Kentucky DO CME requirements

At a glance: DO (osteopathic physician)

Hours

60 hours every 3 years

Renewal cycle

Every 3 years

Deadline

December 31 of the cycle's last year; you then certify completion on the annual renewal due on or before March 1

Required topics

4

Hours carry over

No

First renewal

Not waived, but prorated by the year you were first licensed in the cycle (201 KAR 9:310 Section 3(1)(c)–(e)): licensed in year one of the cycle, 60 hours; year two, 40 hours; year three, 20 hours, all due by the end of the cycle. The Board's 2024–2026 schedule splits these into half Category 1 and half other CME (30/30, 20/20, 10/10).

Credit minimum

201 KAR 9:310 Section 2(1): 30 of the 60 hours must be certified in Category I by an organization accredited by the ACCME or the AOA. The Board says the remaining hours may be Category I or Category II. AAFP Prescribed counts here only if the Board treats it as Category I (see the credit note).

Reporting

At the annual renewal after a cycle ends you certify completion on the Continuing Medical Education Certification Form (201 KAR 9:310 Sections 1 and 3(2)). Do not send certificates unless asked; the Board randomly audits and you must then prove completion (Section 8). The rule sets no retention period; keep records at least until the audit window for the cycle has passed. Failing to certify or get an extension means a fine of $200 or more and six months to comply, then suspension (Section 9). Extensions cost $100 (201 KAR 9:041 Section 1(17)); the Board's CME page says to request one by April 1 after the cycle (likely April 1, 2027 for this cycle, but the page still shows the 2018–2020 cycle, so confirm with the Board). Waivers are never granted.

Board

Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure

201 KAR 9:310 Section 3: 60 hours in each three-year continuing education cycle (January 1 to December 31). The Board's schedule names the current cycle as January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2026, so the next runs January 1, 2027 – December 31, 2029. The license itself renews every year on or before March 1 (201 KAR 9:051); at the renewal after a cycle ends you certify the cycle's CME. If the license was not renewed for every year of the cycle, the requirement is 20 hours per year renewed.

Deadline

• December 31, 2026

Find your Kentucky DO deadline and add it to your calendar

Required topics

• KASPER, pain management and addiction disorders (HB 1)4.5 hours · Every renewal · Physicians registered with the DEA
  201 KAR 9:310 Section 5: physicians authorized to prescribe or dispense controlled substances in Kentucky at any time during a three-year cycle complete at least 4.5 hours of Board-approved CME on the use of KASPER (Kentucky's prescription monitoring program), pain management, addiction disorders, or a combination, every cycle. Only programs approved in advance by the Board count; the Board lists them on its CME page. The Board's 2024–2026 schedule prorates it: 3 hours if first authorized in 2025, 1.5 hours if first authorized in 2026. Missing it leads to an emergency order restricting prescribing. Counts within the 60.
• Addiction medicine (buprenorphine prescribers)12 hours · Every renewal · Only some physicians — see the rule note
  201 KAR 9:270 Section 2 (amended effective January 22, 2026): each DEA-licensed prescriber of buprenorphine mono-product or buprenorphine with naloxone completes at least 12 hours of Category I CME specific to addiction medicine in each three-year cycle, as part of the 60 hours.
• Domestic violence (and elder abuse) training Confirm with your Board3 hours · Once · Only some physicians — see the rule note
  KRS 194A.540(9)–(11): physicians who practice primary care (as defined in KRS 164.925: family/general practice, general pediatrics, general internal medicine, emergency medicine, general OB/GYN, preventive medicine/public health) or who are psychiatrists, licensed after July 15, 1996, complete one approved 3-hour course within three years of initial licensure. The statute's course content includes elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. The Board's pages say "primary care physicians" and July 1, 1996, and do not mention psychiatrists, so confirm whether it applies to you. Counts toward the 60 hours.
• Pediatric abusive head trauma1 hour · Once · Only some physicians — see the rule note
  KRS 311.601(2) and 201 KAR 9:310 Section 6: pediatricians (including med-peds), radiologists, family physicians, and physicians practicing emergency medicine or in urgent care complete a one-time, Board-approved 1-hour course on recognizing and preventing pediatric abusive head trauma within five years of initial licensure (current licensees were due by December 31, 2017). The statute lets new physicians count pediatric abusive head trauma curriculum from medical school.

Credit that counts

• AOA Category 1-A201 KAR 9:310 Section 2(1)(b): Category I certified by an organization accredited by the American Osteopathic Association. The rule applies to every licensee, MD or DO.
• AOA Category 1-B Confirm with your BoardThe rule says AOA "Category I" without separating 1-A and 1-B; AOA Category 1-B is part of AOA Category 1, so it appears to count. Confirm with the Board.
• AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™201 KAR 9:310 Section 2(1): Category I certified by an ACCME-accredited organization counts toward the 30-hour minimum.
• AAFP Prescribed credit Confirm with your BoardNot named in the rule or on the Board's page. The AAFP is ACCME-accredited and AMA accepts AAFP Prescribed credit as equivalent to AMA PRA Category 1, so it should count toward the 30 Category I hours, but the Board has not said so in writing. It counts at least as "other" CME.
• AMA PRA Category 2The Board's CME page: the remaining 30 hours may be Category I or Category II (self-instruction, teaching, journals and similar), logged on a personal log or CME Form A.