How to upload CE in the Texas Nurse Portal, step by step

By David Spriggs, RN, cardiovascular nurse and author of Nurse AI Made Easy: The AI Playbook. Updated August 2026.

What actually changed on September 1, 2026

Before this, most Texas nurses attested to their CE at renewal and only uploaded documentation if they were audited or reactivating. From September 1, 2026, the Board requires nurses renewing or reactivating a Texas license to document compliance with their applicable CE requirements through the CE Module in the Texas Nurse Portal before submitting the renewal or reactivation application.

Read that ordering carefully, because it is the part that will catch people. The CE entry is not a step inside the renewal form. It happens first, and the renewal comes after.

Who has to use the CE Module

If your submission relates to discipline, the Board directs you to its Compliance Department at compliance@bon.texas.gov or (512) 305-6838, not to the CE Module.

Before you open the portal

The Board publishes a short checklist. In plain words, before you log in you want all of this true:

• You have reviewed the CE requirements that apply to your license
• You have actually completed the CE for your current renewal cycle
• You have documentation for every activity or approved method of compliance
• Every file is a PDF, PNG, JPG, or JPEG
• You understand that each CE activity needs its own separate entry

Getting into the CE Module

The Board describes the entry point, and only the entry point:

1. Log in to your Texas Nurse Portal account.
2. Go to the section of your dashboard headed Your Licenses with Texas.
3. Click the link that reads Add Continuing Education, to the right of your license information in that section.

After that click, the Board has not published the screen-by-screen path, and this page will not invent one. Confirm in the portal. The Board's tutorials page carries a roughly five and a half minute video walkthrough called Uploading a Traditional CE Certificate, which is the closest thing to a screen recording that exists right now.

One entry per activity, and the one exception

This is the rule people will get wrong, because it is the opposite of how most of us keep our records.

• Each CE activity requires its own separate entry. Six courses means six entries.
• Trackers, logs, and transcripts are not accepted in place of completion certificates. The CE history page your vendor generates is not a substitute.
• The exception: a bundled renewal package may be entered as a single entry only where the CE provider issued one completion certificate that lists all the courses and contains everything Board Rule 216.4 requires. If your provider gave you one certificate per course, you are back to one entry each.

If you buy an unlimited CE membership, this is worth knowing before you buy. Ask whether the provider issues a single combined certificate or a stack of individual ones. That answer decides whether your portal night takes ten minutes or an hour.

What documentation each method needs

The Board publishes a documentation guide covering the accepted methods of compliance. Three of them are spelled out plainly:

The Board's guide also lists program development or presentation and authorship as accepted methods. Their documentation requirements are in the Board's own PDF and are not restated here, because this page only publishes what it could read directly. If you are claiming either of those, read the Board's documentation guide on the tutorials page.

How to know it worked

The Board gives you two checks, and they are both worth doing:

• The entry appears in the module
• Your CEUs Earned total has updated

If the total did not move, look at the entry rather than uploading again. The Board specifically says not to repeatedly resubmit the same entry. Duplicate entries are their own problem to clean up.

What not to do

• Do not email, fax, mail, or hand deliver your certificates. The Board states that documentation submitted outside the CE Module will not satisfy the module submission requirement.
• Do not send documentation through the Message Center either. You can use the Message Center to ask for help, but not to submit.
• Do not upload a written statement in place of a certificate you cannot find. Contact the source instead: the program provider, your certifying organization, your college, or your publisher.
• Do not expect the Board to pre-clear a course. Licensing staff will not pre-screen prospective CE, recommend activities, or confirm acceptability on request.

If you get stuck

The Board lists two routes. The Texas Nurse Portal Message Center, using the category CE Module Assistance, which it marks as preferred, and the phone at (512) 305-7400. Again: use these to ask questions, not to send documents.

