Guide · checked October 22, 2026
The short honest answer: there is no national expiry date. There is a federal floor and 51 different machines built on it.
42 CFR 483.156: a state registry must remove an aide who has not performed nursing-related services for pay for 24 consecutive months. Most states run exactly that clock and express it as a small paid-hours requirement inside the window — 8 hours is the common number.
Ohio wants 7.5 consecutive hours. Delaware wants 64 hours plus CE. Michigan wants 40. Utah wants 200. Vermont wants 400. (Oregon dropped its 400-hour rule in 2026.) New Hampshire's renewal looks back at 200 practice hours.
Alaska expires everyone on March 31 of even years. Oregon certificates now run two years from the date they are issued. Rhode Island licenses expire June 30 biennially. South Dakota and Wyoming run calendar cycles too — your work history alone doesn't renew you.
Washington renews every year on your birthday for $95, with no CE at all. Miss the fee and you lapse while working full-time — the fee clock and the work clock are separate.
Illinois issues no expiry date, no renewal form, no fee. You are Active while your employer-reported work keeps you active — and Inactive the moment a 24-month window closes without it.
Your personal answer — your date, not the general rule — comes from the status checker. Your state's full rule is on its state page.
