Iowa MD CME requirements

At a glance: MD (medical doctor)

Hours

40 hours every 2 years

Renewal cycle

Every 2 years

Deadline

The first day of your birth month, every two years — in even-numbered years if you were born in an even-numbered year, odd-numbered years if born in an odd-numbered year

Required topics

5

Hours carry over

Yes

First renewal

481 IAC 654.3(1)(a)(1): a first license may be issued for less than 24 months to line up with your birth month, and the 40 hours are "reduced on a pro-rata basis" for a license issued for less than 24 months. Plan for the full 40 only if your first license ran a full two years.

Reporting

You report CME and the required trainings on the renewal application (481 IAC 652.12(2)). Keep documentation of dates, subjects, duration and proof of participation (654.3(6)). The Board may audit at any time and you must respond within 30 days (654.3(7)); the Board's page says it audits renewing physicians each month and may audit "at any time within four years", so keep records at least four years. Exemptions apply for active military duty, practice only in another state with its own CME rule, and government service abroad (654.3(2)).

Board

Iowa Board of Medicine

481 IAC 652.10(1) and 652.12(3): licenses expire on the first day of the licensee's birth month and renewals are issued for two years. 654.3(1)(a): 40 hours of category 1 credit for biennial renewal of a permanent or administrative medicine license, including up to 20 carryover hours. The rules moved from 653 IAC ch. 11 to 481 IAC ch. 654 in 2025.

Deadline

In Iowa, the date depends on your license: the first day of your birth month, every two years — in even-numbered years if you were born in an even-numbered year, odd-numbered years if born in an odd-numbered year.

Find your Iowa MD deadline and add it to your calendar

Required topics

• Child abuse identification and reporting Confirm with your Board2 hours · Once every 3 years · Only some physicians — see the rule note
  481 IAC 654.3(1)(c)(1) and Iowa Code 232.69(3): at least two hours every three years for physicians who regularly provide primary health care to children in Iowa — all emergency, family, general practice physicians, pediatricians and psychiatrists, and any other physician who regularly does. The statute requires the core training curriculum developed and provided by the Department of Health and Human Services, first within six months of starting such practice, then every three years; the rule also allows it "as part of a category 1 credit or an approved training program", and category 1 credit for it counts toward the 40 hours. Only the HHS training counts: 481 IAC 654.3(1)(c)(1) requires "training provided by the department of health and human services pursuant to Iowa Code section 232.69(3)'c'", and the statute says the curriculum "shall be developed and provided by the department" (the paragraph (c) lead-in still mentions category 1 credit or an approved training program, but the statute controls). Flagged: the Board's web page still says training "within the last five years" while the current rule and statute say every three years.
• Dependent adult abuse identification and reporting Confirm with your Board2 hours · Once every 3 years · Only some physicians — see the rule note
  481 IAC 654.3(1)(c)(2) and Iowa Code 235B.16(5): at least two hours every three years for physicians who regularly provide primary health care to adults in Iowa — all emergency, family, general practice physicians, internists, obstetricians, gynecologists and psychiatrists, and any other physician who regularly does. Iowa Code 235B.16(5)(b)–(c): the HHS core training curriculum within six months of starting such practice, then every three years. Only the HHS training counts: 481 IAC 654.3(1)(c)(2) requires training "provided by the department of health and human services pursuant to Iowa Code section 235B.16(5)'c'". Flagged: the Board's web page still says training "within the last five years" while the current rule and statute say every three years. The current rule does not mention a combined child and dependent adult course.
• Chronic pain management (CDC opioid prescribing guidelines)2 hours · Once every 5 years · Only some physicians — see the rule note
  481 IAC 654.3(1)(d): physicians who prescribed opioids in the prior license period complete two hours of category 1 credit on the CDC guidelines for opioid prescribing every five years; you may opt out at renewal if you did not prescribe opioids in the previous cycle. Counts toward the 40 hours.
• End-of-life care2 hours · Once every 5 years · Only some physicians — see the rule note
  481 IAC 654.3(1)(e): physicians who regularly provide direct patient care to actively dying patients in Iowa complete at least two hours of category 1 credit on end-of-life care every five years. Counts toward the 40 hours.
• Nutrition and metabolic health (listed specialties) Confirm with your Board1 hour · Once every 4 years · Only some physicians — see the rule note
  2026 Iowa Acts ch. 1129 (H.F. 2676, approved May 20, 2026), Division II, adds Iowa Code § 148.3(5): the Board shall adopt rules requiring licensees practicing family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, endocrinology, gastroenterology, cardiology, oncology, rheumatology, neurology, nephrology, dermatology, pulmonology, surgery, immunology, hematology, obstetrics or gynecology to complete at least one hour of continuing education on nutrition and metabolic health every four years as a condition of renewal. The Board has not yet adopted the rule (481 IAC 654 does not include it as of 2026-10-08), so the start date, accepted providers and content are not set — confirm with the Board.

Credit that counts

• AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™481 IAC 654.1: category 1 credit is any formal program sponsored by a provider accredited by the ACCME, the Iowa Medical Society or the AOA Council on Continuing Medical Education.
• AAFP Prescribed credit481 IAC 654.1: credits designated "as prescribed credits by the American Academy of Family Physicians are accepted as equivalent to category 1 credits." The Board's page says the same.
• AOA Category 1-A481 IAC 654.1: programs from providers accredited by the AOA Council on Continuing Medical Education count as category 1, for MDs and DOs alike.
• AOA Category 1-B Confirm with your BoardThe rule counts formal programs from AOA-accredited providers. AOA Category 1-B activities that are not formal accredited programs may not qualify; confirm with the Board.