Registered Nurse (RN) License Renewal in Alaska
Alaska RNs renew every 2 years by completing two of three competency activities, including 30 CE hours. Renewal is $200, and Alaska is not a compact state.
| Renewal cycle | Every 2 years |
|---|---|
| CE hours required | 30 hours Alaska requires TWO of three activities in the 2-year period: 320 hours of compensated nursing employment, 30 contact hours of CE in nursing, or 30 hours of professional nursing activities. So the 30 CE hours alone are not enough, you pair them with one of the other two (or use a refresher course). New RNs licensed in the second year are exempt for their first renewal. |
| Renewal fee | $200.00 |
| Mandatory CE topics | None prescribed |
| Licensing board | Alaska Board of Nursing (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing) |
Sourced from Alaska Board of Nursing (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), verified July 25, 2026. Requirements change. Confirm with your board before relying on this.
Alaska doesn’t hand you a single number. It gives you a menu and asks you to check two boxes. Thirty contact hours of CE is one box, but on its own it’s not enough, you pair it with practice or professional activity. It’s a “prove it two ways” model, and the fee is among the highest in the country.
Two of three, not one of one
For each two-year renewal, an active Alaska RN completes two of these three activities within the licensing period:
- 320 hours of compensated nursing employment. For a working nurse, this is usually already met.
- 30 contact hours of continuing education in nursing (at least 20 of them from an ANCC/ANA/AMA-accredited program under 12 AAC 44.610).
- 30 hours of professional nursing activities (uncompensated professional work).
The structure matters: because you need two, the 30 CE hours alone won’t renew you, a working nurse typically combines employment (320 hours) with either the CE or the professional-activity option. Alaska also accepts a Board-approved refresher course or passing the NCLEX during the period as qualifying paths. New nurses licensed in the second year of a biennium are exempt from competency for their first renewal.
The CE calculator on this site shows the 30-hour CE option, but keep the two-of-three rule in mind: hitting 30 hours is one requirement met, not the whole thing.
The cycle, with no grace period
Alaska renews all nursing licenses on a fixed statewide date: November 30 of even-numbered years, regardless of when your license was first issued. The Board is blunt about the deadline, there is no grace period, and it is illegal to work once the license lapses after November 30. So unlike states with a 30- or 60-day cushion, Alaska’s date is a hard wall. Renew before it.
The fee
Renewal is $200, straight from the Board’s renewal instructions (a license first issued on or after December 1, 2023 pays a reduced $100 for its first renewal only). That $200 is among the higher renewal fees in this reference, near California’s $190 and Maryland’s $191.
Alaska is not a compact state
Alaska has not joined the Nurse Licensure Compact. An Alaska RN license is a single-state license, and to practice in another state you apply for a license by endorsement there. A nurse holding a multistate license from a compact state also cannot practice in Alaska on that license alone, they need an Alaska license. Given Alaska’s geography that’s rarely a commuting issue, but it matters for travel nurses and telehealth. Use the compact checker below to confirm Alaska’s status.
Add your renewal deadline to your calendar
Enter your expiration date and download a calendar file. Your own calendar will remind you at 90, 60, 30, and 7 days out. We don't ask for your email, we store nothing, and the date never leaves your device.
Works with Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, and Outlook. This is a convenience, not a compliance service. Confirm your exact deadline with the Alaska Board of Nursing (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing).
How many CE hours do you have left?
Alaska requires 30 CE hours this cycle. Enter what you've completed and see what's left. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere.
A convenience, not a compliance service. Confirm your exact requirement with the Alaska Board of Nursing (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing). This is not legal advice.
Continuing education hours per renewal cycle
Alaska asks for 30 hours. That is exactly the median of 30 across the 37 states that set a flat hour count, which run from 8 to 40. Ranked lowest to highest, Alaska is 19 of 37.
Renewal fee
Alaska charges $200. The median across the 49 states that publish a figure is $100, running from $50 to $245. Ranked cheapest to dearest, Alaska is 47 of 49.
Each mark is one state. The taller line is the median, the filled dot is Alaska. States that set no flat hour count, or publish no fee, are left out of that comparison rather than counted as zero.
Where can you practice with your license?
The Nurse Licensure Compact lets a nurse who lives in a compact state hold one multistate license and practice in every other compact state. Pick where you live to see whether that's you, and where it reaches.
Member data from the NCSBN Nurse Licensure Compact map, verified July 2026. A multistate license requires the compact state to be your primary residence. This is a convenience, not legal advice. Confirm your status with your board or at nursecompact.com.
What will this renewal cost?
Alaska's renewal fee is filled in from the board below. Add what you expect to spend on CE courses, plus a late fee if you're past due, for a running total. Nothing you type is stored.
The renewal fee is from the Alaska Board of Nursing (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing) and dated on this page; the CE and late-fee figures are your own estimates. A convenience, not a compliance service, and not legal advice. Confirm fees with your board.