Updated for 2026

Washington PMHNP Continuing Education Requirements

Washington psychiatric nurse practitioners must complete 30 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their APRN license, including 15 hours of pharmacology.

These are the Washington 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
15pharmacology

The renewal cycle is biennial, and your license renews at the end of your birth month.

Where this comes from
State source
Washington 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

Washington PMHNP requirements

Total

30 hoursYou need 30 hours every 2 years. The renewal cycle is biennial, and your license renews at the end of your birth month.

Topic minimums, counted within the 30

The remaining 15 hours are not tied to a topic minimum.
Pharmacology
15
You need 15 hours each cycle.

Cycle and record rules

Renewal
The renewal cycle is biennial, and your license renews at the end of your birth month.
Renewal fee
The board renewal fee is $130 every 2 years, and a late (delinquent) renewal adds a $50 fee.
Approved providers
The 30 ARNP hours must be "acceptable to the certifying body" for the designation (for a PMHNP-BC, ANCC's accepted CE), and both the 30 and the 15 pharmacotherapeutics hours must come from courses whose contact hour is at least fifty minutes (WAC 246-840-361, -451). The same course taken twice in a renewal cycle counts once. Hours count only in the two-year renewal period ending at the ARNP birthday renewal; the board keeps no provider list, so no provider gate is enforced.
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 $50 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 Washington 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
    Washington · Biennial

    30 CE hours every 2 years, including 15 hours of pharmacology.

    Requirements above
  2. RNRegistered Nurse
    Washington · Annual

    8 CE hours per year, including 2 hours of health equity.

    Washington board rule
  3. CSRState Controlled Substance Registration
    Washington

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

Full board policy details
  • National certification is a condition, not a substitute: "An ARNP must maintain current certification within his or her designation(s) by a commission approved certifying body ... An ARNP license becomes invalid when the certification expires" (WAC 246-840-302(2)); ANCC is an approved NP certifying body (302(3)(a)(ii)). Renewal requires "Evidence of current certification by the commission approved certifying body for each designation" (246-840-360(2)(b)), and the board asks ARNPs to "submit a copy of recertification via email to nursing@doh.wa.gov". Holding `pmhnp bc` does not lift the 30 hours, so the total is not gated on it; the certification's own renewal is us-pmhnp bc.yaml.
  • Stacking with the RN license: the ARNP's 30 (and 15) hours are separate from the RN license's eight yearly hours (wa-rn.yaml), but the board lets "the ARNP ... use continuing education hours taken to meet the requirements for their ARNP license if taken during the RN renewal year" (Board of Nursing Continuing Competency FAQ). Each row counts every admissible logged hour in its own window, which matches the board's position.
  • State mandates carried by the RN row: the health equity hours (WAC 246-840-222) bind "Nurses", defined as RNs and LPNs (246-840-210(6)), and the ARNP rules add no separate health equity hours; the one-time six-hour suicide training binds the ARNP by statute (RCW 43.70.442(5)(a)(iii)) and is satisfied by the RN-license completion (WAC 246-840-220(3)). Both are modeled on wa-rn.yaml only, so a licensee is not asked twice.
  • Prescription monitoring program: an ARNP who prescribes opioids "shall register to access the prescription monitoring program (PMP)" and query it at the points WAC 246-840-4990 lists. This is a registration and practice duty, not continuing education, and it is not a state controlled-substance registration; not modeled.
  • Pending rulemaking: the board's Phase 2 review of the advanced practice and pain management rules (chapter 246-840 WAC) circulated draft language in October 2025 that keeps the 30 hours and the 15 pharmacotherapeutics hours. No proposed rule (CR-102) was confirmed as of 2026-10-18; recheck WAC 246-840-360 through -451 when it is filed.
  • Inactive or expired ARNP license: returning from inactive status, or from expired status of two years or more, requires current certification and "evidence of 30 contact hours of continuing education for each designation within the past two years" (WAC 246-840-365(2), 246-840-367(2)); expired less than two years requires the ordinary renewal requirements including the 15 pharmacotherapeutics hours when renewing prescriptive authority (246-840-367(1)). Prescriptive authority after inactive status is regained under WAC 246-840-410. The catch-up equals the standard requirement, so no conditional block is needed.

Washington PMHNP CE: frequently asked questions

Which credentials does a Washington PMHNP renew?

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

How many CE hours do Washington PMHNP licensees need?

Washington requires 30 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a PMHNP license. The renewal cycle is biennial, and your license renews at the end of your birth month.

How often do Washington PMHNP licensees renew?

The renewal cycle is biennial, and your license renews at the end of your birth month.

How much does Washington PMHNP license renewal cost?

The board's renewal fee is $130 every 2 years, per the Washington board fee schedule. Renewing late adds a $50 delinquency fee on top. CE course costs are separate and set by course providers.

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

Yes. Washington requires 15 hours of pharmacology.

Sources and verification

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

We reviewed this page against the Washington 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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Washington 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.Washington mental health workforce data →53,146 active providers, or 664.2 per 100,000 residents, ranked 7 of 51. The page includes a county density map and free CSV downloads.

Other Washington CE requirement pages

Washington LPCWashington LMFTWashington LCSWWashington PsychologistWashington Addiction Counselor

PMHNP CE requirements in other states