Updated for 2026

Georgia PMHNP Continuing Education Requirements

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

These are the Georgia 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
1appropriate ordering and use of hydrocodone and oxycodone (protocol schedule II authority)

The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by January 31 of your renewal year. Every license expires January 31; the year varies by licensee.

Where this comes from
State source
Georgia 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

Georgia PMHNP requirements

Total

Georgia 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 CE is due by January 31 of your renewal year. Every license expires January 31; the year varies by licensee.

Topic minimums

Appropriate ordering and use of hydrocodone and oxycodone (protocol Schedule II authority)
1
You need 1 hour each cycle.

Cycle and record rules

Renewal
The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by January 31 of your renewal year. Every license expires January 31; the year varies by licensee.
New licensees
No continuing competency showing is owed at the first renewal of a license whose initial period was six months or less; the options of R. 410-13-.01(1) apply from the second renewal (R. 410-13-.01(4); O.C.G.A. § 43-26-9(b.1)). A first renewal after an initial period longer than six months owes the full menu. The hydrocodone/oxycodone hour of O.C.G.A. § 43-34-25(d.1) is not waived.
Approved providers
Option (a) requires the 30 hours to be "by a Board approved provider" (R. 410-13-.01(1)(a)); the Board publishes no provider roster of its own and records hours through CE Broker, which it "has adopted ... to serve as the online reporting and recording system for licensees" (R. 410-13-.01(5)), at no cost for basic reporting. Hours must be earned "during the biennial renewal period" being renewed (R. 410-13-.01(1)). Any other continuing competency option is attested at renewal rather than logged as hours.
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 a Georgia 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
    Georgia · Biennial

    1 hour of appropriate ordering and use of hydrocodone and oxycodone (protocol schedule II authority) every 2 years.

    Requirements above
  2. RNRegistered Nurse
    Georgia · Biennial

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

    Requirements above
  3. CSRState Controlled Substance Registration
    Georgia

    Georgia 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 Georgia Psychologist or LPC license? Each board runs its own CE cycle. See the Georgia Psychologist and Georgia LPC requirements.

