Guam nurse CE requirements catch more nurses off guard than almost any other part of the renewal process, and it’s rarely because of the hours themselves. It’s the deadline. Unlike many states where renewal falls on your birthday or the anniversary of your license, Guam sets one fixed date for everyone: September 30 of every odd numbered year. Miss it, and it doesn’t matter how many continuing education hours you actually completed.
This article breaks down exactly what the Guam Board of Nurse Examiners expects from RNs, LPNs, and APRNs, why the fixed deadline trips up so many nurses moving to or working remotely for Guam facilities, and how to get your hours reported correctly the first time.
What Are Guam’s Nurse CE Requirements?
Under Public Law 29-71, the Guam Board of Nurse Examiners requires registered nurses and licensed practical nurses to complete thirty hours of continuing education activities within each renewal period. This isn’t an annual number. It covers the full two year cycle, so you don’t need to spread exactly fifteen hours across each year, though many nurses find it easier to plan that way rather than scrambling in the final months.
The thirty hours can come from a mix of approved seminars, courses, and nursing or health related activities. Guam doesn’t currently mandate specific topic areas the way some states require a set number of hours on domestic violence or pain management. General nursing CE from a recognized provider typically satisfies the requirement, which gives nurses more flexibility in choosing coursework that’s actually relevant to their specialty.
Why the September 30 Deadline Catches So Many Nurses Off Guard
Most state boards tie renewal to something personal, your birth month, or the date you were first licensed. Guam doesn’t. Every nurse licensed in the territory renews on the same cycle, by September 30 of odd numbered years, regardless of when they were originally licensed.
This creates a specific problem for two groups. Nurses who recently moved to Guam or picked up licensure there sometimes assume their renewal follows the same pattern as their home state, and miss the fact that everyone shares one universal date. And nurses who got licensed mid cycle sometimes end up with a shorter first renewal window than they expect, since the clock is running toward the fixed date rather than starting fresh from their issue date.
Marking September 30 of every odd year on a calendar, two years in advance, is the single easiest way to avoid this problem entirely.
How Many CE Hours Do RNs Need in Guam?
Registered nurses in Guam must submit evidence of thirty contact hours of continuing education activities within their renewal period. There’s no requirement to complete a fixed number of hours annually. The full thirty hours simply need to be documented before the September 30 renewal deadline in the applicable odd numbered year.
LPN CE Requirements in Guam
Licensed practical nurses face the identical thirty hour requirement as RNs. The same biennial cycle applies, and the same September 30 deadline governs LPN renewals alongside RN renewals. There’s no separate or reduced hour count for LPNs under current Guam Board of Nurse Examiners rules.
APRN CE Requirements in Guam
Advanced practice registered nurses need the standard thirty hours like every other license type, but there’s an additional layer for APRNs who hold prescriptive authority. Those nurses must also complete five hours of pharmacotherapeutics related continuing education within the same renewal period. This is on top of, not instead of, the general thirty hour requirement.
If you’re an APRN without prescriptive authority, the five hour pharmacotherapeutics requirement typically doesn’t apply to you, though it’s worth confirming your specific classification with the board directly if you’re unsure which category you fall under.
The One Time DEA Training Nurses Often Miss
Separate from the standard CE cycle, DEA registered practitioners, including many APRNs with prescriptive authority, are required under the MATE Act to complete eight hours of one time training covering the treatment and management of patients with opioid or substance use disorders. This applies at initial DEA registration or renewal and is a one time requirement rather than something repeated every cycle. It’s easy to overlook precisely because it isn’t part of the recurring thirty hour count, so it gets missed by nurses who assume their standard CE package already covers it.
How to Report Your CE Hours
Guam nursing CE hours are reported electronically through CEBroker, the official continuing education tracking system used by the board. Completed courses from approved providers are typically uploaded to your CEBroker account within one business day of completion, giving you a running record you can check well before your renewal deadline rather than scrambling to gather certificates at the last minute.
Keeping your own copies of completion certificates is still a good habit even with electronic reporting, since the board can audit renewals and request documentation directly from license holders. A simple folder, digital or physical, with every certificate saved as soon as you finish a course, saves real time if an audit request ever comes through.
What Happens If You Miss the Deadline
A lapsed license in Guam generally means you can no longer legally practice under that license until it’s reinstated, and reinstatement often involves additional paperwork and fees beyond a standard on time renewal. Because the deadline is fixed and identical for every nurse in the territory, there’s less room for the kind of individual grace period some states offer around a personal renewal date. Treating September 30 of every odd year as a hard deadline, not a soft target, is the safest approach.
Choosing Approved CE Providers and Course Types
Because Guam doesn’t require specific topic based hours, most general nursing CE from an accredited or board recognized provider will count toward your thirty hours. That said, it’s worth prioritizing courses relevant to your actual specialty and practice setting rather than picking whatever is fastest to complete, since well chosen CE genuinely improves your clinical practice in addition to satisfying the requirement on paper.
If you hold licenses in more than one state or territory in addition to Guam, double check that your chosen courses are accepted in each jurisdiction, since requirements and approved provider lists aren’t always identical across state lines.
