Hawaii PMHNP Continuing Education Requirements
Hawaii psychiatric nurse practitioners must complete 30 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their APRN license, including 8 hours of pharmacology.
These are the Hawaii 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.
30hours every 2 years
Topic minimums, counted within the 30
8pharmacology
Next deadline: June 30, 2027The renewal cycle is biennial, and the license renews by June 30 of odd years.
Where this comes from
- State source
- Hawaii 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
It's free for 30 days, and you don't need a card.
Requirements
Hawaii PMHNP requirements
Total
30 hoursYou need 30 hours every 2 years. The renewal cycle is biennial, and the license renews by June 30 of odd years.
Topic minimums, counted within the 30
The remaining 22 hours are not tied to a topic minimum.
- Pharmacology
- 8
- You need 8 hours each cycle.
Cycle and record rules
- Renewal
- The renewal cycle is biennial, and the license renews by June 30 of odd years.
- Approved providers
- Prescriptive authority hours must be "approved by board-recognized national certifying bodies, the American Nurses Association, the American Medical Association, or accredited colleges or universities" (HAR § 16-89-123(a)(2)) and earned in the biennium, July 1 of one odd year to June 30 of the next. For the RN learning activity, the Board's manual lists CCNE- or ACEN-accredited nursing schools, national certifying bodies and accreditors (AANPCB, ABSNC, ANCC, ICE, NCCA, NCSBN), ACCME, ANA, ACPE and Joint Accreditation, and courses approved by the California or Florida Boards of Nursing. Contact hours convert as "1 continuing education unit (CEU) = 10 contact hours", "1 continuing medical education unit (CME) = 1 contact hour" and "One semester academic credit equals 15 contact hours" (HAR § 16-89-132(d)). BLS, ACLS, PALS and similar certifications, employer orientation and duplicate annual competencies do not count (2025 renewal FAQ, continuing competency no. 7-8).
- 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 Hawaii 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.
- APRNAdvanced Practice Registered Nurse
- RNRegistered Nurse
- CSRState Controlled Substance Registration
- PMHNP-BCPsychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Board CertifiedANCC · Every 5 years
75 CE hours every 5 years, including 25 hours of pharmacology.
PMHNP-BC renewal requirements - DEADEA Registration
Your hours
Check where you stand
Enter the hours you have completed this cycle to see what is left before June 30, 2027.
Your result appears here as you enter hours.
Also hold a Hawaii Psychologist or LPC license? Each board runs its own CE cycle. See the Hawaii Psychologist and Hawaii LPC requirements.
Full board policy details
- RN continuing competency is a menu, not an hour count: "each registered nurse and practical nurse licensee shall have completed one of the learning activity options recognized by the board within the two-year period preceding the renewal date" (HRS § 457-9.2(a)). The options are "(1) National certification or recertification related to the nurse's practice role; (2) Thirty contact hours of continuing education activities; (3) Completion of a board approved refresher course; (4) Completion of a minimum of two semester credits of post-licensure academic education related to nursing practice from an accredited nursing program; (5) Participation as a preceptor ... for at least one hundred twenty hours ...; (6) Completion as principal or co-principal investigator of a nursing research project ...; (7) Authoring or coauthoring a peer reviewed published nursing or health-related article, book, or book chapter; (8) Developing and conducting a nursing education presentation or presentations totaling a minimum of five contact hours ...; (9) Completion of a board-recognized nurse residency program; or (10) A similar type of learning activity option" (HRS § 457-9.3). "You can only complete one type of learning activity option per biennium. You cannot combine hours or activities" (2025 renewal FAQ). Because thirty hours is only one option, the RN row has no total.
- Exemptions from the RN learning activity (HRS § 457-9.2(b)): "(1) Registered nurses licensed in this State who also maintain active advanced practice registered nurse licenses in accordance with this chapter and have a current national certification approved by the board; (2) Registered nurses and practical nurses licensed in this State who also maintain current national certification, approved by the board, in their practice role", and (3) a licensee who graduated within twelve months before the first renewal (twelve to twenty-four months: fifteen contact hours, one semester credit, a residency program or another option). ANCC is a board-recognized certifying body (HAR § 16-89-85(a)(1)), so a PMHNP-BC holder is exempt on either ground. The Board's manual for RN plus APRN: "The national certification satisfies continuing competency for both licenses." The Board may extend the deadline for illness or extended active military duty on a written request filed before expiration (§ 457-9.2(c)), at least two months ahead because the Board meets monthly.
