EMS Continuing Education

Minimum Content Areas

EMS rules have made CE accrual one of the options for renewal, NOT a requirement for maintaining your certification. If you choose to renew your certificate by completing CE hours, the hours you gain must be DSHS-approved and meet minimum content areas. CE hours can be completed anytime during your four-year certification period. 

Information about NREMT CE Requirements

NREMT National Continued Competency Program (NCCP)
NCCP model streamlines the CE recertification process into three strategic categories of continuing education:

• National,
• Local
• Individual

Texas EMS Personnel that maintain NREMT certification only follow the NREMT CE model. When renewing your Texas certification or license you will choose the NREMT option

EMS Continuing Education Tracking Tool 

EMS personnel can use the continuing education tracking tool to record completed continuing education hours. 

The spreadsheet will:

• Calculate the total CE hours completed, 
• Calculate the total number of CE hours completed for each content area, 
• Determine how many hours you need to meet renewal licensing requirements.

Keep this spreadsheet as part of your continuing education records. You should not submit this when completing an EMS certification/license renewal application.

Jurisprudence Exam

The Texas Jurisprudence Exam is a CE course over Texas EMS laws and rules. This course is a requirement for the initial EMS courses in Texas. EMS personnel entering via reciprocity must complete this course. EMS personnel renewing their license must complete this course at each renewal cycle

Texas Jurisprudence CE Course offered by the following education programs.

Reporting CE Hours

EMS Personnel that choose the CE option at recertification will attest they have completed CE when filling out the renewal application. You will NOT submit any documents about CE during the renewal process. EMS personnel are audited to determine CE compliance. If audited, EMS personnel will be required to produce and submit course completion certificates and other documentation showing they have met the CE requirement.

Where and how?

EMS rules allow you several methods to accrue CE hours. All methods must have prior DSHS approval.

• Continuing education programs
  Find a list of approved CE programs (organizations that provide CE).
• CE credit for standardized training courses
  National/standardized training courses.
• Authorship
  Development and publication of a manuscript in a periodical.
• CE credit for college courses
  See below for information on academic courses.
• Rules and Policies
  Information on instruction of approved initial training and CE courses that can be counted towards CE accrual. 
• Policy *-A
  CE approved by other accrediting agencies

CE Credit for College Courses 

You may receive CE credit for college level courses you have completed.

What courses count towards EMS CE credit?

EMS rules require the course be within the framework of a curriculum that leads to a degree in emergency medical services or any credit hour course relevant to emergency health care.

To get approval for CE hours through your academic course(s), submit the following material to your local public health region office for course review:

• A transcript, official or unofficial, indicating the college awarding the hours
• A grade of at least a "C"
• A course description or catalog description
• Your EMS ID number or social security number

Mail materials to your local EMS regional office for review. 

After the review:

You will be responsible for assigning CE credit to appropriate content areas.  The CE you are granted  through academic courses must be claimed during the 4 year period in which it was accrued.