Kentucky · MD and DO
Kentucky: Domestic violence (and elder abuse) training
MD: 3 hours, once · DO: 3 hours, once.
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
- 3 hours
- How often
- Once
- Who
- Only some physicians — see the rule note
- Renewal cycle
- Renews every 3 years; licenses expire at December 31 of the cycle's last year; you then certify completion on the annual renewal due on or before March 1.
- Providers
- Only courses from providers named in the Board rule count.
- Board
- Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure
- The rule
- Confirm with your Board KRS 194A.540(9)–(11): physicians who practice primary care (as defined in KRS 164.925: family/general practice, general pediatrics, general internal medicine, emergency medicine, general OB/GYN, preventive medicine/public health) or who are psychiatrists, licensed after July 15, 1996, complete one approved 3-hour course within three years of initial licensure. The statute's course content includes elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. The Board's pages say "primary care physicians" and July 1, 1996, and do not mention psychiatrists, so confirm whether it applies to you. Counts toward the 60 hours.
DO (osteopathic physician)
- Hours
- 3 hours
- How often
- Once
- Who
- Only some physicians — see the rule note
- Renewal cycle
- Renews every 3 years; licenses expire at December 31 of the cycle's last year; you then certify completion on the annual renewal due on or before March 1.
- Providers
- Only courses from providers named in the Board rule count.
- Board
- Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure
- The rule
- Confirm with your Board KRS 194A.540(9)–(11): physicians who practice primary care (as defined in KRS 164.925: family/general practice, general pediatrics, general internal medicine, emergency medicine, general OB/GYN, preventive medicine/public health) or who are psychiatrists, licensed after July 15, 1996, complete one approved 3-hour course within three years of initial licensure. The statute's course content includes elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. The Board's pages say "primary care physicians" and July 1, 1996, and do not mention psychiatrists, so confirm whether it applies to you. Counts toward the 60 hours.
Facts marked “Confirm with your Board” are unsettled in the sources; the note says what to check.
What to do next
Other states that require it
Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts. Every state that requires it
Sources
- Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure — Continuing Medical Education
- Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure — CME Requirement Schedule, current cycle January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2026 (PDF)
- Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure — Domestic Violence Requirement (PDF)
- 201 KAR 9:310 — Continuing medical education (certified effective February 26, 2025)
- 201 KAR 9:270 — Buprenorphine prescribing standards, 12 hours addiction medicine (effective January 22, 2026)
- 201 KAR 9:051 — Annual license renewal and registration (on or before March 1)
- KRS 194A.540 — Domestic violence and elder abuse training for primary care physicians and psychiatrists
- 2026 HB 412 (not enacted; shows current KRS 311.601 text on pediatric abusive head trauma)
MD facts last verified October 7, 2026 · DO facts last verified October 7, 2026.