How long is BLS certification valid, and how does renewal work?

Two years, to the end of the month

An American Heart Association BLS Provider eCard is valid for two years from the course completion date. The card shows a recommended renewal date, and it is treated as current through the end of that month.

Employers and clinical programs check the date on the card, not the date you took the class, so keep the eCard where you can find it.

How renewal works

Renewing means taking a BLS course again and earning a new eCard. If your current card is still valid when you renew, you may be eligible for the shorter BLS Renewal format, which moves faster because it assumes you already know the material. If the card has expired, you take the full BLS Provider course.

Either way you finish with the same two-year eCard. There is no exam-only or paperwork-only renewal for BLS.

What happens if it lapses

There is no grace period. The day after the card expires you are not current, and most facilities will not let you work a clinical shift or attend a placement until you hold a new card. Renewing a month or two early costs you nothing in coverage, because the new card runs two years from the new course date.

How to check or replace your eCard

• AHA eCards are issued by email after your instructor processes the class. Claim the card from that email and save the PDF.
• You, or an employer, can verify a card any time at the AHA eCard verification site using the code printed on it.
• Lost the email? The eCard can be found again through the AHA eCards site with the email address you used in class.

Keeping a whole team current

For a facility the problem is rarely one person, it is twenty people with twenty different expiry dates. An onsite group class lets you reset everyone to the same renewal month, which turns compliance tracking into one calendar entry. We run BLS onsite at facilities across San Antonio and the rest of Texas.