Ohio RN, LPN, Nurse Aide, and Home Health Aide Training Requirements
Ohio RNs and LPNs must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education during each renewal period, including at least 1 contact hour of Category A education on the Ohio Nurse Practice Act and Board rules. Nurse aides in nursing facilities must receive at least 12 hours of formal in-service education each year, and home health aides working for certified agencies follow federal training and in-service standards. This page explains each requirement and where C-E-U.com courses can help.
C-E-U.com is a Florida Board of Nursing continuing education provider, Provider #50-47308. Ohio nurses may use C-E-U.com courses toward the general CE requirement when the selected courses meet Ohio’s accepted-provider standards.
Ohio Nursing and Caregiver Training Requirements at a Glance
| RN | LPN | CNA / Nurse Aide | Home Health Aide | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total CE / Training Hours | 24 Hours | 24 Hours | 12 hours annually | 12 hours in-service per 12 months |
| Category A Requirement | 1 contact hour | 1 contact hour | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Renewal / Training Cycle | Every 2 years | Every 2 years | Annual in-service | Every 12 months |
| Governing Body | Ohio Board of Nursing | Ohio Board of Nursing | Ohio Department of Health / Employing Nursing Facility | Federal Medicare rules and employing agency |
Nursing Continuing Education — 24 Contact Hours
Ohio nurses must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education during each applicable renewal period. General CE must be relevant to nursing practice and come from an accepted provider or approval source.
Ohio RN/LPN Continuing Education — 24 Contact Hours
C-E-U.com offers self-paced online nursing courses that Ohio RNs and LPNs may use toward the general 24-contact-hour requirement. Courses include stated learning objectives, defined contact hours, a completion assessment, and an immediate certificate for documentation.
Ohio Category A Education — 1 Contact Hour
Ohio RNs and LPNs must complete at least 1 contact hour of Category A continuing education during each renewal period. Category A education must be directly related to the Ohio Nurse Practice Act and the rules of the Ohio Board of Nursing.
C-E-U.com is developing a dedicated Ohio Category A course designed specifically to meet this requirement. Until that course is approved and available, other C-E-U.com nursing courses should be applied only toward the general continuing education requirement and not represented as Category A credit.
Ohio Nurse Aide Continuing Education
Ohio nurse aides working in nursing facilities must receive at least 12 hours of formal in-service education each year. The training should support continued competence and be relevant to the care needs of the residents the nurse aide serves. Facilities must also provide appropriate education for nurse aides who care for residents with cognitive impairment. Web-based in-service education is permitted. (codes.ohio.gov)
Ohio CNA / Nurse Aide In-Service Training — 12 Hours Annually
C-E-U.com offers online nurse aide and caregiver education on topics such as dementia care, infection prevention, communication, abuse and neglect, transfers, resident safety, and other areas relevant to direct-care practice.
Qualifying C-E-U.com courses may be used toward an Ohio nurse aide’s annual in-service education when accepted by the employing nursing facility. The facility remains responsible for ensuring the selected training is appropriate to the aide’s duties and the needs of the residents served.
Ohio Home Health Aide and Caregiver Training
Ohio does not issue a separate state home health aide license. Ohio Medicaid’s home health rules point to the federal home health aide standards, so aides working for Medicare- or Medicaid-certified home health agencies follow the federal requirements at 42 CFR §484.80. Many Ohio home health aides also hold STNA status through the Ohio Department of Health nurse aide registry.
Aides employed through other programs — Ohio Department of Aging waiver services, private-duty companies, or family-directed care — follow the rules of the program or employer paying for the service, which differ from the home health agency standards.
Home Health Aide In-Service Training — 12 Hours Per Year
Under 42 CFR §484.80, an aide who is not already a competent nurse aide must complete at least 75 hours of initial training, including 16 hours of supervised practical training, and pass a competency evaluation. After that, the agency must provide at least 12 hours of in-service training in each 12-month period.
C-E-U.com offers affordable online courses on infection prevention, dementia care, safety, communication, documentation, abuse and neglect, and other common in-service topics. Agencies remain responsible for supervision, skills validation, and any hands-on competency testing; online coursework does not replace the supervised practical training or skills demonstration the regulation requires.
Ohio Nursing and Caregiver Training References and Resources
Ohio Board of Nursing — Official source for Ohio RN, LPN, APRN, Community Health Worker, Dialysis Technician, and Medication Aide licensure, renewal, continuing education, and Board guidance.
Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 4723-14 — Continuing Education — Contains Ohio’s continuing education rules, including definitions, approved-provider standards, Category A requirements, and contact-hour rules.
