Illinois MD CME requirements

At a glance: MD (medical doctor)

Hours

150 hours every 3 years

Renewal cycle

Every 3 years

Deadline

July 31 of the renewal year (for 2026 only, IDFPR extended renewal to August 31, 2026 by variance)

Required topics

6

Hours carry over

No

First renewal

Section 1285.110(a)(4): no CME is required for the first renewal of an Illinois license (or for a renewal after the license was reinstated during the prerenewal period). IDFPR still requires the 1-hour sexual harassment prevention course from the first renewal on, and the mandated reporter rules apply; see topics.

Credit minimum

Confirm with your Board Section 1285.110(b)(1): at least 60 of the 150 hours must be formal CME programs (accredited or approved sponsors, hospitals, specialty societies, medical schools, board certification programs); up to 90 may be informal. Formal CME is broader than AMA PRA Category 1 — AOA Category 1 and other formal programs also count toward the 60.

Reporting

You certify on the renewal application that you have met the CME requirements (Section 1285.110(d)); there is no state CE tracking system. IDFPR may ask for evidence such as certificates of attendance, and keeping it is your responsibility. The rule sets no retention period for licensees (sponsors must keep attendance records 5 years), so keep certificates at least until the end of the following cycle.

Board

Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation, with the Illinois State Medical Board

68 Ill. Adm. Code 1285.120: every license expires July 31, 1990 and every third year thereafter. CME is earned in the prerenewal period, the 36 months before July 31 of the renewal year (Section 1285.110(a)(2)); the current period runs August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2029. The 2026 variance moved only the renewal deadline, not the expiration cycle or the CME rules.

Deadline

• July 31, 2029

Find your Illinois MD deadline and add it to your calendar

Required topics

• Sexual harassment prevention training1 hour · Every renewal · Every licensee
• Implicit bias awareness training1 hour · Every renewal · Every licensee
• Cultural competency training1 hour · Once every 6 years · Every licensee
• Alzheimer's disease and other dementias1 hour · Once every 6 years · Only some physicians — see the rule note
  20 ILCS 2105/2105-365, per IDFPR's CE requirements page: for renewals on or after January 1, 2025, only for physicians who provide health care services to, and have direct patient interactions with, adults age 26 or older. At least a one-hour course on the diagnosis, treatment and care of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, covering assessment and diagnosis, effective communication strategies, and management and care planning; completed before the first renewal that requires CE and then retaken once every six years. Counts toward the 150 hours.
• Safe opioid prescribing practices Confirm with your Board1 hour · Once every 6 years · Only some physicians — see the rule note
  Only for physicians who hold an Illinois controlled substance license (registration). IDFPR's FAQ (written for 2020 renewals, Public Act 100-1106) says 1 hour at every controlled substance renewal, with no first-renewal exemption. Institutional CME offices report that Public Act 103-0531 moved it to once every six years from 2025. The current statute text could not be read for this review; confirm with IDFPR. Counts toward the 150 hours.
• Mandated reporter training (Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act) Confirm with your Board1 hour · Once every 6 years · Only some physicians — see the rule note
  325 ILCS 5/4 (DCFS requirement, described on IDFPR's CE page): physicians who work with children must complete mandated reporter training at least every six years; physicians who do not work with children may instead attest at each renewal that they understand their duties as mandated reporters. You must report completion to your employer and IDFPR and keep your own record. DCFS offers a free online course. May count toward the 150 hours. IDFPR's page names only the DCFS course ("Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse: Training for Mandated Reporters") and does not say whether another provider's course is accepted; the statute (325 ILCS 5/4) could not be opened on 2026-10-08 (ilga.gov returned 503), so confirm before using another course.

Credit that counts

• AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™Formal CME from ACCME-accredited sponsors, the Illinois State Medical Society or IDFPR-licensed sponsors (Section 1285.110(b)(2), (c)(1)(A)). An AMA PRA certificate earned in the prerenewal period is accepted as documentation of all 150 hours (Section 1285.110(a)(7)).
• AAFP Prescribed credit Confirm with your BoardNot named in the rule. Formal CME counts when conducted or endorsed by specialty societies or offered by ACCME-accredited organizations (Section 1285.110(b)(2)(A), (c)(1)(A)(i)); the AAFP is a specialty society, so Prescribed credit should count as formal CME, but IDFPR has not said so in writing.
• AOA Category 1-AFormal CME from sponsors accredited by the AOA Council on Continuing Medical Education or the Illinois Osteopathic Medical Society (Section 1285.110(c)(1)(A)(iii)).
• AMA PRA Category 2 Confirm with your BoardThe rule does not use the term Category 2. Up to 90 hours may be informal CME you document yourself (journal reading, consultation, teaching, self-assessment and similar; Section 1285.110(b)(3)), which is the kind of learning usually claimed as Category 2.
• AOA Category 1-B Confirm with your BoardAOA 1-B activities that are formal programs from AOA-accredited sponsors count as formal CME; others can count as informal CME (up to 90 hours). The rule does not use AOA category names.
• Board certification (MOC) activity Confirm with your Board68 Ill. Adm. Code 1285.110(b)(2)(C): CME programs required for certification or recertification by specialty boards count as formal CME. The rule does not name maintenance of certification, so confirm which board activities your Board accepts.