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

Pennsylvania has two physician boards. MDs are licensed by the State Board of Medicine (49 Pa. Code Chapter 16). DOs are licensed by the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine (49 Pa. Code Chapter 25). Both require 100 hours every two years with the same topics. The boards differ in the credit type required for the 20-hour minimum and in the renewal date.

The short version

Requirement	MD (State Board of Medicine)	DO (State Board of Osteopathic Medicine)
Total CME	100 hours every two years	100 hours every two years
Credit-type minimum	20 hours AMA PRA Category 1	20 hours AOA Category 1-A
Patient safety and risk management	12 hours (Category 1 or 2)	12 hours (Category 1 or 2)
Child abuse recognition and reporting (Act 31)	2 hours, approved provider, every renewal	2 hours, approved provider, every renewal
Pain management, addiction or opioid prescribing (Act 124)	2 hours every renewal if you hold or use a DEA registration	Same
Organ and tissue donation and recovery	2 hours, one time (from May 1, 2026)	2 hours, one time (from May 1, 2026)
License expires	December 31, even-numbered years	October 31, even-numbered years
CME window	January 1 (odd year) – December 31 (even year)	November 1 (even year) – October 31 (next even year)

All topic hours count toward the 100; they are not added on top. However, the boards say the child abuse and opioid hours cannot be counted toward the 12 patient-safety hours.

How many hours, and what kind

MDs

49 Pa. Code §16.19(b) requires "100 credit hours of continuing medical education in the preceding biennial period." At least 20 must be AMA PRA Category 1. The rest may be AMA PRA Category 1 or Category 2. Credit is not given for courses in office management or practice building. Category 2 hours are self-claimed. Keep contemporaneous documentation with the title, subject, dates and credits claimed; the Board has a Category 2 reporting form.

AAFP Prescribed credit: neither §16.19 nor the Board's CME sheet names it. §16.19(b)(2)(i)(F) accepts, as Category 1 documentation, "Certification by a CME organization whose standards meet or exceed those established by AMA PRA." Whether AAFP Prescribed credit counts toward the 20 Category 1 hours is not stated. Confirm with the Board before relying on it for the minimum.

DOs

49 Pa. Code §25.271(c) requires the same 100 hours, with at least 20 in AOA Category 1-A. The Board's CME sheet says the remaining hours "shall be completed in AOA Category 1-A, 1-B, or Category 2 or AMA Category 1 or 2." The sheet describes Category 1-A as "formal, face-to-face educational programs ... sponsored by an AOA-accredited Category 1-A CME sponsor." AAFP Prescribed credit is not named and cannot count toward the 1-A minimum. Confirm with the Board whether it counts toward the remaining hours.

Carryover

Neither the rules nor the boards' CME sheets provide for carrying extra hours into the next cycle. Plan to earn all 100 hours inside the window.

When your license expires

• MDs: "Registration for a biennium expires December 31 of every even-numbered year" (§16.15(c)). The next expiration is December 31, 2026, for CME earned January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2026.
• DOs: licenses expire October 31 of even-numbered years (§25.271(a) and the Board's renewal page). The next is October 31, 2026, for CME earned November 1, 2024 through October 31, 2026.

Renewal is online only, through the Pennsylvania Licensing System (PALS), and opens about 60 days before expiration.

The required topics

Child abuse recognition and reporting (Act 31) — 2 hours, every renewal

§16.108(b) (MD) and §25.417(b) (DO) require "at least 2 hours of approved continuing education in child abuse recognition and reporting requirements" at every biennial renewal, within the 100 hours. Only courses approved by the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, in consultation with the Department of Human Services, count. The provider reports your completion to the Board electronically, and that can take up to 7 days. Do not upload your certificate. The Board will not renew until the report arrives. The boards say Act 31 "applies regardless of whether a licensee is subject to any other continuing education requirements." It therefore applies at your first renewal and in active-retired status. Exemptions are narrow (for example, equivalent training already completed under the school code or child protective services law). "The Board will not grant an exemption based solely upon proof that children are not part of the applicant's or licensee's practice."

New applicants need 3 hours of approved child abuse training before licensure.

Patient safety and risk management — 12 hours, every renewal

At least 12 of the 100 hours must be in patient safety or risk management, in Category 1 or 2 activities. Examples from the rules: "improving medical records and recordkeeping, reducing medical errors, professional conduct and ethics, improving communications, preventative medicine and healthcare quality improvement." The boards' CME sheets say the Act 31 and opioid hours cannot count toward these 12.