Ohio Administrative Code Rule 4723-14-03 — RN and LPN Continuing Education — Establishes the 24-contact-hour renewal requirement and requires at least 1 contact hour of Category A education for RNs and LPNs.
Official PDF — Ohio Rule 4723-14-03 — Official authenticated PDF of the current RN/LPN continuing education rule, effective March 26, 2026.
Ohio Nursing Laws — Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4723, governing nursing licensure, practice, continuing education, and Board authority.
Ohio eLicense — Ohio’s online professional licensing portal used for nursing license applications, renewals, and account management.
Ohio eLicense Verification — Official Ohio system for verifying nursing and other professional licenses.
Ohio Administrative Code Rule 3701-17-07.1 — Nurse Aide Requirements — Establishes nursing-facility requirements applicable to nurse aides, including annual in-service education.
Ohio Nurse Aide Registry Search — Official Ohio Department of Health search tool for verifying a nurse aide’s registry status.
Ohio Nurse Aide Registry Facility Search — Ohio Department of Health registry resource for nursing facilities and nurse aide verification.
Ohio Department of Health — Official state resource for nursing homes, nurse aide regulation, healthcare facilities, and related public-health programs.
Ohio Admin. Code 5160-12-01 — Home Health Services — Ohio Medicaid home health rule, which applies the federal home health aide scope and standards to Ohio home health services.
42 CFR §484.80 — Home Health Aide Services — Federal initial training, competency evaluation, supervision, and 12-hour annual in-service requirements for Medicare-certified home health agencies.
Frequently Asked Questions: Ohio Nursing and Caregiver Training
Ohio RNs and LPNs generally must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education during each renewal period. At least 1 of those hours must be Category A education related to the Ohio Nurse Practice Act and Board rules.
Category A is continuing education directly related to the Ohio Nurse Practice Act and the rules of the Ohio Board of Nursing. At least 1 Category A contact hour is required during each applicable RN or LPN renewal period.
Yes. Ohio accepts qualifying continuing education from recognized approval sources, including nursing regulatory boards in other jurisdictions. C-E-U.com is a Florida Board of Nursing continuing education provider, Provider #50-47308. Nursing-related C-E-U.com courses may be used toward Ohio’s general CE requirement.
A course should only be represented as Category A credit if it specifically meets Ohio’s Category A requirements.
Yes. Qualifying online continuing education may be used toward Ohio’s nursing CE requirement when the course meets the Board’s standards and is offered through an accepted provider pathway.
Not always. A nurse licensed by examination is exempt from CE for the first renewal period. A nurse licensed by endorsement for one year or less must complete 12 contact hours, while a nurse licensed by endorsement for more than one year generally completes the full 24 hours.
Yes. The Category A hour is included within the overall 24-contact-hour requirement; it is not an additional hour beyond the 24.
Ohio long-term care facilities must ensure that each nurse aide receives at least 12 hours of formal in-service education each year. The training must support continued competence and address resident needs, including appropriate training for nurse aides caring for residents with cognitive impairment.
Yes. Ohio specifically permits nurse aide in-service education to be completed through web-based training programs.
Qualifying C-E-U.com courses may be used when accepted by the employing long-term care facility and when the content is appropriate to the nurse aide’s duties and resident-care needs. Relevant topics may include dementia care, infection prevention, communication, abuse and neglect, transfers, and resident safety.
The facility must ensure that education addresses continuing competence, identified performance weaknesses, and the assessed needs of residents. Training must also address care for residents with cognitive impairment when applicable. Specialty units may require additional training based on resident needs.
Ohio does not require RNs or LPNs to use CE Broker as the state’s renewal reporting system. Nurses should retain completion documentation and follow Ohio Board of Nursing audit and renewal requirements.
Ohio nurses generally attest that they have met the continuing education requirement rather than routinely submitting every certificate with renewal. Completion documentation should be retained in case the Board requests evidence.
A nurse who has not completed the required continuing education may not meet the requirements for active license renewal. The nurse should complete any outstanding requirements and review current Ohio Board of Nursing renewal instructions before practicing under a renewed license.
Ohio does not license home health aides separately. Aides working for Medicare- or Medicaid-certified home health agencies follow the federal rules at 42 CFR §484.80: at least 75 hours of initial training with 16 hours of supervised practical training, a competency evaluation, and at least 12 hours of in-service training every 12 months. Aides working through Ohio Department of Aging waiver programs or private-duty employers follow that program’s or employer’s own training rules, which may require training approved by a specific agency.
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