Full board policy details
  • National certification in place of the hours: option (b) of R. 410-13-.01(1) and O.C.G.A. § 43-26-9(b.1) is "Maintenance of certification or recertification by a national certifying body recognized by the Board", and "The Board recognizes certification by ... American Nurses Credentialing Center ... for titles recognized in Rules Chapter 410-11" (R. 410-11-.12(1)), which covers PMHNP-BC. The 30-hour total is therefore gated on not holding `pmhnp bc`; a licensee who lets the certification lapse falls back to the 30 (or another option). Work-related certifications "may not be used to satisfy the licensure renewal requirements" (R. 410-13-.03), which does not reach a recognized national certification.
  • National certification and the APRN authorization: initial authorization requires "Verification of current national certification from the respective Board-recognized certifying organization" (R. 410-11-.03(3)(d)) and the NP "practices in a manner consistent with ... the Board-recognized national certification organization identified in Rule 410-11-.12" (R. 410-11-.03(2)(b)). The renewal rule itself lists only RN renewal, the application, an attestation and the fee (R. 410-11-.03(6)(b)), but the Board may revoke or suspend an authorization of an APRN "who fails to maintain national certification and/or continuing competency requirements" (R. 410-11-.10). Maintaining the certification is the ANCC row's obligation (us-pmhnp bc.yaml); the Board of Nursing adds no APRN hours of its own.
  • No pharmacology or controlled-substance hours for APRNs. The Georgia Board of Nursing rules attach no pharmacotherapeutics or controlled- substance continuing education to APRN renewal; advanced pharmacology is a one-time curriculum showing at initial authorization (R. 410-11-.03(3)(c)). The three-hour controlled-substance prescribing course sometimes attributed to Georgia prescribers is the Composite Medical Board's rule for physicians who hold a DEA registration (R. 360-15-.01(4), a one-time three hours of Category 1 CME), and the "minimum of three hours of continuing education biennially in practice specific pharmaceuticals" is the physician assistant statute (O.C.G.A. § 43-34-103(e.1)(10)(A), as revised by HB 557). Neither applies to an APRN. The only prescriber hour for an APRN is the hydrocodone/oxycodone hour of § 43-34-25(d.1)(5), modeled above.
  • Prescriptive authority and Schedule II: an APRN orders drugs only under a nurse protocol agreement with a delegating physician (O.C.G.A. § 43-34-25; R. 410-11-.14), and "Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to authorize an advanced practice registered nurse to issue a prescription drug order for a Schedule I or II controlled substance, except as otherwise authorized pursuant to subsection (d.1)" (§ 43-34-25(k)). Schedule III-V prescribing needs the protocol plus a DEA registration (us-dea.yaml); the physician must evaluate or examine "at least every three months" any patient receiving controlled substances (§ 43-34-25(c)). R. 410-11-.14(2)(e)1 still reads "No prescription drug orders submitted by an APRN for Schedule I or II controlled substances" and predates HB 557; the statute controls.
  • Death certificates (HB 1046, 2024; O.C.G.A. §§ 43-34-23 and 43-34-25): a physician may delegate signing death certificates in the protocol agreement, and "the APRN must also complete biennial continuing education regarding the recognition and documentation of the causes of death and appropriate execution of death certificates as approved by the Board" (Composite Medical Board summary, June 24, 2024). No hour figure is set and the license context has no delegation fact, so it is not modeled; an NP with that delegation logs the course by hand.
  • Prescription drug monitoring program: every prescriber licensed in Georgia who holds a DEA registration must register with the Georgia PDMP (O.C.G.A. § 16-13-57), and the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency administers the Georgia Controlled Substances Act. Georgia issues no state controlled-substance registration to individual practitioners: registration under ch. 480-20 (Board of Pharmacy) covers pharmacies, manufacturers, distributors, researchers and reverse distributors and deems DEA registrants registered. PDMP enrollment is a registration, not continuing education, and has no renewal date of its own, so there is no `csr` layer in this state.
  • Waiver and reinstatement: "The Board may waive or modify the requirements contained in this subsection in cases of hardship, disability, or illness or under such other circumstances as the board, in its discretion, deems appropriate" (R. 410-13-.01(3)); not modeled. A lapsed APRN authorization is reinstated on application (R. 410-11-.03(6)(c)) with the practice showing of R. 410-11-.03(4) (500 APRN practice hours, graduation, or a reentry program within four years) or, failing that, the 40 hours of study, CPR course, practice act study and 160 supervised hours of R. 410-11-.03(5). That is a return-to-practice path and is left in prose.
  • Compacts: Georgia is a Nurse Licensure Compact member (the enhanced NLC took effect in Georgia on January 19, 2018; NCSBN lists it among the member jurisdictions), so a Georgia-resident RN may hold a multistate license that renews through this Georgia RN renewal and the same continuing competency menu. Georgia has not enacted the APRN Compact, which five states have enacted and which is not in effect anywhere; the nurse practitioner authorization is single-state.

Georgia PMHNP CE: frequently asked questions

Which credentials does a Georgia PMHNP renew?

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

How often do Georgia PMHNP licensees renew?

The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by January 31 of your renewal year. Every license expires January 31; the year varies by licensee.

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

Yes. Georgia requires 1 hour of appropriate ordering and use of hydrocodone and oxycodone (protocol schedule II authority).

Is the first renewal different for new Georgia PMHNP licensees?

No continuing competency showing is owed at the first renewal of a license whose initial period was six months or less; the options of R. 410-13-.01(1) apply from the second renewal (R. 410-13-.01(4); O.C.G.A. § 43-26-9(b.1)). A first renewal after an initial period longer than six months owes the full menu. The hydrocodone/oxycodone hour of O.C.G.A. § 43-34-25(d.1) is not waived.

Sources and verification

State source
Georgia board rule
Last verified
October 2026
Ruleset version
2026.2

We reviewed this page against the Georgia 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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Georgia 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.Georgia mental health workforce data →27,494 active providers, or 243.3 per 100,000 residents, ranked 49 of 51. The page includes a county density map and free CSV downloads.

Other Georgia CE requirement pages

Georgia LPCGeorgia LMFTGeorgia LCSWGeorgia Psychologist

PMHNP CE requirements in other states