Iowa · MD and DO
Iowa: Dependent adult abuse identification and reporting
MD: 2 hours, once every 3 years · DO: 2 hours, once every 3 years.
Last verified against the sources below. Requirements change — confirm with your Board before you rely on this page. This is general information, not legal advice.
MD (medical doctor)
- Hours
- 2 hours
- How often
- Once every 3 years
- Who
- Only some physicians — see the rule note
- Renewal cycle
- Renews every 2 years; licenses expire on the first day of your birth month, every two years — in even-numbered years if you were born in an even-numbered year, odd-numbered years if born in an odd-numbered year.
- Providers
- Only courses from providers named in the Board rule count.
- Board
- Iowa Board of Medicine
- The rule
- Confirm with your Board 481 IAC 654.3(1)(c)(2) and Iowa Code 235B.16(5): at least two hours every three years for physicians who regularly provide primary health care to adults in Iowa — all emergency, family, general practice physicians, internists, obstetricians, gynecologists and psychiatrists, and any other physician who regularly does. Iowa Code 235B.16(5)(b)–(c): the HHS core training curriculum within six months of starting such practice, then every three years. Only the HHS training counts: 481 IAC 654.3(1)(c)(2) requires training "provided by the department of health and human services pursuant to Iowa Code section 235B.16(5)'c'". Flagged: the Board's web page still says training "within the last five years" while the current rule and statute say every three years. The current rule does not mention a combined child and dependent adult course.
DO (osteopathic physician)
- Hours
- 2 hours
- How often
- Once every 3 years
- Who
- Only some physicians — see the rule note
- Renewal cycle
- Renews every 2 years; licenses expire on the first day of your birth month, every two years — in even-numbered years if you were born in an even-numbered year, odd-numbered years if born in an odd-numbered year.
- Providers
- Only courses from providers named in the Board rule count.
- Board
- Iowa Board of Medicine
- The rule
- Confirm with your Board 481 IAC 654.3(1)(c)(2) and Iowa Code 235B.16(5): at least two hours every three years for physicians who regularly provide primary health care to adults in Iowa — all emergency, family, general practice physicians, internists, obstetricians, gynecologists and psychiatrists, and any other physician who regularly does. Iowa Code 235B.16(5)(b)–(c): the HHS core training curriculum within six months of starting such practice, then every three years. Only the HHS training counts: 481 IAC 654.3(1)(c)(2) requires training "provided by the department of health and human services pursuant to Iowa Code section 235B.16(5)'c'". Flagged: the Board's web page still says training "within the last five years" while the current rule and statute say every three years. The current rule does not mention a combined child and dependent adult course.
Facts marked “Confirm with your Board” are unsettled in the sources; the note says what to check.
What to do next
Sources
- Iowa Board of Medicine (Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing) — Continuing education for physicians
- 481 IAC chapter 654 — Continuing education and training requirements (formerly 653 IAC ch. 11; ARC 9114C, effective May 21, 2025; IAC 9/30/26)
- 481 IAC chapter 652 — Permanent and administrative medicine physician licensure (expiration and renewal, 652.10–652.14)
- Iowa Code § 272C.2 — Continuing education requirements
- Iowa Code § 232.69 — Mandatory reporters of child abuse; training
- Iowa Code § 235B.16 — Dependent adult abuse; training of mandatory reporters
- 2026 Iowa Acts ch. 1129 (H.F. 2676) — nutrition and metabolic health CE (Iowa Code § 148.3(5))
MD facts last verified October 8, 2026 · DO facts last verified October 8, 2026.