Pain management, identification of addiction, or opioid prescribing (Act 124) — 2 hours, every renewal

Section 9.1(a)(2) of the ABC-MAP Act (added by Act 124 of 2016) requires prescribers and dispensers to complete "at least two hours of continuing education in pain management, identification of addiction or the practices of prescribing or dispensing of opioids" at each renewal. Under the statute's exception and the rules, this applies if you hold a DEA registration or use another person's or entity's DEA registration to prescribe controlled substances. MDs use AMA PRA Category 1 or 2; DOs use AOA Category 1 or 2. The boards' CME sheets add that it "must be taken from a Board-approved continuing education provider" without saying what that means. Confirm your course qualifies. The rules name the PA-SUPPORT curriculum (MD rule) as acceptable but not required.

Separately, section 9.1(a)(1) requires new licensees to document, within 12 months of initial licensure, 2 hours on pain management or identifying addiction and 2 hours on opioid prescribing or dispensing. The training may come from medical school or residency (the Board's Verification of Opioid Education form) or from continuing education.

Organ and tissue donation and recovery process — 2 hours, one time

New in 2026: §16.19(c) (MD) and §25.271(c)(6) (DO) require "at least 2 credit hours ... in organ and tissue donation and recovery process" from May 1, 2026, on a Board-approved curriculum posted on the Board's website. The hours count toward the 100. Deadlines:

• licensed before May 1, 2026: "within 5 years of licensure renewal";
• licensed on or after May 1, 2026: within 5 years of initial licensure;
• reactivating on or after May 1, 2026: within 5 years of reactivation.

The boards' CME sheets say "within 5 years of initial licensure or within 5 years of licensure renewal, whichever comes first." Confirm the exact deadline that applies to you. The DO rule says to keep documentation of attendance from an organ procurement organization. The MD rule accepts certification from an organ procurement organization as Category 1 documentation.

Federal requirement

The DEA's one-time 8-hour training on substance use disorders (the MATE Act) is federal and separate from the boards' rules.

Your first renewal

Both rules say: "A physician applying for licensure in this Commonwealth for the first time shall be exempt from the continuing medical education requirement for the biennial renewal period following initial licensure." The DO board's 2026 guide applies this to licenses first issued November 1, 2024 through October 31, 2026. The 2 hours of Act 31 child abuse training are still required. The 12-month opioid education for new licensees also still applies.

Other exemptions and waivers

• Temporary training license holders and physicians on inactive status are exempt. To reactivate, you must show the previous cycle's CME.
• Retired physicians who treat only immediate family are exempt, except for the 2 child abuse hours and the 2 opioid hours.
• The boards may grant a hardship waiver for serious illness, military service or other good cause. Request it in writing with documentation, ideally 90 days before the cycle ends.
• Suspension for disciplinary reasons does not exempt you.

Reporting and audit

You attest to completion on the renewal application in PALS, and the boards audit at random. Keep documentation:

• MDs: "for 2 years after renewal" (§16.19(b)(2)).
• DOs: "for at least 2 years after completion of the CME or after the completion of the biennial registration for which the CME was required, whichever is later" (Board CME sheet; §25.271(c)(2)).

Acceptable proof includes certificates showing your name, course, date, hours, provider and credit category. The State Board of Medicine says board certification and AMA PRA certificates are not proof by themselves; keep the underlying certificates too. Of the required hours, only Act 31 completions are reported to the Board by the provider.

Checklist before you renew

1. Confirm your deadline: December 31, 2026 (MD) or October 31, 2026 (DO).
2. Count 100 hours inside your window, including 20 AMA PRA Category 1 (MD) or 20 AOA Category 1-A (DO).
3. Count 12 hours of patient safety and risk management, not counting the child abuse or opioid hours.
4. Make sure an approved Act 31 provider has reported your 2 child abuse hours (allow 7 days).
5. If you hold or use a DEA registration, complete 2 hours on pain management, addiction or opioid prescribing.
6. Plan the one-time 2-hour organ and tissue donation course within your 5-year window.
7. Keep your certificates for at least 2 years.

Requirements change. This guide was checked against the sources below on October 6, 2026; confirm with the Board before you rely on it.