Kentucky · MD and DO
Kentucky: Addiction medicine (buprenorphine prescribers)
MD: 12 hours, every renewal · DO: 12 hours, every renewal.
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
- 12 hours
- How often
- Every renewal
- 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.
- Board
- Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure
- The rule
- 201 KAR 9:270 Section 2 (amended effective January 22, 2026): each DEA-licensed prescriber of buprenorphine mono-product or buprenorphine with naloxone completes at least 12 hours of Category I CME specific to addiction medicine in each three-year cycle, as part of the 60 hours.
DO (osteopathic physician)
- Hours
- 12 hours
- How often
- Every renewal
- 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.
- Board
- Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure
- The rule
- 201 KAR 9:270 Section 2 (amended effective January 22, 2026): each DEA-licensed prescriber of buprenorphine mono-product or buprenorphine with naloxone completes at least 12 hours of Category I CME specific to addiction medicine in each three-year cycle, as part of the 60 hours.
What to do next
Other states that require it
Arizona, California, Colorado, Mississippi, Nevada, Utah. 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.