Louisiana · MD and DO
Louisiana: Laws and Rules for Physicians course
MD: 2 hours, by the first renewal only · DO: 2 hours, by the first renewal only.
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
- By the first renewal only
- Who
- Every licensee
- Renewal cycle
- Renews every year; licenses expire on the first day of your birth month, every year.
- Providers
- Only courses from providers named in the Board rule count.
- Board
- Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners
- The rule
- Confirm with your Board LAC 46:XLV §449 (amended June 2025): before the first renewal, every physician completes the Board's online "Laws and Rules" course (Compact licensees within 90 days of the first renewal), credited hour for hour toward the annual CME. The current rule does not state the course length; the earlier version of the rule required an orientation program of at least two hours, and an April 2026 proposal would credit 3 hours. We plan 2 hours — confirm the credit shown in CE Broker.
DO (osteopathic physician)
- Hours
- 2 hours
- How often
- By the first renewal only
- Who
- Every licensee
- Renewal cycle
- Renews every year; licenses expire on the first day of your birth month, every year.
- Providers
- Only courses from providers named in the Board rule count.
- Board
- Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners
- The rule
- Confirm with your Board LAC 46:XLV §449 (amended June 2025): before the first renewal, every physician completes the Board's online "Laws and Rules" course (Compact licensees within 90 days of the first renewal), credited hour for hour toward the annual CME. The current rule does not state the course length; the earlier version of the rule required an orientation program of at least two hours, and an April 2026 proposal would credit 3 hours. We plan 2 hours — confirm the credit shown in CE Broker.
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
Sources
- Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners — Renewals (CE Broker required)
- Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners — Board Orientations & Online Courses (first-renewal requirements)
- Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners — Board Approved CME Courses for CDS Requirements
- Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners — Annual Continuing Education Requirements by Practitioner Group (July 20, 2026, PDF)
- LAC 46:XLV Chapter 3 — Physicians, incl. §§415, 417 (renewal) and §§433–449 (CME), August 2025 compilation (PDF)
- LAC 46:XLV Chapter 40 — CME on Controlled Dangerous Substances, §§4001–4005 (PDF)
- Act 744 of 2024 (HB 869) — R.S. 37:1270(A)(8), sickle cell disease CE for emergency medicine (enrolled)
- LSBME notice of intent, April 2026 — proposed CME rule changes (Laws and Rules course, medical review panel credit), redline
- Act 463 of 2025 (SB 14), enrolled — nutrition and metabolic health CE (R.S. 37:1270(A)(8)(b))
MD facts last verified October 8, 2026 · DO facts last verified October 8, 2026.