under twenty-four months may disregard the fifteen hours shown for that period. The rule does waive CE "Upon written request" for "A uniformed service member deployed" or the spouse of one (17 CAR § 121 Subpart 11 and § 123-1203(d)), which is a case-by-case request and not modeled.
  • No opioid or controlled-substance continuing education for nurses. Act 820 of 2017 (A.C.A. § 20-7-604(d)) is a mandate to check the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, carried into the Board's rules as 17 CAR § 123-611 ("APRNs with prescriptive authority shall review the report from the program prior to prescribing: (1) An opioid from Schedule II or Schedule III every time ... (2) A benzodiazepine medication for the first time and every six (6) months thereafter ... (3) A stimulant from Schedule II for the first time and every six (6) months thereafter"), with the review documented in the record. The one-hour annual opioid and benzodiazepine CME that circulates in Arkansas prescriber guides is the Arkansas State Medical Board's rule for physicians and physician assistants under A.C.A. § 17-80-104, not a Board of Nursing requirement. The former one-time three hours of "prescribing education" within two years of a certificate of prescriptive authority issued after December 31, 2015 (old Chapter 4 § VIII.A.7) does not appear in the 2026 Part 123; the Board's prescriptive authority checklist (revised 5.20.26) lists no such course, and the two Board courses on CE Broker now serve the § 123-207(h)(2) content, so it is not modeled.
  • Prescriptive authority and the DEA: "Prescriptive authority is not included with licensure" (Board checklist); the certificate requires a pharmacology course, 300 preceptorial hours, and a collaborative practice agreement unless the APRN holds full independent practice authority (17 CAR § 123-601; A.C.A. § 17-87-310). Controlled substances "will be prescribed, administered, or ordered as established in protocols provided that the APRN has an assigned Drug Enforcement Administration registration number that is entered on each written prescription" (§ 123-604(c)(1)), the number is filed with the Board "upon receipt" (§ 123-604(c)(10)), and the Board tells applicants not to apply to DEA until the certificate issues. Statutory authority reaches Schedules III-V, hydrocodone combination products if the agreement allows, and Schedule II opioids for five days or less and Schedule II stimulants under physician-initiated criteria (A.C.A. § 17-87-310(b)(2)). None of this is continuing education. The pharmacotherapeutics hours are gated on the `prescribing` fact; an APRN who holds the certificate but answers no is treated as not owing them, which under-asks.
  • No state controlled-substance registration. The Department of Health's Rules and Regulations Pertaining to Controlled Substances, Section I: "Every Practitioner defined as follows shall obtain a registration from the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration (D.E.A.), Department of Justice, unless exempted by Law", naming "mid-level practitioner, or other persons licensed, registered, or otherwise permitted to prescribe" (I.A); the Department registers only "Persons authorized and registered by the Director ... to engage in research on the use and effects of controlled substances, including persons conducting instructional activities, conducting chemical analysis, or conducting animal training and animal euthanasia" (I.C), and its Controlled Substances page offers that "Controlled Substance Registration Certificate" to researchers only. The PDMP account required of APRNs with a DEA registration (Board prescriptive authority page; A.C.A. § 20-7-604) is database access. There is no `csr` row in this state; the federal DEA row is us-dea.yaml.
  • Lapse, reinstatement and inactive status: a license "is lapsed if not renewed or placed in inactive status by the expiration date" (17 CAR § 121-802(a)), the APRN license also lapses "if the RN license or privilege to practice in Arkansas is not current" or "when the national certification upon which licensure was granted expires" (§ 123-208), and the certificate of prescriptive authority lapses with the APRN license, the certification, inactive or retired status, or a missing collaborative practice agreement (§ 123-608). Reinstating within five years takes twenty practice-focused contact hours within the past two years, certification, or an academic course (§ 121-704(c)(1)); after five years the same plus 1,000 practice hours, a refresher course or a new graduation (§ 121-704(c)(2)), and an APRN out of practice more than two years needs a refresher or a 200-hour precepted orientation (§ 123-209). The renewal FAQ adds that a renewal after the expiration date requires "An additional 5 hours of Continuing Education" and a $100 late fee. Inactive nurses "have no requirements for continuing education" (§ 121-704(b)). Catch-up requirements are application conditions and are not modeled.
  • Compacts: Arkansas is a Nurse Licensure Compact state (A.C.A. § 17-87-601; 17 CAR Part 121 Subpart 3, "the Nurse Licensure Compact that became effective on July 20, 2017 and implemented on January 19, 2018"), so an Arkansas-resident RN holds a multistate license renewed on this cycle, and an APRN may rest on "active unencumbered multistate compact RN license" from another home state (APRN renewal page; 17 CAR § 123-207(b)(3)) without an Arkansas RN row. Arkansas has not enacted the APRN Compact, which is in effect nowhere, so the APRN license is single-state.
  • Full independent practice authority: a certified nurse practitioner with the certificate of full independent practice authority renews that certificate "every three (3) years" (17 CAR § 123-207(d), § 123-702) and is exempt from the collaborative practice agreement; it carries no continuing education of its own and is not a separate row.

Arkansas PMHNP CE: frequently asked questions

Which credentials does an Arkansas PMHNP renew?

4 separate credentials, each on its own renewal date: the APRN (Arkansas, biennial), the RN (Arkansas, biennial), the PMHNP-BC (ANCC, every 5 years), and the DEA (DEA, triennial). Arkansas issues no separate CSR. A lapse at any one of them stops prescribing.

How often do Arkansas PMHNP licensees renew?

The renewal cycle is biennial and is tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.

How much does Arkansas PMHNP license renewal cost?

The board's renewal fee is $65 every 2 years, per the Arkansas board fee schedule. CE course costs are separate and set by course providers.

Are there subject-specific CE requirements for Arkansas PMHNP licensees?

Yes. Arkansas requires 5 hours of pharmacology, 2 hours of professional boundaries and arkansas APRN prescribing rules and laws (ASBN course "advanced practice nursing in arkansas").

Sources and verification

State source
Arkansas board rule
Fee schedule
Arkansas board fee schedule
Last verified
October 2026
Ruleset version
2026.2

We reviewed this page against the Arkansas board source, and we refresh it from the compiled ruleset above. Methodology and disclaimer. Compliance data is for guidance only, not legal or board advice. Always confirm requirements with your licensing board before renewing. See something wrong? Report it

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Arkansas guides & data

What to keep for a CE audit →Learn what boards ask for in a CE audit, how long each state says to keep certificates, and what the notice looks like, then use the printable checklist.Arkansas mental health workforce data →11,122 active providers, or 357.1 per 100,000 residents, ranked 35 of 51. The page includes a county density map and free CSV downloads.

Other Arkansas CE requirement pages

Arkansas LPCArkansas LMFTArkansas LCSWArkansas PsychologistArkansas Addiction Counselor

PMHNP CE requirements in other states