The short answer is every two years. An American Heart Association BLS Provider card is valid for two years, and the American Red Cross issues two-year certifications for BLS, for its Advanced Life Support course (the Red Cross name for ACLS) and for PALS. Neither issuer extends a card for continuing education or experience: renewal means completing a course again before the date on the card. This guide, read from the issuers' own pages in October 2026, explains what the two-year cycle means in practice, how a renewal course differs from the first course, what the shorter recertification options are, and what happens when a card lapses. For what each course costs, see our guide to BLS, ACLS and CCRN certification costs.
The renewal cycle at a glance
| Card | Issuer | Valid for | How you renew |
|---|---|---|---|
| BLS Provider | American Heart Association | Two years | Complete the BLS course again: the online HeartCode portion plus a hands-on skills session at an AHA training center, or a classroom course. |
| BLS | American Red Cross | Two years | An in-person or blended course for a two-year certification; experienced providers can take the shorter Recertification Option or the Challenge Option (skills test only). |
| ACLS Provider | American Heart Association | The date printed on the card | Complete the ACLS course again: HeartCode ACLS online plus a skills session with an AHA ACLS instructor or a compatible manikin, or a classroom course. |
| ALS (ACLS) | American Red Cross | Two years | A full ALS course or an ALS recertification course; the Recertification Option adds a brief skills review before testing, the Challenge Option goes straight to the skills test. |
| PALS Provider | American Heart Association | The date printed on the card | Complete the PALS course again: HeartCode PALS online plus a skills session, or a classroom course. |
| PALS | American Red Cross | Two years | A full PALS course, or the PALS recertification course while the certification is still current or within 30 days of expiring. |
The pattern is the same across issuers and cards: a two-year term, no automatic extension, and a renewal that is a course rather than a form. The difference between issuers is what the renewal course looks like. The AHA sells one course for first-time and renewing providers alike, blended or in a classroom; the Red Cross runs a shorter recertification route for providers whose card is current, and a longer full course for everyone else.
How to renew BLS
Basic Life Support is the card almost every clinical job asks for, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that registered nursing positions "may require cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), basic life support (BLS), or advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) certification". With the AHA, the renewal is the same course as the first time: students who complete the online HeartCode BLS portion and the hands-on skills session receive a BLS Provider course completion card, an eCard, valid for two years. There is no separate "renewal" product, and the skills session with an AHA training center is required every time; the online portion alone does not produce a card.
With the Red Cross, the course format decides what you get. The in-person course and the blended course (online instruction, then a skills demonstration with a certified instructor) each lead to a two-year Red Cross certification that the Red Cross describes as meeting professional licensing compliance. The online-only course gives a two-year certificate of completion with no skills demonstration, which the Red Cross itself says "may not meet workplace requirements", so it is not the route for a hospital renewal. Experienced BLS providers can choose the Recertification Option, a brief in-person skills review before testing, or the Challenge Option, which skips the review and goes straight to the skills test.
Because BLS is the card hospitals most often provide, check your unit's education calendar before booking your own class. Renewing through work keeps the card on the employer's schedule, which is also the schedule the compliance team checks against.
How to renew ACLS
Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support is the card for emergency, critical care, telemetry and procedural areas. The AHA's ACLS course is delivered as HeartCode ACLS, where providers "first complete the online portion of HeartCode ACLS and then complete a hands-on skills session with an AHA ACLS Instructor or a HeartCode compatible manikin", or as a classroom course; the ACLS Provider eCard is issued by the training center once every requirement is met. The AHA pages that could be read for this guide state the two-year term for the BLS Provider card; for ACLS, the renewal date is the one printed on your eCard, and it is that date, not the issue date, that an employer's compliance team works from.
The Red Cross calls its course Advanced Life Support and states that "ALS certification is valid for two years". After that, "healthcare clinicians should complete either a ALS full course or an ALS recertification course". The only prerequisite is proficiency in adult BLS skills, which is why most providers keep their BLS renewal ahead of their ACLS renewal. For experienced providers the Red Cross offers two faster routes: the Recertification Option, "a brief, in-person skills review before testing", and the Challenge Option, which skips the review so that you "immediately take the skills test". The recertification course also carries continuing education: the Red Cross states that ALS recertification courses "count toward continuing education (CE) for licensed healthcare clinicians" and that the ALS Recertification Course is accredited by CAPCE for 11.0 advanced continuing education hours, with the advice to confirm that the course meets the requirements of your own license or employer. Our guide to CEUs for nurses covers how that credit fits a license renewal.
How to renew PALS
Pediatric Advanced Life Support follows the same shape in pediatric emergency, intensive care and inpatient units. The AHA's HeartCode PALS is the online portion followed by "a hands-on skills session with an AHA PALS Instructor or a HeartCode compatible manikin", and the PALS Provider eCard is issued on completion. As with ACLS, the date on the eCard is the renewal date to plan around.
The Red Cross is explicit on the term: "Your PALS certification is valid for 2 years after completion of the course. After 2 years, healthcare clinicians should complete either a PALS recertification or full course". The PALS Recertification Course is a focused review with scenario-based learning and skills verification that ends in a new two-year certification, and it "is intended for individuals whose PALS certification is still current or will expire within 30 days". That 30-day window is the practical deadline: once a PALS certification has lapsed, the full course is the route back. The prerequisite is proficiency in pediatric BLS skills.