Step by Step: Renewing Your Guam Nursing License
Start by confirming your current license status and renewal date directly through the Guam Board of Nurse Examiners or the DPHSS website, since your specific cycle depends on when your license was originally issued relative to the biennial pattern. Next, complete your required CE hours well before the deadline rather than in the final weeks, giving CEBroker time to reflect your completed courses. Then log into your renewal portal, verify your contact information is current, confirm your reported CE hours match what’s on file, and submit your renewal along with the applicable fee. Keep a copy of your confirmation once the renewal is processed.
Guam Nursing License Types at a Glance
| License Type | CE Hours Required | Additional Requirement | Renewal Cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| RN | 30 hours | None | Biennial, by Sept 30 (odd years) |
| LPN | 30 hours | None | Biennial, by Sept 30 (odd years) |
| APRN (no prescriptive authority) | 30 hours | None | Biennial, by Sept 30 (odd years) |
| APRN (with prescriptive authority) | 30 hours | 5 hours pharmacotherapeutics | Biennial, by Sept 30 (odd years) |
Seeing all three license types side by side makes one thing clear. The base requirement is identical across the board. The only variation is the extra pharmacotherapeutics hours for prescribing APRNs, and the one time DEA training covered above, which sits outside this table entirely since it isn’t tied to the biennial cycle.
Common Mistakes That Cause a Lapsed License
Most lapsed licenses in Guam don’t happen because a nurse skipped their continuing education entirely. They happen because of smaller, avoidable planning gaps. A common one is assuming the renewal date matches a personal milestone, like a birthday or the original licensing date, when Guam’s date is fixed for everyone. Another is completing CE hours close to the deadline and assuming CEBroker will reflect them instantly, only to find a course still processing when renewal opens.
Nurses working remotely for a Guam based facility, or splitting time between Guam and another state, sometimes lose track of which jurisdiction’s deadline applies to which license, especially if their home state uses a different renewal pattern entirely. And APRNs occasionally complete their general thirty hours but overlook the additional five hour pharmacotherapeutics requirement, since it’s easy to assume the base CE package already covers it.
None of these mistakes are difficult to avoid once you know about them, which is really the point of laying out Guam’s nurse CE requirements this clearly in the first place.
Planning Your CE Hours Across the Two Year Cycle
Rather than treating your thirty hours as a single task to knock out right before the deadline, spreading them across the full renewal period tends to produce better outcomes on two fronts. It reduces the risk of a last minute scramble if a course provider has a processing delay, and it gives you more room to choose CE content that’s genuinely relevant to your specialty rather than whatever’s fastest to complete under time pressure.
A simple approach that works for a lot of nurses is targeting roughly fifteen hours per year rather than waiting until the final months of the cycle. It’s not a requirement, just a planning habit that removes most of the stress around the September 30 deadline.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many CE hours do I need to renew my Guam nursing license? Thirty contact hours within your two year renewal period, whether you hold an RN, LPN, or APRN license, with an additional five hours of pharmacotherapeutics CE for APRNs with prescriptive authority.
When is the Guam nursing license renewal deadline? September 30 of every odd numbered year. This date is fixed for all license holders regardless of when you were originally licensed.
Does Guam require specific topics within my CE hours? No. Guam doesn’t currently mandate set hours on particular subjects like some states do. General nursing or health related CE from an approved provider typically satisfies the full thirty hour requirement.
How do I report my completed CE hours? Through CEBroker, the official electronic tracking system used by the Guam Board of Nurse Examiners. Approved providers typically report completed hours within one business day.
What happens if I miss the renewal deadline? Your license generally lapses, meaning you can’t legally practice under it until you complete reinstatement, which often involves extra steps and fees beyond a standard renewal.
Do APRNs need extra CE hours beyond the standard thirty? Yes, if you hold prescriptive authority. You’ll need five additional hours of pharmacotherapeutics CE within the same renewal period, on top of the general thirty hours.
Final Thoughts
The actual coursework behind Guam’s nurse CE requirements isn’t complicated. Thirty hours, once every two years, with a small pharmacotherapeutics add on for prescribing APRNs. What trips nurses up is the calendar, not the content. Mark September 30 of the next odd numbered year now, track your hours through CEBroker as you go, and you’ll avoid the one mistake that causes more Guam license lapses than anything else.
If you’re newly licensed or recently moved to Guam from another jurisdiction, it’s worth spending ten minutes confirming your exact renewal date directly with the board before you build a CE plan around an assumption carried over from your previous state. A quick phone call or email now is far less stressful than discovering a mismatch close to the deadline.
For the official requirements and current forms, visit the Guam Board of Nurse Examiners directly, and track your continuing education hours through CEBroker.
About the Author
This guide was written by the team at Rahat Health Care Professionals Consultancy & Training Center, led by founder Rahat Zaman, a medical licensing consultant since 2018 with hands-on experience guiding healthcare professionals through DHA, MOH, DOH, and wider Gulf licensing processes. Our team has supported over 21000 healthcare professionals through DataFlow verification, exam registration, and license activation across the UAE and internationally.
Last updated: July 2026
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