West Virginia physician (MD and DO) CME requirements for license renewal

West Virginia has two physician licensing boards. MDs are licensed by the West Virginia Board of Medicine; DOs are licensed by the West Virginia Board of Osteopathic Medicine. The hours and accepted credit differ, but 2026 brought the same two changes to both: a new nutrition requirement and the end of the every-renewal controlled substance course.

The short version

Requirement	MD (Board of Medicine)	DO (Board of Osteopathic Medicine)
Total CME	50 hours every two years	32 hours every two years
Credit	All AMA or AAFP Category I (up to 20 hours may be teaching)	All AOA approved; at least 16 AOA Category 1
Specialty hours	At least 30 in your specialty	None stated
Nutrition (within the total)	2 hours every renewal (emergency rule, August 2026)	2 hours every renewal (emergency rule, August 2026)
Controlled substances course	3 hours once, within a year of initial licensure (prescribers)	Same
License expires	June 30: last names A–L in even years, M–Z in odd years	June 30, every two years from your license date

MDs: how many hours, and what kind

W. Va. Code § 30-3-12 and 11 CSR 6 §4.1 require 50 hours of CME in the two-year reporting period before your renewal deadline, all designated Category I by the AMA or the American Academy of Family Physicians. So AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ and AAFP Prescribed credit both count; the rule names the AAFP. AOA credit is not listed, and the rule says there are no other acceptable categories. At least 30 of the 50 hours must relate to your specialty. Up to 20 hours may come from teaching medical students, lecturing to students, residents or physicians, or precepting, with documentation from the school.

Instead of the 50 hours, you may pass an ABMS certification or recertification exam during the period, take part in ABMS maintenance of certification, or complete 12 months of ACGME-approved training; each of these still requires the 2 hours of nutrition CME.

The reporting period is the two years before your renewal deadline. For example, the Board says licenses expiring June 30, 2026 used July 1, 2024 through the renewal date; licenses expiring June 30, 2027 use July 1, 2025 onward. Hours do not carry over.

DOs: how many hours, and what kind

W. Va. Code § 30-14-10(b) and 24 CSR 1 §15.2.7 require 32 hours of AOA-approved CME in the two-year licensing period, at least half (16) in AOA Category 1 or standard heart saver courses. The rule says AOA "category 1" without separating 1-A and 1-B; 1-B is part of AOA Category 1, so it appears to count. Because every hour must be "AOA approved," AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ and AAFP Prescribed credit appear to count only as AOA Category 2 (beyond the 16 Category 1 hours); confirm with the Board if you rely on them. A DO in a clinical residency for more than nine months of the period may submit that instead (§15.6).

A 2025 Board proposal would have raised the hours to 50 starting with licenses expiring July 1, 2027. The final rule, effective July 2, 2026, kept 32 hours, matching the statute.

When your license expires

MDs: 11 CSR 1A §10.2 sets renewal by last name. Physicians whose last names begin with A–L renew before July 1 of even years; M–Z before July 1 of odd years, so the deadline is June 30. The next deadline for M–Z is June 30, 2027 and for A–L June 30, 2028. The Board posts the exact deadline on its website. A license expires automatically if the CME certification is not received by the deadline (11 CSR 6 §5.4).

DOs: a license is valid for two years and must be renewed by June 30 of the second year (24 CSR 1 §4.9). Whether that falls in an even or odd year depends on your license; your expiration date is shown in the Board's D.O. Dashboard. The application and fee must reach the Board by June 30.

The mandatory topics

Nutrition — 2 hours, every renewal (MD and DO)

HB 4951, in effect June 12, 2026, added to both practice acts that the CME requirement "shall include completion of medical education in nutrition." Both boards adopted emergency rules in August 2026 requiring at least 2 hours within the total: 11 CSR 6 (effective August 11, 2026) for MDs, and 24 CSR 1 §15.2.8 (effective August 18, 2026) for DOs. For MDs, the course must be Category I by the AMA or AAFP and cover the role of nutrition in preventing, managing and treating disease and how to use nutrition in clinical practice. Emergency rules are temporary while each board adopts a permanent rule, and the Board of Medicine's CME page had not yet been updated, so confirm with the Board how the 2 hours apply to renewals due June 30, 2027.

Controlled substances — 3 hours, once, after initial licensure (MD and DO)

Within one year of receiving an initial West Virginia license, physicians who prescribe, administer or dispense controlled substances under that license complete a 3-hour Board-approved course on Risk Assessment and Responsible Prescribing of Controlled Substances: drug diversion, best-practice prescribing, and prescribing and administering an opioid antagonist (W. Va. Code § 30-1-7a; 11 CSR 6 §3.1; 24 CSR 1 §4.10). If you do not prescribe, administer or dispense any controlled substances under a West Virginia license, it is waived. The hours may count toward the CME for the period in which you took them. Each board lists approved courses on its website.

Until mid-2026 this course was required every renewal for prescribers. The legislature dropped the recurring requirement in 2023 (HB 3317), and both boards removed it from their rules effective July 2026: the Board of Medicine's July 1, 2026 rule and the Board of Osteopathic Medicine's July 2, 2026 rule. The Board of Medicine's CME page still describes the old every-renewal requirement for 2026 renewals.

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 West Virginia's rules.

Your first renewal

Neither board's rules waive or prorate CME for a first renewal. An MD's initial license is issued with the expiration date of the last-name group (11 CSR 1A §10.1), so the first period can be shorter than two years. Confirm with your board how many hours it expects at your first renewal. If you prescribe, finish the 3-hour controlled substance course within your first year.

Reporting and audits

MDs certify completion on the renewal application (11 CSR 6 §5). The Board may audit; if asked, send documentation within 30 days. Not providing it is treated as prima facie evidence of renewing by fraudulent misrepresentation (§6.3–6.4). Keep CME records for six years (§6.1).

DOs document the 32 hours as part of the renewal application (24 CSR 1 §15.2.7). The rule does not set a retention period; keep certificates at least until your next renewal.

Checklist before you renew

Find your deadline: June 30 (MD: A–L even years, M–Z odd years; DO: check your dashboard).
MD: count 50 hours of AMA or AAFP Category I, at least 30 in your specialty. DO: count 32 AOA-approved hours, at least 16 AOA Category 1.
Include 2 hours of nutrition CME.
Newly licensed prescribers: finish the 3-hour controlled substance course within a year of licensure.
Keep your certificates (MDs: six years).

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