RN license renewal by state: California, Texas, Florida

Renewal cycle

Every two years, on a birthday-based schedule: the expiration date falls on the last day of your birth month, in odd or even years matching the year you were born.

Continuing education

30 contact hours of continuing education from a Board-recognized provider for each active-status renewal. Nurses in their first two years after initial licensure are excused from the CE total, except for the implicit-bias requirement.

Renewal window

You can file up to three months before the expiration date. The Board mails a notice roughly that far ahead, but keeping track of the date is the licensee's job.

If the license lapses

Under eight years lapsed: a delinquent fee plus 30 CE hours completed within the prior two years restores the license. Eight years or more: you also need either proof of an active license in another state or a retake of the NCLEX-RN. The current delinquent fee amount is listed on the Board's renewal page.

Renewal cycle

A two-year licensing period keyed to your birth month: the expiration date falls on the last day of your birth month, in odd or even years matching your birth year. First licensing periods can run shorter (6–29 months) to line the schedule up.

Continuing education

20 contact hours of continuing nursing education in your area of practice per licensing period — or, in place of the hours, a Board-recognized national nursing certification achieved, maintained or renewed in that period (Board Rule 216.3). On top of the base total, targeted CE applies to some nurses: a jurisprudence-and-ethics course (2 hours, once every third licensing period, all nurses), a human-trafficking prevention course (2 hours per period for direct patient care), older-adult care CE (2 hours per period when your practice includes that population), and a one-time forensic evidence collection course for ER staff.

Renewal window

The renewal application appears in the Texas Nurse Portal when the license is within 60 days of expiring. Allow up to 15 business days for processing.

If the license lapses

An unrenewed license moves to “delinquent” status and cannot be practiced on. Delinquent under four years: renew with 20 contact hours (or a current certification) completed in the two years before applying. Four years or more: Board Rule 217.6 applies, which can involve refresher course work — check with the Board before planning a late renewal.

Renewal cycle

Biennial — licenses renew every two years, and CE is reported through the Department of Health's CE Broker tracking system before you renew.

Continuing education (24 hours total)

• 16 general hours from an accredited provider
• 2 hours prevention of medical errors
• 2 hours Florida laws and rules
• 2 hours recognizing impairment in the workplace — required in alternating renewal cycles
• 2 hours human trafficking prevention, each biennium
• 1 hour HIV/AIDS — a one-time requirement before the first renewal
• 2 hours domestic violence — every third biennium, and those hours are in addition to the 24

Nurses holding a specialty certification accredited by NCCA or ABSNC are excused from the CE hours (the human-trafficking course excepted), as long as the certification is reported in CE Broker.

Fees

A timely active-to-active renewal is $75. After the expiration date the same renewal is $130, and a 120-day notified delinquent renewal is $205 (fees per the Board's renewal page, checked October 14, 2026 — confirm before paying).

If the license lapses

Renewing delinquent means reporting CE for both the current and the previous cycle, plus a delinquency fee. Two years past the expiration deadline the license goes to “null and void” status, which cannot be reactivated — so a Florida lapse is worth acting on early.