- The APRN license itself: renewal requires a current Hawaii RN license and "Evidence of current national certification if the advanced practice registered nurse does not hold a graduate-level degree in clinical nursing or nursing science in a board recognized practice specialty" (HAR § 16-89-87(a)(1)); no hours. The Board's manual lists an APRN without prescriptive authority and without current national certification as owing one RN learning activity, completed "at the APRN level" when both licenses are held. Prescriptive authority itself requires "a current national certification in their practice specialty" at every renewal (§ 16-89-123(a)), and failing to maintain it is unprofessional conduct (§ 16-89-125(a)(5)(E)), so the national certification is a precondition of the prescriber hours, carried on the us-pmhnp bc.yaml row rather than duplicated here.
- National certification CE in lieu of the thirty hours, at the Board's discretion: "Documentation of successful completion of continuing education required for recertification by a recognized national certifying body, earned within the current renewal biennium, may be accepted in lieu of the thirty hours of continuing education required for renewal" (HAR § 16-89-123(a)). This is not a current-certification substitution: it turns on recertification CE earned inside the Hawaii biennium, and ANCC renews every five years, so only some bienniums contain an ANCC renewal. The thirty hours are therefore not gated on `pmhnp bc`; the ANCC hours a PMHNP logs inside the biennium count toward them in the ordinary way, and an APRN relying on the in-lieu clause should keep the ANCC renewal record for the audit.
- Prescriptive authority runs with the APRN license: "If you have prescriptive authority, when you renew your APRN license, it will automatically be renewed with the prescriptive authority", and "by renewing your APRN with prescriptive authority online, you are agreeing that you completed the continuing education requirements to renew your prescriptive authority" (2025 renewal FAQ no. 7). An APRN who no longer wants it submits a signed statement and the privilege is removed. "The APRN shall not prescribe until prescriptive authority has been restored" after a forfeiture (HAR § 16-89-123(b)), and a state controlled-substance registration (hi-csr.yaml) requires "an active and current Hawaii APRN license with prescriptive authority" (Narcotics Enforcement Division APRN instructions).
- No topic mandates: Hawaii sets no opioid, controlled-substance, implicit bias, suicide prevention or human trafficking hours for RNs or APRNs. The annual Prescriber Education Attestation the Narcotics Enforcement Division requires for a controlled-substance registration (a review of designated statutes or guidance, no contact hours) belongs to hi-csr.yaml, and the federal MATE Act training to us-dea.yaml. Initial prescriptive authority requires thirty contact hours of advanced pharmacology within three years before application (HAR § 16-89-119(a)(6)); that is a one-time entry requirement, not renewal CE, and is not modeled.
- Inactive and long-absent licensees: an RN may renew on inactive status (the $12 inactive fee in the 2025 FAQ), is "not subject to the CE requirements" while inactive, and reactivates on a learning activity completed in the two preceding years (HRS § 457-9.2(e)). A nurse inactive more than five years who has not practiced in the U.S. must retake the NCLEX or complete a board-approved refresher course of sixty didactic and sixty clinical hours (HAR § 16-89-132(b)). These are reactivation paths, not recurring CE, and are not modeled.
Hawaii PMHNP CE: frequently asked questions
Which credentials does a Hawaii PMHNP renew?
5 separate credentials, each on its own renewal date: the APRN (Hawaii, biennial), the RN (Hawaii, biennial), the CSR (Hawaii, annual), the PMHNP-BC (ANCC, every 5 years), and the DEA (DEA, triennial). A lapse at any one of them stops prescribing.
How many CE hours do Hawaii PMHNP licensees need?
Hawaii requires 30 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a PMHNP license. The renewal cycle is biennial, and the license renews by June 30 of odd years.
How often do Hawaii PMHNP licensees renew?
The renewal cycle is biennial, and the license renews by June 30 of odd years.
Are there subject-specific CE requirements for Hawaii PMHNP licensees?
Yes. Hawaii requires 8 hours of pharmacology.
Sources and verification
- State source
- Hawaii board rule
- Last verified
- October 2026
- Ruleset version
- 2026.2
We reviewed this page against the Hawaii 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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Hawaii 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.Hawaii mental health workforce data →5,688 active providers, or 397 per 100,000 residents, ranked 31 of 51. The page includes a county density map and free CSV downloads.
Other Hawaii CE requirement pages
PMHNP CE requirements in other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming