What Qualifies for Continuing Education (CE)

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This page explains what qualifies for continuing education (CE) for Respiratory Care Practitioners (RCPs), including required categories, live CE, certifications and credentialing, college coursework, preceptorship, and what does not count.

Leadership CE

Required: 10 hours minimum per renewal cycle

Leadership CE is intended to prepare RCPs for supervisory, administrative, and leadership responsibilities.

These courses focus on how respiratory care services are organized, supported, and managed — rather than on direct patient treatment. A course does not qualify as Leadership CE simply because the word “management” appears in the title. Review the course objectives to determine whether the focus is administrative or operational, rather than clinical.

Examples include:

Effective communication in health care settings
Education and training for those who teach or support clinical instruction
Case management and coordination of care
Health care management, reimbursement, and cost containment
Qualified preceptorship activities (see below)
Law and Professional Ethics course (required every other renewal cycle)

Live CE

Required: 15 hours minimum must be live per renewal cycle

Live CE supports learning through real-time interaction.

Live CE allows licensees to ask questions, participate in discussion, and receive clarification while the course is occurring. Live CE may be completed in person or online. The key requirement is real-time communication with the instructor — not the location or platform.

Examples include:

In-person lecture sessions (conventions, courses, seminars, workshops, lecture series)
Live online meetings (webcasts, video conferences, audio conferences) that allow direct interaction with the instructor

“Scheduled viewing” of a previously recorded lecture only qualifies as live CE when real-time interaction with the instructor is available.

Clinical Practice CE

Required: 15 hours minimum per renewal cycle

Clinical Practice CE is intended to keep licensees current in the hands-on, clinical aspects of respiratory care.

These courses focus on the knowledge, skills, and clinical judgment used to assess patients, deliver respiratory therapies, and manage respiratory conditions across care settings.

Examples include:

Patient assessment, monitoring, and clinical decision-making
Respiratory treatments and therapies
Ventilation and oxygen therapy
Disease management and evidence-based practice
Respiratory equipment, devices, and technology
Successful completion of approved credentialing examinations
Successful completion of approved certification examinations

Law and Professional Ethics Course

Required: every other renewal cycle

This course supports safe, ethical, and accountable practice in California.

The Law and Professional Ethics course is intended to help licensees understand professional responsibilities, legal obligations, and ethical standards when practicing respiratory care in California. It focuses on public protection, professional conduct, and compliance with laws and regulations.

The Law and Professional Ethics course counts toward the RCP Leadership CE requirement and must be completed during every other renewal cycle.

How to tell if the ethics course is due:

Check your license details using the License Search system. Under your license information, look for the Secondary Status field:
- “Ethics Course Required” – the Law and Professional Ethics course must be completed before your next renewal.
- “Ethics Course Not Required” – the course is not required for your current renewal cycle.
Review your renewal notice sent by mail, which will indicate whether the ethics course is required for your renewal cycle.

Indirectly Related CE

This category supports your broader role as a health care professional (limited to 5 hours per renewal).

Indirectly Related CE is intended to support safe, compliant, and informed practice. Because these topics are supportive rather than practice-specific, no more than 5 CE hours per renewal cycle may be applied toward this category.

Examples include:

Attendance at open sessions of Respiratory Care Board meetings
Attendance at meetings provided by CSRC or AARC, when CE credit is designated by the provider
Courses related to the broader role of a health care practitioner, such as:
- Preventive health services and health promotion (including tobacco and smoking cessation counseling)
- Required abuse reporting
- Legislatively mandated CE topics for licensed healing arts practitioners
- Courses on the assessment and treatment of AIDS
- Courses on electronic systems used for medical billing or health care documentation

CE credit for Board meeting attendance:

CE credit is calculated on an hour-for-hour basis for time spent attending open sessions of a Board meeting. To receive CE credit, licensees must sign in and out of the meeting and indicate that they are requesting CE credit. For virtual meetings, licensees must participate using the Board’s online meeting platform and provide the required information as instructed during the meeting.

Approved Providers

To count for CE, a course must be provided by (or approved by) an approved provider. Approved providers include certain accredited schools, licensed health care facilities, professional associations, and other listed entities.

For the full list of approved providers and what providers should include on CE certificates, see Information for CE Providers.

Credentialing Exams and Certifications

Some credentialing examinations and certifications qualify for CE credit because they demonstrate advanced clinical knowledge and competency in respiratory care practice. CE credit for these activities is established by regulation and may differ from the number of contact hours listed by a provider or on a certificate.

Credentialing Examinations

The RCB allows CE credit for the initial award only of certain credentialing examinations administered by the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC). CE credit is not granted for exam preparation courses, renewals, or recertification.

Adult Critical Care Specialist (ACCS)
Certified Pulmonary Function Technologist (CPFT)
Registered Pulmonary Function Technologist (RPFT)
Neonatal/Pediatric Specialist (NPS)
Sleep Disorders Specialist (SDS)
Asthma Educator Specialist (AE-C)
Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT), if not required at the time of initial licensure

Each initial NBRC credential listed above may be applied as 15 hours of CE toward the Clinical Practice CE requirement. Each credential may only be claimed once.

Certifications (ACLS, NRP, PALS, ATLS)

The RCB also allows CE credit for certain clinical certifications. CE credit amounts are set by regulation.

Initial certification: 15 hours of CE
Renewal or recertification: 5 hours of CE

These CE hours apply toward the Clinical Practice CE requirement.

Certification courses may also count toward the live CE requirement only if the course includes real-time interaction with an instructor. In-person courses and live online courses qualify. Self-paced or on-demand courses do not count as live CE.

Course completion certificates should clearly indicate whether the course was live or included real-time interaction.

Basic Life Support (BLS) certification does not qualify for CE credit.

Review or preparation courses for credentialing/certification exams, renewals/recertifications not specifically identified above, and employment-related training that does not meet CE requirements do not qualify for CE credit.

Qualified Preceptorship

Qualified preceptorship recognizes the professional value of teaching and mentoring future respiratory care practitioners.

When eligibility requirements are met, preceptorship activities may count toward the RCP Leadership CE requirement because they involve supervision, instruction, and professional responsibility. Preceptorship activities also count toward the live CE requirement, as they involve real-time interaction and instruction.

Preceptorship CE credit applies only to the direct supervision and clinical instruction of students enrolled in an approved respiratory care education program at a licensed facility. Preceptorship does not apply to orientation, training, or supervision of newly hired employees or staff.

For eligibility requirements, allowable CE credit amounts, examples, and documentation guidance, see the Qualified Preceptorship page.

College Coursework

College coursework may qualify for CE credit when it contributes to a licensee’s professional knowledge or supports the practice of respiratory care.

Courses must be completed at an accredited post-secondary institution and should relate to clinical practice, leadership, or the broader role of a health care practitioner. CE credit is based on academic units earned rather than classroom hours. Documentation typically includes an official transcript and a course description.

Unit conversion:

One (1) academic semester unit equals 15 CE hours.
One (1) academic quarter unit equals 10 CE hours.

Recordkeeping and Reporting

You must report compliance with CE requirements when you renew. Keep CE supporting documentation (such as certificates of completion and transcripts) for 4 years.

If you are selected for a CE audit, you will be asked to submit documentation. See CE Audits and Compliance for what to expect and what to submit. If you are selected for a CE audit, the RCB’s goal is to verify compliance—not to penalize licensees who made a good-faith effort to meet requirements.

Use of the CE Tracking Form is optional and intended for personal recordkeeping. If you are selected for a CE audit, you will be required to submit this completed form and documentation demonstrating compliance with CE requirements.

CE Tracking Form (PDF)