How to use the Texas Nurse Portal CE Module (2026)

What changed and why

Senate Bill 912 (89th Legislature) required the Texas Board of Nursing to set up a CE tracking system to check that nurses meet continuing competency requirements before renewal. The board adopted amendments to its Chapter 216 rules, published in the Texas Register on July 24, 2026. Beginning September 1, 2026, nurses renewing or reactivating must enter their CE information in the CE Module before submitting the application. The board's April 2026 Bulletin says what counts as CE did not change; only the reporting step is new.

Who must use it

Nurses with a full Texas LVN, RN or APRN license who are renewing or reactivating. The board says the module is not for initial exam or endorsement applicants, APRN licensure applicants, GN/GVN permit holders, temporary license holders, APRNs with interim approval, or nurses sending CE for an agreed order or other discipline.

First renewal: the board's renewal page says CE requirements, including targeted CE, are waived for your first renewal if you submit it before expiration or within 90 days after. Note that the board's older continuing-competency page still lists forensic evidence collection as an exception to the first-renewal exemption, so ER nurses should complete it anyway.

What you still need

• 20 contact hours in your area of practice within the licensing period, or a board-approved national nursing certification in your area of practice.
• Jurisprudence & ethics: at least 2 contact hours every third two-year licensing period (all nurses; certification can't be used).
• Human trafficking prevention: an HHSC-approved course every licensing period if you provide direct patient care.
• Older adult or geriatric care: at least 2 contact hours every period if your practice includes older adults.
• Forensic evidence collection: at least 2 contact hours for nurses working in an ER setting (records kept indefinitely).
• APRNs: 20 hours in the APRN role and population focus (or a recognized certification), plus at least 5 extra hours in pharmacotherapeutics with prescriptive authority.

Full details are on our Texas CE requirements page.

Step by step: entering CE in the module

1. Log in to your Texas Nurse Portal account.
2. In the Your Licenses with Texas section of your dashboard, click Add Continuing Education to the right of your license.
3. Enter the information from your certificate. A Texas CE certificate shows the provider name, program title, date and location, contact hours, provider number and credentialing agency.
4. Create a separate entry for each activity. Bundled renewal packages can be one entry only if the provider issued a single certificate listing all courses with the required information.
5. Check that each entry appears in the module and that your CEUs Earned total updated. Don't resubmit the same entry.
6. When your requirements are complete, submit your renewal.

The board's video walkthroughs and written guides are listed as "coming soon" on its tutorials page, so we'll update this section when they're posted.

Upload vs. entry: what the board says now

The board's messaging changed over 2026. The April 2026 Bulletin said nurses "will need to upload all required Continuing Education (CE) certificates prior to renewing," and the rule amendments adopted in July describe uploading documentation to the tracking system.

The board's current CE Module page has a newer update: "uploading certificates or other supporting documentation is not required at this time for standard CE entries. You will enter the information from your CE certificates in the CE module and retain the certificates." It adds that certain requirements may still need documentation, and the board will give instructions when they do. Reactivation applicants must provide supporting documentation; the renewal page says CE Module data entry alone doesn't satisfy that.

Our advice: for a standard renewal, enter every activity and keep PDFs of every certificate ready in case the portal or the board asks for them.

Using a national certification instead of CE

You can meet the 20-hour requirement by achieving, maintaining or renewing a board-approved national nursing certification in your area of practice within the licensing period. For the certification entry's "Participation/Completion Date," the board says to enter the date you submit the entry, not the certification's effective or expiration date. Targeted requirements such as jurisprudence & ethics and human trafficking still need their own courses.

Records to keep

Keep certificates or transcripts for at least three consecutive licensing periods or six years; keep forensic evidence collection records indefinitely. CE must come from a board-recognized credentialing agency or provider (such as ANCC), and the human trafficking course must be on HHSC's approved list. ACLS or PALS cards don't count as proof of CE.

The board's checklist, in plain words

• You've reviewed the CE rules for your license.
• You've finished the CE for this renewal cycle.
• You have a certificate or other proof for each activity or method.
• You'll keep those records and send them if the board asks.
• You know each activity needs its own entry.

Common mistakes

• Renewing before entering CE in the module.
• Using hours from a previous licensing period. The board says they won't be accepted, and extra hours don't carry forward.
• Taking a human trafficking course that isn't HHSC-approved.
• Forgetting jurisprudence & ethics in your third licensing period.
• Renewing before you finish your hours. The board's example: if you have 18 hours in mid-August and a 2-hour course on August 28, wait until after the course, then renew by August 31.

Multi-state nurses with a Texas license

Texas is a compact state. Boards such as Louisiana's say multistate license holders meet the CE rules of the state that issued the license, so a Texas-issued multistate license means Texas CE rules. If you also hold licenses elsewhere, one course can often count for several; see Can you use the same CE hours for multiple licenses?. Neighboring states have their own rules: Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana and Arkansas.