RI Department of Health license renewal runs on a two-year cycle and is handled online at healthri.mylicense.com. You log in with the registration code issued when your license was first granted, confirm your continuing education, and pay a fee that depends on your profession. Fees range from $25 for barbers and electrologists up to $1,090 for physicians, and late renewal adds a separate surcharge on top.
When Your License Expires
Rhode Island health professional licenses renew every two years, but the exact expiration date depends on the profession. Nursing licenses expire on March 1 of the renewal year. For many other professions, the renewal window runs from April through June 30 of even-numbered years.1Rhode Island Department of Health. Request for Inactive Status Some newer license types are on different schedules entirely. Your specific date is printed on your license and shown in the online portal, so check there rather than working from a general rule.
RIDOH sends renewal reminders by email, so the address on file needs to be current. The department recommends against using a work or school address because those change when you switch jobs or graduate. If your contact information is out of date, download the Licensee Profile Change Form from the RIDOH licensing page and submit it before your renewal window opens.2Rhode Island Department of Health. Licensing
Continuing Education You Need to Complete
Every licensee has to complete continuing education during the two-year cycle, and the hours differ significantly by profession:
- Registered Nurses and LPNs: 10 hours, including 2 hours on substance abuse, plus a one-time, one-hour Alzheimer’s disease training required once per career.3Rhode Island Department of Health. Nurses
- Physical Therapists: 24 hours over the preceding two years.4Rhode Island General Assembly. Rhode Island Code 5-40-10 – Continuing Education Requirements and Expiration and Renewal of Licenses
- Physician Assistants: 25 hours per renewal period.5Legal Information Institute. 216 RICR 40-05-24.8 – Continuing Education Criteria
- Clinical Social Workers: 30 contact hours, of which 22 must be direct contact hours and 8 may be non-contact hours.6Rhode Island Department of State. 216-RICR-40-05-7 – Clinical Social Workers and Independent Clinical Social Workers
- Dentists: 40 hours over the two-year cycle.7Legal Information Institute. 216 RICR 40-05-2.16 – Continuing Education Criteria
Credits have to fit your professional board’s scope of practice. Not every course counts, so verify a program’s status against your board’s approved provider list or accreditation rules before paying for it. Keep your own attendance records, course descriptions, and completion certificates. Rhode Island nursing regulations require licensees to retain these for at least four years because the department runs random audits.8Legal Information Institute. 216 RICR 40-05-3.5 – Continuing Education Similar retention rules apply across other professions.
How to Renew Online
All license types renew through the RIDOH portal at healthri.mylicense.com.9Rhode Island Department of Health. Rhode Island Department of Health Online Services Logging in requires the registration code RIDOH assigned when your license was first issued. That code does not change, so keep it somewhere you can find it two years from now. Losing it is one of the most common reasons people contact the department during renewal season.2Rhode Island Department of Health. Licensing
Once you’re in, you confirm your personal information, attest that you’ve met CE requirements, and pay by credit card or electronic check. Every field on your license type’s checklist has to be complete before submission. RIDOH will email you if something is missing, but an incomplete submission slows the whole process down.2Rhode Island Department of Health. Licensing Save the confirmation email as your receipt.
Renewals are processed each business day. Initial license applications currently take six to eight weeks, but renewals move faster than that.2Rhode Island Department of Health. Licensing
Renewal Fees by Profession
Rhode Island sets renewal fees by statute. Rhode Island General Laws ยง 23-1-54 lists the amount for each profession. A representative sample:10Rhode Island General Assembly. Rhode Island Code 23-1-54 – Fees Payable to the Department of Health
- Barbers and hairdressers: $25
- Electrologists: $25
- Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN): $45
- Social workers: $70
- Registered Nurses (RN): $135
- Occupational therapists: $140
- Physical therapists: $155
- Psychologists: $230
- Veterinarians: $580
At the top of the schedule, physician (MD and DO) renewals cost $1,090 and dentist renewals cost $965.11Legal Information Institute. 216 RICR 10-05-2.9 – Health Professions Fees
What Happens If You Miss the Deadline
A lapsed license is more than an administrative problem. Rhode Island nursing regulations state that anyone who uses a nursing title or practices nursing while their license has lapsed faces the same consequences as someone practicing without a license at all.12Legal Information Institute. 216 RICR 40-05-3.4 – Issuance and Renewal of Licenses
Most professions also carry a specific late fee on top of the standard renewal cost. Physical therapists and psychologists pay a $50 late fee, veterinarians $120, and physicians $170.10Rhode Island General Assembly. Rhode Island Code 23-1-54 – Fees Payable to the Department of Health The longer the delay, the more complicated reinstatement gets.
For nurses, reinstatement after a lapse is possible by submitting a new application and paying the current renewal fee, provided the license was not suspended or revoked.12Legal Information Institute. 216 RICR 40-05-3.4 – Issuance and Renewal of Licenses Some license types also distinguish between an “expired” license, which can still be renewed within a set window by paying extra, and a “terminated” license, which requires a full reinstatement application with additional documentation.13Rhode Island General Assembly. Rhode Island Code 23-13.8-8 – Expiration and Renewal of Licenses
Confirming Your Renewed License
Once your renewal is processed, verify the updated status through RIDOH’s public verification tool. Employers, patients, and insurers use the same database to look up license status and expiration dates.14Rhode Island Department of Health. Welcome to the Rhode Island Department of Health Online Verification Site Because renewals are processed each business day, the new expiration date should appear reasonably quickly after an online submission.
You can also check the department’s license lookup page to confirm your information displays correctly.15Rhode Island Department of Health. Find Licenses If your renewed license does not appear after a reasonable period, contact RIDOH. A charged credit card is not proof that the renewal itself went through. Keep the payment confirmation email until you have visually confirmed the updated record.
Going Inactive Instead of Renewing
If you are stepping away from practice but want to keep your license on file, Rhode Island allows a switch to inactive status. While inactive, you cannot practice or use your professional title in a clinical setting.1Rhode Island Department of Health. Request for Inactive Status Reactivating later is simpler than applying for a brand-new license.
Timing matters. To go inactive during the renewal period (April through June 30 of even years for many professions), you have to renew online and pay the inactive fee through the portal. Submitting the inactive status form during that window will not work. Outside the renewal period, you can submit the status change form directly.1Rhode Island Department of Health. Request for Inactive Status Inactive fees are substantially lower than active renewal fees. A dentist, for instance, pays $220 for inactive status compared to $965 for an active renewal.11Legal Information Institute. 216 RICR 10-05-2.9 – Health Professions Fees