CE credit explained
How continuing education credit works
Contact hours, certificates and approvals in plain English, and how to check whether a course will count before you spend money on it.
Three terms that are easy to mix up
| Term | What it means here |
|---|---|
| Contact hours | The length of instruction a course is designed to take, including lessons, activities, checks and the final assessment. Each course page states its contact hours. |
| Certificate of completion | Proof that you finished the course and passed its assessment on a given date. It shows your name, the course, the contact hours, the date and a verification ID. |
| Approval or accreditation | A decision by a licensing board, state agency or accrediting body that a course or provider meets its rules. Some requirements accept only approved courses. None of our courses has an approval today. |
Some boards and accreditors also express credit as continuing education units (CEUs). How many contact hours make one unit, and whether minutes are rounded, is set by each accreditor or board, so check with yours. We never say a course awards CEUs.
Who decides whether a course counts?
Not the course provider. Whether a certificate counts toward a requirement is decided by whoever sets the requirement:
- Licensing boards decide what counts toward license renewal, for example a board of nursing.
- Employers decide what counts toward their own training programs and many federal training rules that are written as employer duties, such as OSHA standards or nursing home in-service.
- State and local agencies decide what counts for programs they run, such as food handler cards, which in several states must come from an accredited program.
Some accept any relevant course with a certificate of completion. Others accept only courses approved by a named body. The same course can count in one place and not another.
Example: nursing renewal hours vary by state
Registered nurse renewal rules show how much states differ. From the boards’ own pages:
| State | RN continuing education |
|---|---|
| California | 30 contact hours every 2 years |
| Florida | 24 contact hours per renewal (26 when domestic violence is due) |
| Texas | 20 contact hours per 2-year period, or a national nursing certification the Board approves |
| Pennsylvania | 30 hours per renewal cycle |
| Michigan | 25 hours in the 2 years before renewal |
| Illinois | 20 hours per 2-year cycle |
| New York | No general CE hour requirement for RN registration |
Many boards also require specific topics or approved providers. Find your state in the CE Requirement Finder, then confirm on your board’s site.
When the requirement is not about a license
Much required training is set by a rule an employer must follow, not by a license. Nursing homes must give nurse aides at least 12 hours of in-service a year (42 CFR 483.95(g)). OSHA standards require employers to train workers on hazards such as chemicals, and the employer must add training on its own workplace. Several states require employers to give harassment prevention training.
In these cases your employer decides whether an online course fits its program and what it needs to add. Our courses are designed to make that decision easy: each lists its contact hours, topics and sources, and states what it does not cover.
Four checks before you buy
- Find the rule. Is the requirement from your licensing board, your employer or a state or local agency?
- Read what it accepts. Any relevant course, or only courses approved by a named body? Are specific topics or hours required?
- Compare the course page. Check the contact hours, the topics in the outline and the credit box, which says plainly whether an approval exists.
- Ask if unsure. Email your board or training coordinator with the course link before you buy, or preview the first module free and send them the outline.
Keep your records
Download each certificate when you pass; anyone can confirm it on our verify page using its ID, without seeing your email. The CE tracker in your dashboard logs hours from any provider, stores your certificate files privately and prints a one-page audit record, and the renewal planner sends reminders 90, 30 and 7 days before a deadline.
Frequently asked questions
Why does no course carry a board approval yet?
Approval takes an application to each board or accreditor, and we only show an approval once it has been granted. Until then every course says it is a certificate of completion, and the approvals page lists any approval with its number as soon as it exists.
Can I count a course for my license if my board accepts non-approved courses?
If your board accepts relevant courses from any provider, a certificate of completion with contact hours may count. Check the board’s rules for the topic, the number of hours and the records it wants you to keep.
How do I convert contact hours into CEUs?
Use the conversion your board or accreditor publishes, because definitions differ. Our certificates show contact hours, which is the figure most boards ask for.
What does the verification ID prove?
It lets an employer, auditor or board confirm the name on the certificate, the course, the completion date, the contact hours and its status. The check does not show the learner’s email address.