2026 physician guide · MD & DO

Massachusetts CME requirements for physicians

Massachusetts currently uses a 50-hour CME pilot for the two-year physician renewal period. Ten hours must address risk management. Some training repeats each cycle, while implicit bias, end-of-life care and several other requirements are completed once.

By Michael Rushton, DO · Physician founder of ClearCME

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At a glance

MD and DO · Board of Registration in Medicine

50 hours under the current CME pilot, including 10 in risk management

Renewal cycle
Biennial renewal on your birthday. Confirm the first renewal deadline in your Board license record, especially when initial registration is close to your birthday.
Accepted credit types
Category 1 or Category 2 under the pilot, without a fixed general Category 1 minimum. The 10 risk-management hours may also be Category 1 or 2. Most of the cycle’s hours must relate to your primary area of practice.

Mandatory topics

Find your license type below. Some requirements also depend on your specialty, practice setting or prescribing authority.

MD requirements

DO requirements

Related courses are a starting point for your search. Before enrolling, confirm that the activity meets your board’s provider, content, category and completion-date requirements.

Why the current total is 50 hours

Policy 17-05 sets the operative pilot requirement at 50 hours until the Board incorporates the policy into a new regulation. The Board’s current pilot page and requirements table continue to use that total.

The codified general renewal rule still contains older 100-hour language. Read it together with the current pilot policy rather than using that older number alone to plan an ordinary full-license renewal.

Sources: BORIM — Policy 17-05, amended April 11, 2024 · BORIM — current CME pilot overview · BORIM — CME requirements by license type · 243 CMR 2.00 — licensing and the practice of medicine

First renewal and other license types

For a first renewal period of one year or less, the regulation waives the basic CME total. For a period longer than one year but shorter than two, it requires half of the basic biennial requirement. Confirm how the current pilot and separate training requirements apply to your dates.

Full active, limited, temporary and inactive licenses do not share every requirement. Use the Board’s license-specific table, especially when changing status or returning to practice. The initial-licensure training checklist is also separate from an ordinary renewal total.

Sources: 243 CMR 2.00 — licensing and the practice of medicine · BORIM — CME requirements by license type

Keep recurring and one-time training separate

Track the recurring risk-management, regulations-review and applicable opioid hours for each cycle. Keep permanent copies of one-time training evidence so you can demonstrate prior completion.

A topic can contribute to a broader total when the Board permits it: for example, qualifying implicit-bias education applies toward risk management. Count the underlying hours once in the 50-hour total even if they support more than one requirement.

Sources: BORIM — Policy 17-05, amended April 11, 2024 · BORIM — CME requirements by license type

Records, carryover and hardship

Keep a log identifying the activity, completion date and hours. The Board requires retaining CME records for at least one full renewal cycle after the cycle in which you earned the hours.

Plan your ordinary hours within the renewal window. Confirm proposed carryover with the Board rather than assuming excess hours automatically transfer. Hours assigned to remedy a deficiency apply to the deficient period.

The regulation provides a waiver process for circumstances such as prolonged illness or inaccessible CME. Submit a CME waiver request at least 30 days before renewal. A waiver requires a Board determination; an application or tracker entry is not approval.

Sources: BORIM — current CME pilot overview · 243 CMR 2.00 — licensing and the practice of medicine

Recent policy history

The operative CME pilot was last amended April 11, 2024. The two-hour implicit-bias requirement applies to applications received on or after June 1, 2022. The current framework combines the 50-hour pilot with the existing specialized training requirements.

This guide was reviewed October 13, 2026 against the Board’s policy, CME table, regulations and the birthday-renewal statute.

Sources: BORIM — Policy 17-05, amended April 11, 2024 · BORIM — CME requirements by license type · Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 112 § 2

Questions physicians ask next

Does Massachusetts require 50 or 100 hours of CME?

The current Board pilot requires 50 hours for the ordinary biennial full-license renewal. The codified regulation retains older 100-hour language, so read it with Policy 17-05.

Is there a minimum number of Category 1 hours?

The current pilot allows the general 50 hours and the 10 risk-management hours to be Category 1 or 2 without a fixed split. Specific training pathways may impose their own category conditions.

When do Massachusetts physicians renew?

Physicians generally renew every two years on their birthday. Confirm your first renewal deadline in your Board license record.

Is implicit-bias training required every renewal?

No. The Board lists two hours once, if not previously completed, for applications received on or after June 1, 2022.

Who needs the three-hour opioid education requirement?

Physicians who prescribe controlled substances need three hours each renewal. The federal DEA MATE Act has a separate one-time framework.

Must I take a three-hour EHR course if I already demonstrated proficiency?

Not necessarily. The regulation provides several proficiency pathways, plus specified exemptions and time-limited waivers. A qualifying three-hour Category 1 course is one route. Applicable exemptions must be claimed each licensing cycle.

Can a short first renewal reduce the general total?

The regulation provides no basic CME total for a first period of one year or less and half the basic biennial requirement for a period longer than one year but shorter than two. Separate training conditions still need review.

Primary sources

Board guidance and controlling law support this guide. Your board’s current rules and individual determination govern your renewal.

  1. BORIM — current CME pilot overview ↗
  2. BORIM — Policy 17-05, amended April 11, 2024 ↗
    “Each licensee shall obtain no fewer than 50 continuing medical education credits, which may be Category 1 or Category 2.”
  3. BORIM — CME requirements by license type ↗
  4. 243 CMR 2.00 — licensing and the practice of medicine ↗
  5. Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 112 § 2 ↗
  6. BORIM — CME and educational training guidelines, amended April 11, 2024 ↗

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