Alaska physician (MD and DO) CME requirements for license renewal

This guide covers physicians licensed by the Alaska State Medical Board. The Board licenses both MDs and DOs (the regulations say "physician, osteopath, or podiatrist"), and the same statute, AS 08.64.312, and the same regulations, 12 AAC 40.200 to 40.240, apply to both.

The short version

Requirement	Hours	How often	Who
Total CME	50 (an average of 25 a year)	Every two-year license period	Every MD and DO
Pain management and opioid use and addiction (within the 50)	2	Every renewal	Every MD and DO with a DEA registration
License expires	December 31 of even-numbered years	Every two years	Everyone (next: December 31, 2026)

How many hours, and what kind

12 AAC 40.200(a) requires "an average of 25 credit hours of continuing medical education during each year of the previous license period," which is 50 hours for a full two-year period. Only hours awarded within the period count. For the renewal due December 31, 2026, that is January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2026. Hours do not carry over.

Under 12 AAC 40.210(a), the hours must be:

• AMA Category I credit (AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™);
• AOA Category I or II credit; or
• credit from providers approved by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education.

The rule applies to every licensee, so MDs may count AOA credit and DOs may count AMA credit. Note that the AMA side is Category I only, while the AOA side includes Category II.

12 AAC 40.210(b) accepts three things in place of the hours: a current Physician's Recognition Award (AMA, AOA, or a recognized subspecialty board); initial certification or recertification by an AMA- or AOA-recognized specialty board during the license period; or participation in a residency program during the period.

AAFP Prescribed credit is not named in the regulation or on the renewal form. It counts only if the activity is also certified for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. If most of your hours are AAFP Prescribed, confirm with the Board.

When your license expires

Every Alaska medical license expires on December 31 of even-numbered years, whatever the issue date. A license issued within 90 days of that date runs to the following one. The renewal application says the license lapses after December 31 and there is no grace period: it is illegal to practice on a lapsed license. Plan on four to six weeks of processing for a paper application. You can renew online through the Division's MY LICENSE portal.

The mandatory topic

Pain management and opioid use and addiction: 2 hours, every renewal

AS 08.64.312(b) says CME "must include not less than two hours of education in pain management and opioid use and addiction in the two years preceding an application for renewal." 12 AAC 40.200(a)(2) adds that the 2 hours are part of the total. If you do not hold a DEA registration number, you can certify that on the renewal form and request a waiver until you apply for one. The hours count within the 50.

Proposed change

At its May 15, 2026 meeting, the Board approved, for public comment, changes to 12 AAC 40.200 that would add CME in nutrition and lower the pain management and opioid requirement from two hours to one. When this guide was checked, the change had not been adopted, and the statute still requires two hours. Plan on the current rule until the Board announces otherwise.

Federal requirement

The federal DEA requires a one-time 8-hour training on treating and managing patients with opioid or other substance use disorders (the MATE Act) when you first register or renew a DEA registration. It is a federal requirement, separate from Alaska's rules.

Your first renewal

The renewal application prorates the general hours by when your license was first issued:

• issued in the first year of the two-year period: 25 hours;
• issued in the second year: no general hours.

Either way, you still need the 2 hours in pain management and opioid use and addiction, unless you request the waiver because you hold no DEA registration.

Reporting and audits

You sign a statement of compliance on the renewal application (12 AAC 40.220(a)). The Board audits a percentage of renewals at random. If you are selected, you are contacted after renewal and send copies of your certificates. If you use the ACCME's Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS), Board staff can verify your hours there instead. PARS is optional. Keep your CME records for at least four years.

If the Board finds on audit that you had not met the requirement when you signed the statement, it treats the license as obtained through misrepresentation (12 AAC 40.220(c)).

If illness or other extenuating circumstances kept you from finishing, you can request an extension on the renewal application. The Board grants it only with a memorandum of agreement setting the date by which you will finish (12 AAC 40.200(b) and 40.240). The statute caps exemptions at 15 hours in any five-year period and does not exempt the pain management and opioid hours unless you hold no DEA registration (AS 08.64.312(c)).

Checklist before you renew

1. Your license expires December 31, 2026; your CME window is January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2026.
2. Count 50 hours of AMA Category I or AOA Category I or II credit (25 or none if your license was first issued during the period).
3. Make sure 2 of them cover pain management and opioid use and addiction, or certify that you hold no DEA registration.
4. Keep certificates for at least four years.
5. Renew before December 31; there is no grace period.

Requirements change. This guide was checked against the sources below in October 2026; confirm with the Board before you rely on it.