You Passed the Exam. Now What?

You studied for months (or years), passed your boards, and finally have that license number. Congrats — you earned it. But here’s the part nobody really talks about during school: keeping that license active requires continuing education, and your first renewal cycle has a few quirks that catch people off guard.

Most licensing boards don’t do a great job explaining what’s expected of you between the day you get licensed and the day your first renewal comes due. This post is meant to fill that gap.

The First Cycle Is Usually Different

One thing that trips up a lot of new licensees: your first renewal period probably doesn’t work the same way as every cycle after it.

Depending on your state and profession, you might encounter:

• Prorated CE hours. If you got licensed partway through a renewal cycle, most boards won’t require the full number of hours. You’ll owe a fraction based on how many months remain before your renewal date.
• A shorter (or longer) first cycle. Some boards set your first renewal date based on your birth month, your license issue date, or a fixed calendar cycle. That means your first period could be 8 months or it could be 26 months.
• Exemption from CE entirely. A handful of states waive CE requirements for your very first renewal on the theory that you just completed your education. Don’t assume this applies to you — check your board’s rules.
• Extra requirements. Some states require new licensees to take specific courses (like a jurisprudence or ethics course) within the first year of licensure that aren’t part of the standard CE cycle.

The bottom line: look up your specific board’s rules for first-time renewals. The requirements page on your licensing board’s website is the place to start, and if it’s unclear, call them. They’re usually happy to clarify.

Figure Out Your Numbers Early

Before you start taking random CE courses, get clear on exactly what you need:

How many total hours? This varies wildly. Some boards require 20 hours per two-year cycle. Others want 50+. Know your number.

Are there mandatory topics? Many states require specific subjects — ethics, opioid prescribing, cultural competency, domestic violence recognition, HIV/AIDS, infection control. These mandated topics usually have specific hour requirements too (e.g., “2 hours of ethics” or “3 hours of pain management”).

What formats count? Some boards limit how many hours you can earn through self-study or online courses. Others have no restrictions on format. A few require at least some in-person or live instruction.

Who counts as an approved provider? Your board recognizes certain accrediting bodies. Courses from non-approved providers won’t count toward your requirements, even if the content is relevant. This one burns people more often than you’d think.

Common First-Cycle Mistakes

Having talked to plenty of professionals who’ve been through this, the same mistakes come up again and again:

Waiting Until the Last Minute

This is the big one. Your renewal date feels far away when you first get licensed, and CE falls to the bottom of the priority list behind, well, actually doing your job. Then suddenly it’s 6 weeks before renewal and you need 30 hours.

Cramming CE is miserable. You end up taking whatever’s available rather than courses you’d actually get something out of. Spread it out — even 2-3 hours per month keeps you well ahead of schedule.

Assuming All CE Is Created Equal

Not every course counts the same way. A 2-hour webinar from a non-approved provider is worth zero hours, no matter how good the content was. Before you register for anything, verify that:

• The provider is approved by your board (or an accrediting body your board recognizes)
• The course type is accepted (live, online, self-study, etc.)
• The subject area counts toward any mandatory topic requirements you have

Not Keeping Certificates

You finished the course, got the certificate, glanced at it, and… where did it go? Lost certificates are one of the most common problems people run into, and getting replacements from providers can be slow or impossible if the provider has gone out of business.

Save every certificate the moment you get it. Digital copies are fine — just make sure they’re backed up somewhere you won’t lose them.

Confusing CE Hours with Academic Credit

CE hours (or contact hours, or CEUs) are not the same as academic semester credits. One semester credit hour is typically equivalent to 15 CE contact hours. If your board requires 30 contact hours, that’s 30 actual hours of instruction — not 2 semester credits.

Building a System That Works

You don’t need anything fancy to stay on top of CE for one license. But whatever system you use, it should answer three questions at any point in your cycle:

1. How many hours have I completed?
2. How many do I still need, and in which categories?
3. When is my deadline?

A CE tracking app like Course Counter handles this automatically — you add your license, log your courses, and it tells you where you stand. But even a simple note on your phone works if you keep it updated.

The key is having something rather than keeping it all in your head. Memory is unreliable, especially when you’re busy with the hundred other things that come with starting a career.

What If You’re Licensed in More Than One State?

If you hold licenses in multiple states (increasingly common with telehealth), your first cycle gets more complicated. Each state has its own requirements, its own renewal date, and its own list of approved providers.

Some courses will count toward multiple states. Others won’t. You’ll need to track each license separately and plan your CE strategically to minimize duplication.

We’ve got a whole post on multi-state licensure if that’s your situation.

Don’t Overthink It

Your first renewal can feel overwhelming when you don’t know the rules. But once you figure out what your board actually requires — the hours, the topics, the approved providers, the deadline — it’s just a matter of doing the work and keeping records.

Start early, pick courses that are actually useful to your practice, save your certificates, and check your progress periodically. That’s really all there is to it.