What happens when a card lapses
Neither issuer publishes a grace period for an expired BLS, ACLS or PALS card, and the Red Cross recertification courses are written for providers whose certification is still current or about to expire. In practice a lapsed card means the full course, at full length and full price, and until it is replaced the employer treats the certification as missing. An expired card is a common reason an offer is held at onboarding, and for a nurse already on staff it can mean being pulled from the schedule until the course is done. Two habits prevent it. First, treat the renewal date as a month earlier than printed, so a cancelled skills session does not push you past it. Second, line the cards up: BLS proficiency is the prerequisite for ALS and PALS, so renewing BLS first and booking ACLS or PALS in the same window keeps one calendar instead of three.
The 2025 guidelines update
Every AHA course and card described here has been updated with the 2025 Guidelines for CPR and ECC. The HeartCode BLS, ACLS and PALS courses carry an original release date of 22 October 2025 and replace the 2020 Guidelines versions, and the BLS, ACLS and PALS Provider eCards are the cards "issued to students who have completed" the updated courses. For a renewing provider the update changes the course, not the cycle: the course you take at your next renewal is the 2025 version, and the AHA describes it as a personalized adaptive learning path that adjusts to your performance and your self-reported confidence on each question. The Red Cross likewise describes its current BLS program as the updated one. If your employer specifies an issuer or a guidelines edition, follow that; otherwise, either issuer's current course satisfies most hospital requirements, and it is the expiry date on the card that compliance checks.
Keeping track of the cards
AHA eCards have replaced the paper cards. After the course, you receive an email inviting you to claim the eCard online; once claimed you can open your eCard profile at any time from the AHA's My Cards page and print it as a full-page or wallet-sized card. The Red Cross keeps certificates behind its Find My Certificate page. Save a copy of each card where a new employer's onboarding team can get it from you the same day, note the renewal date in your calendar, and when you change jobs check whether the new employer runs its own sessions, because that is the cheapest and most reliable way to stay current.
Other cards on a cycle
Two more credentials run on fixed terms and are worth putting on the same calendar. The Red Cross states that its ALS, PALS and NALS (neonatal) certifications are all valid for two years, so a nurse in labor and delivery or the NICU renews NALS on the same cycle as the others. CCRN, the critical care specialty credential, is different in kind: it is an exam, renewed every three years by continuing education points and practice hours rather than by repeating a course; the fees and the renewal rules are in our certification cost guide, and the broader nurse CE requirements by state cover the license renewal that sits alongside all of them.
When you compare offers, look for the units that say which cards they require and which they provide. The registered nurse jobs on our board show the employer and unit for each opening, with state pages for California, Texas and New York; BLS is the one card that also follows you into LPN jobs and CNA jobs.
Sources
- American Heart Association, Shop CPR, HeartCode BLS Online, course format, skills session and two-year card validity, read 18 October 2026.
- American Heart Association, Shop CPR, HeartCode ACLS Online, course format, skills session, 2025 Guidelines update and release date, read 18 October 2026.
- American Heart Association, Shop CPR, HeartCode PALS Online, course format, skills session, 2025 Guidelines update and release date, read 18 October 2026.
- American Heart Association, Shop CPR, BLS Provider eCard, ACLS Provider eCard and PALS Provider eCard, how eCards are issued and claimed and the 2025 Guidelines versions, read 18 October 2026.
- American Red Cross, BLS classes and training, course formats and two-year certification, read 18 October 2026.
- American Red Cross, Advanced Life Support (ALS) certification, two-year validity, recertification and challenge options, prerequisite and continuing education, read 18 October 2026.
- American Red Cross, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certification, two-year validity, recertification course and 30-day window, read 18 October 2026.
- American Red Cross, ALS, PALS and NALS training, two-year validity of ALS, PALS and NALS certifications and the options for experienced providers, read 18 October 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Registered Nurses, licenses, certifications and registrations, read 18 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How often do you need to renew BLS, ACLS and PALS?
Every two years. An American Heart Association BLS Provider course completion card is valid for two years, and the American Red Cross states that its BLS, ALS (its name for ACLS) and PALS certifications are valid for two years from completion. Renewal means completing the course again before the date on the card; neither issuer extends a card for experience or continuing education.
Is an ACLS or PALS renewal course shorter than the first course?
With the Red Cross, yes: providers whose certification is current can take the ALS or PALS recertification course, with the Recertification Option (a brief in-person skills review before testing) or the Challenge Option (straight to the skills test), and the Red Cross PALS recertification course is for certifications that are still current or expire within 30 days. The AHA sells one course for first-time and renewing providers: the online HeartCode portion plus a hands-on skills session at a training center, or a classroom course.
What happens if my BLS, ACLS or PALS card expires?
Neither issuer publishes a grace period, and the Red Cross recertification courses are intended for providers whose certification is still current or will expire within 30 days. Once a card has lapsed, the full course is the route back, and until it is replaced an employer treats the certification as missing, which can hold an offer at onboarding or keep a nurse off the schedule.
Did the 2025 guidelines change how often ACLS and BLS are renewed?
No. The AHA's HeartCode BLS, ACLS and PALS courses and the matching Provider eCards were updated with the 2025 Guidelines for CPR and ECC, with the courses released on 22 October 2025, but the update changes the course content, not the cycle. The course you take at your next renewal is the 2025 version.
Do I need a current BLS card to renew ACLS or PALS?
The Red Cross lists proficiency in adult BLS skills as the only prerequisite for its ALS course and proficiency in pediatric BLS skills for PALS. Most providers renew BLS first and book ACLS or PALS in the same window, so the three cards share one calendar.