A realistic plan if your renewal is coming

1. Find out which cycle you are on and what you actually owe. Start with the Texas RN CE renewal guide on this site, then confirm against the Board.
2. Pull every certificate into one folder on your phone or computer. Convert anything that is not PDF, PNG, JPG, or JPEG.
3. Check whether any certificate is missing and request replacements early. That request goes to a third party and runs on their timeline, not yours.
4. Sit down once, with all files ready, and make one entry per activity.
5. Confirm the entries appear and the CEUs Earned total moved.
6. Then, and only then, start the renewal application.

Board sources for this page

• Continuing Education (CE) Module Information
• CE Module Tutorials and Resources
• Continuing Education and Competency Requirements
• Licensure Renewal
• Board Rule 216 and Board Rule 222

Frequently asked questions

When do Texas nurses have to start uploading CE certificates?

September 1, 2026. From that date, nurses renewing or reactivating a Texas nursing license must document compliance with their continuing education requirements through the CE Module in the Texas Nurse Portal before submitting the renewal or reactivation application. The Board states this on its CE Module Information page.

Where is the CE Module in the Texas Nurse Portal?

The Board says that after you log in to your Texas Nurse Portal account, you go to the Your Licenses with Texas section of your dashboard and click the link that reads Add Continuing Education, to the right of your license information. Anything past that first click is not described publicly, so confirm the rest in the portal.

What file types does the Texas CE Module accept?

PDF, PNG, JPG, or JPEG. The Board specifically says not to upload DOC or DOCX, XLS or XLSX, PPT or PPTX, or HEIC files. HEIC matters for iPhone users, because that is the default camera format on many iPhones. Change the format before you try.

Can I upload one file with all my CE certificates in it?

No. The Board says each CE activity requires a separate entry. It also says CE activity trackers, logs, or transcripts are not accepted in place of completion certificates. There is one exception: a bundled renewal package may be entered as a single entry only where the provider issued a single completion certificate that lists all the courses and carries everything Board Rule 216.4 requires.

Who has to use the CE Module and who does not?

The Board says it is for nurses with an existing full Texas LVN, RN, or APRN license seeking renewal or reactivation. It says it is not for initial examination, endorsement, or APRN licensure applicants, GN or GVN permit holders, temporary license holders, or APRNs with interim approval. It is also not the route for licensees submitting proof of CE for an agreed order or other disciplinary action, which goes to the Board's Compliance Department instead.

What date do I enter for a national nursing certification?

The Board says to enter today's date, meaning the date you are submitting the entry in the CE Module. It says specifically not to enter the certification's effective date or its expiration date. This is the single most counterintuitive instruction on the Board's page, and it is the one most likely to get entered wrong.

How do I know my CE upload actually worked?

The Board gives two checks: confirm the entry appears in the module, and confirm your CEUs Earned total has updated. It also says not to repeatedly resubmit the same entry. If the total did not move, something did not take, so look at the entry rather than uploading it again.

Can I email or fax my CE certificates instead?

No. The Board says not to substitute email, fax, postal mail, hand delivery, or the Message Center, and states that documentation sent outside the CE Module will not satisfy the module submission requirement. You can use the Message Center to ask for help, category CE Module Assistance, but not to send the documents themselves.

What if I lost a CE certificate?

The Board says to contact the primary source of the activity for a replacement, and not to upload a written statement in place of the required certificate. For traditional CE that is the program provider, for a certification it is your certifying organization, for academic coursework it is your college or university, and for authorship it is your publisher.

Will the Board tell me whether a course counts before I take it?

No. The Board states that licensing staff will not pre-screen prospective CE courses, recommend activities, or confirm the acceptability of CE on request. It is the licensee's responsibility to understand and comply with the continuing competency requirements for their license. Board Rule 216 and Board Rule 222 are the source.

Does the site or a CE vendor upload my certificates for me?

Not as of this writing. Enter them yourself. No website, this one included, can complete a portal entry on your behalf or confirm that the Board accepted it.