If you plan on going to EMT or Paramedic school, you will spend a lot of time studying, in classes, and testing before you receive your EMT license. Are you wondering how long your EMT license/certification will last, and what you will need to do to renew it?
The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) certificate lasts for 2 years before you will need to recertify. Your State EMT license will likely need to be recertified every 2-4 years, depending on your State.
For those of you that are certifying for the first time with the NREMT, you may not need to recertify for 3 years if you complete the certification process between July 1-December 31.The first time I certified as an EMT with NREMT, I did it in late June; if I would have waited a few more days to finish the process, my certification would have lasted 1 more year before I needed to recertify.
Once you are certified with the NREMT as an EMT, you will be to apply for a State EMT license. You will need a State license to work as an EMT in that State (you cannot work with only a NREMT certificate).
For the record, I have been licensed as an EMT in 3 States, and as a Paramedic in 2. After I received my NREMT EMT certificate, getting my EMT license in different States was relatively easy (usually just an application, background check, and a fee), but each State is different with their requirements for receiving/maintaining an EMS license. Some States will also allow reciprocity without much difficulty, and others are a little more stringent.
Recertifying your EMT License
Some states do not require that you maintain your NREMT certificate in order to recertify your State license (others do), but I highly recommend that you maintain your NREMT anyway because you may decide to move to a different State in the future. EMT/Paramedic recertifications differ by State (usually every 2-4 years), and you will also need to recertify your NREMT certificate every 2 years, and your CPR license every 2 years. Recertification of your NREMT will require you to take a certain amount of Continuing Education, or you may recertify by taking an Exam.