New York MD CME requirements

At a glance: MD (medical doctor)

Hours

No general hour minimum

Renewal cycle

Every 2 years

Deadline

The end of your current two-year registration period, shown on your registration certificate (the license itself is for life)

Required topics

3

Hours carry over

No

First renewal

There are no general hours to waive. Child abuse reporting training is due with your first license application, infection control at initial licensure/registration, and DEA-registered prescribers must complete the 3-hour prescriber course within one year of DEA registration.

Reporting

Child abuse training: upload the provider's Certification of Completion to NYSED (at application or re-registration). Infection control: keep the certificate; if you are not hospital-affiliated, send it to NYSDOH. Prescriber course: attest in NYSDOH's NEAT application on the Health Commerce System and keep proof for at least 6 years from the attestation.

Board

New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions (State Board for Medicine)

New York sets no general CME hours. Physicians (MD and DO) re-register every two years (Education Law 6502 and 6524). The mandated trainings run on their own clocks: infection control every 4 years, pain management/palliative care/addiction every 3 years after your first attestation, and child abuse reporting once (with a 2026 curriculum update).

Deadline

In New York, the date depends on your license: the end of your current two-year registration period, shown on your registration certificate (the license itself is for life).

Find your New York MD deadline and add it to your calendar

Required topics

• Infection control and barrier precautions (including sepsis) Confirm with your Board2 hours · Once every 4 years · Every licensee
  Public Health Law 239: every physician practicing in New York completes NYSDOH- or NYSED-approved course work at initial licensure/registration and every four years thereafter; it must cover sepsis. No minimum length is set in law; NYSED expects 2 to 4 hours, so 2 is a planning figure. Exemptions (equivalent training, no direct patient care, not practicing in New York) are requested from NYSDOH and renewed every 4 years.
• Identification and reporting of child abuse and maltreatment Confirm with your Board2 hours · Once, by November 17, 2026 · Every licensee
  Education Law 6507(3)(a): two hours from a NYSED-approved provider before licensure; NYS-registered medical school graduates since September 1, 1990 already have it (residency training does not count). Chapter 25 of the Laws of 2024 (Social Services Law 413) requires mandated reporters, including those already trained, to complete the updated curriculum (abuse of children with intellectual or developmental disabilities) by November 17, 2026; if you trained between 11/1/2022 and 8/31/2025, a 15-minute addendum is available. Exemption possible if you have no professional contact with children.
• Pain management, palliative care and addiction3 hours · Once every 3 years · Physicians registered with the DEA

Credit that counts

• AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™Applies only to the prescriber course: NYSDOH approves courses accredited by the ACCME (among others) for the hours they are accredited for. Infection control and child abuse training count only from State-approved providers, whatever credit they carry.
• AOA Category 1-AApplies only to the prescriber course: NYSDOH lists the American Osteopathic Association among accrediting organizations whose courses are approved.
• AAFP Prescribed credit Confirm with your BoardNYSDOH's list of accrediting organizations for the prescriber course does not name the AAFP, but says it is not limited to those listed. Confirm with NYSDOH before relying on AAFP Prescribed credit alone.