CEN Recertification: 100 CE Hours or the Exam Every Four Years, and the 2027 Accredited-Hours Change

Two ways to renew a CEN

A CEN lasts four years. BCEN's How to Recertify page offers two routes, and both start from your BCEN account dashboard, where you pick "by CE" or "by exam" next to the CEN logo. As checked on October 27, 2026:

You must still hold a current CEN to use either route. Recertification fees are non-refundable and non-transferable, and BCEN vouchers can be used for both routes. The CEN exam cost guide has the voucher prices.

The CEN CE requirement in numbers

For the CE route, BCEN sets four counts. One contact hour is 60 minutes of instruction.

BCEN counts one Continuing Education Contact Hour (CECH) as one hour, and one Continuing Medical Education credit as one hour if it is AMA PRA Category 1 Credit. All content must be at the nursing practice level or higher.

Clinical or non-clinical. BCEN defines clinical content as education "primarily focused on knowledge the nurse can apply in providing direct care," with examples such as management of the trauma patient or toxicology. Non-clinical content covers the professional practice of nursing and the emergency care system, such as quality improvement, legal aspects of emergency care, or public relations in health care; BCEN also names accredited college courses in medical ethics or leadership and management as non-clinical options.

Accredited or not. An accredited activity is approved by a professional body. BCEN's CE Requirements Guide says it accepts contact hours from all national nursing accrediting agencies, naming AACN, ANCC, ENA, the Society of Trauma Nurses, the American Burn Association, ASTNA, and state nurses associations or boards of nursing. A non-accredited course still counts toward the 100, just not toward the accredited minimum.

What changes for CEN renewals submitted on or after January 1, 2027

The accredited minimum rises from 50 to 75 hours for applications submitted on or after January 1, 2027. BCEN published an updated CE Requirements Guide marked "Effective 01/01/2027." Besides the 75 accredited hours, it lists how other activities convert to CE:

BCEN's recertify page still links an older CE grid (its file name is dated 1.30.23) with different values, for example 5 hours for an article. If you submit on or after January 1, 2027, use the guide marked effective 01/01/2027.

A worked example (fictional nurse, Passy arithmetic). Dana's CEN expires in spring 2027. She has 100 hours, 80 of them clinical, and 60 from accredited providers. If she submitted in December 2026, the 60 accredited hours would clear the 50-hour minimum. Submitted in 2027, they fall 15 short of 75, and the application doesn't meet the rule. She has two clean options: earn 15 more accredited hours before she submits and before her expiration date, or switch to recertification by exam. BCEN's pages mention recertifying early but don't explain early-application windows, so confirm on your dashboard before planning around a December submission.

Which CEs count toward CEN renewal, and which don't

From BCEN's recertify page and FAQs:

• Counts: nursing CE in your specialty, courses such as TNCC, ENPC, ACLS and PALS within the limits above, accredited college courses with a clinical or professional focus, and BCEN Learn activities. BCEN says its practice exams carry 3 CEs, its review courses 21 CEs, and it adds at least one free CE each month. BCEN Learn CEs fill in your CE tracker automatically
• Doesn't count: activities approved only by an EMS provider (BCEN names CAPCE and NAEMT), activities taken toward paramedic or EMT renewal, and PHTLS, ITLS and AMLS. If an activity is approved by both an EMS provider and a nursing provider, BCEN accepts it
• Doesn't count either: sitting for or passing a BCEN exam. BCEN's CEN FAQ says you get no CEs for either
• More than one BCEN credential: the same hours can count for each certification if the content is relevant to both specialties and falls inside each credential's 4-year period

Timing rules that trip up CEN renewals

• Finish first, then submit. All 100 hours must be completed before you submit. Hours can't keep accruing after submission, even if you recertify early, are being audited, or use the grace period
• Hours after expiration don't count. BCEN says plainly that hours earned after your expiration date can't be used
• The 60-day grace period. Under Policy 5.6, a CEN who passes the expiration date without applying is placed in a 60-day grace period automatically. The policy describes it as a way to recertify by CE attestation without retaking the exam; a $100 late fee is added at checkout, and late applications may be audited. After 60 days the certification expires, and you must retake the exam to earn the CEN again
• Your dates. Your recertification period is shown on the My Dashboard page of your BCEN account

If your CEN renewal is audited

BCEN randomly audits at least 10% of CE attestation applications. A selected nurse gets an email from BCEN with the subject line "BCEN Recertification Applications Selected for Audit" and has 30 days to upload documentation through the CE tracker; BCEN doesn't accept paper, fax or email copies. For each activity, keep a certificate or letter showing your name, the date and title of the activity, the provider, the contact hours, and the approver or accreditor.

If an audit isn't approved and your CEN hasn't expired, you can apply to recertify by exam; the CE fee isn't transferred to that application. If the credential has already expired, you need a new initial exam application.

Recertifying the CEN by exam

The exam route is the same CEN exam that first-time candidates take: 175 questions, 150 scored, in 180 minutes, on the outline in force since July 6, 2026. Once BCEN approves the application, you have 90 days to schedule with PSI and sit for the exam. The CEN exam format guide covers the sitting itself.

Two points differ from a first attempt. BCEN's Test Assurance page says the $70 add-on "is not available for individuals who are recertifying by exam." And if you last tested before July 2026, the outline has changed: Gastrointestinal Emergencies is now its own area and the passing standard is 99 of 150. If it has been years since your last timed sitting, rehearse the 3-hour sitting again with the CEN mock exam planned for launch.

The CEN practice test guide compares BCEN's practice exam, which also earns 3 CEs, with other options.

CE or exam: choosing your CEN renewal route

A practical way to decide, not a BCEN rule:

1. Count your accredited hours first. If you'll submit in 2027 and are short of 75 accredited hours, compare the cost and time of the missing hours with preparing for the exam.
2. Check your documentation. If certificates are missing for older activities, an audit could fail. Exam renewal needs no CE documentation.
3. Look at your calendar. The exam route needs a 90-day window and a test date; the CE route needs only the attestation and payment, once the hours are done.
4. Decide before the expiration date. Policy 5.6 describes the grace period only for CE attestation, and the hours must already be done.

If you choose the exam, check which planned CEN access period fits a 90-day recertification window; checkout isn't open yet.

Leaving practice: the CEN retired designation

If you are retiring from nursing practice and teaching, BCEN's retired designation lets you use "CEN(Ret)." You need a current CEN held for at least 4 consecutive years or one certification term, an unrestricted RN license, and an application at least 60 days before retirement and before your CEN expires. The fee is a one-time $75. You must stay fully retired; returning to practice or teaching forfeits the designation, and earning the CEN again then means passing the exam.

Your next step for CEN renewal

Open your BCEN account, find your expiration date on the dashboard, and run your CE tracker's summary against the 2027 column above. If the accredited count is short, plan the missing hours now, while they can still be earned inside your certification period. If you lean toward the exam, the free CEN study planner builds a schedule from your test date, and practice by July 2026 content area is planned for full CEN prep at launch.