Free CE for mandatory nursing topics (2026, by state)

The short answer

Free options exist for a few mandatory topics, mostly from state agencies. We list a course below only if we confirmed on an official page that it is free, that it's approved or accepted for that state's requirement, and that the course page is live. Everything else we checked was left out.

Mandatory topics by state

Examples from the boards we checked this week. Hours count toward the total unless the board says otherwise.

Topic	State examples
Human trafficking	Texas: HHSC-approved course each licensing period (direct patient care). Florida: 2 hours. Michigan: one-time training. Delaware: at least 1 hour on recognizing and responding to abuse, exploitation, trafficking or domestic violence of vulnerable persons
Implicit bias, cultural competency, health equity	California: 1 hour for licensees in their first 2 years. Illinois: 1 hour of implicit bias. Michigan: 1 hour per year of the license cycle. Nevada: 4 hours of cultural competency each renewal. Oregon: 2 hours of cultural competency every 48 months. Washington: 2 hours of health equity
Opioids, pain, substance use	New Jersey: 1 contact hour on prescription opioids. Michigan: 2 hours of pain and symptom management. Oregon: 1 hour of pain management every 36 months. Delaware: 3 hours of substance abuse. Rhode Island: 2 hours of substance abuse. Arizona: 3 hours for APRNs with a DEA registration. West Virginia: 3 hours on safe prescribing and drug diversion for newly licensed RNs
Laws, rules, ethics	Texas: 2 hours of jurisprudence and ethics every third licensing period. Florida: 2 hours of Florida laws and rules. Ohio: at least 1 hour of Category A
Abuse and violence reporting	Pennsylvania: 2 hours of child abuse recognition and reporting. Iowa: required course for mandatory reporters of child and adult abuse. New York: child abuse reporting coursework (required for RN licensure). Massachusetts: domestic and sexual violence training
Suicide prevention, mental health	Utah: one approved suicide prevention training. Washington: one-time 6-hour suicide prevention training. Connecticut: 2 hours every six years on mental health screening and suicide prevention
Other	Florida: prevention of medical errors and recognizing impairment in the workplace. New York: infection control every four years. Nevada: one-time 4-hour bioterrorism course. Illinois: sexual harassment prevention. Pennsylvania: 2 hours of organ and tissue donation (new from May 1, 2026)

Free options we verified

Texas: HEART human trafficking training (HHSC)

• What it meets: Texas Board Rule 216.3(i) requires nurses in direct patient care to complete a human trafficking prevention course approved by HHSC each licensing period.
• Free and approved: HHSC says HEART is a free online training approved for direct-service health care providers, and its approved course list shows "HEART Training (2027)" at no cost, 1.5 hours, online.
• CE credit caveat: HHSC's course list has noted that nurses receive a certificate of completion rather than CE credit, so it may not add contact hours toward your 20.
• Where: HHSC human trafficking prevention training

Pennsylvania: child abuse recognition and reporting (University of Pittsburgh)

• What it meets: Pennsylvania requires 2 of an RN's 30 hours in child abuse recognition and reporting.
• Free and approved: Pennsylvania DHS describes it as a free, web-based training. The Department of State lists the Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center course (3 hours, online) as approved for CE credit for professional licensees.
• Reporting: the course site says completions are sent to the Department of State and take 7 to 10 business days to post to your board record.
• Where: reportabusepa.pitt.edu

Oregon: pain management module (Oregon Pain Management Commission)

• What it meets: Oregon requires 1 hour of pain management education every 36 months, and the board points nurses to the Oregon Pain Management Commission course.
• Free and approved: the course is approved for 1.0 nursing contact hour (Oregon Nurses Association, approval valid through February 28, 2027), and OHA's course catalog lists it as free.
• Where: OPMC pain education course

Alabama: free board-provided CE (general hours)

Not a specific mandatory topic, but useful: the Alabama Board of Nursing says nurses can access dozens of hours of free, board-provided CE courses in the My Profile section of the ABN website. See the Alabama page.

How to check a free course counts

1. Find your board's approval wording: "board-approved provider," "ANCC-accredited," or an agency-approved list (Texas HHSC, Pennsylvania DHS).
2. Check that the certificate shows your name, course title, date, provider and contact hours.
3. Match the hours and frequency exactly. A 1-hour course doesn't satisfy a 2-hour rule.
4. Keep the certificate for audits, and report it if your state uses a tracking system. See the CE Broker states guide.

Watch-outs

• "Free" courses that charge for the certificate. Read the fine print before you start.
• Completion certificates vs CE credit. A course can satisfy a topic rule without adding contact hours to your total.
• One-time vs every-renewal topics. Michigan's human trafficking training is one-time; Florida's 2 hours are due every renewal.
• Hour totals still apply. See CE hours by state for your overall number.