NEW! Pennsylvania Organ and Tissue Donation Requirement:

Beginning May 1, 2026, Pennsylvania registered nurses, medical doctors, and osteopathic physicians must complete a one-time, 2-hour continuing education requirement on the organ and tissue donation and recovery process.

The requirement must be completed within five years of initial licensure or within five years of license renewal, whichever occurs first.

NEW! DEA MATE Act:

Beginning with DEA initial registrations or renewals starting June 27, 2023, all DEA-registered practitioners (with the exception of DVM-only license holders) are required 8 hours on treating and managing patients with opioid or other substance use disorders, including the appropriate clinical use of all FDA-approved drugs for the treatment of a substance use disorder, one-time only.

Mandatory Subjects:

In accordance with Act 31 of 2014, MDs must complete 2 hours of approved child abuse recognition and reporting training every renewal.* Licensees with prescriptive authority, as a condition of license renewal, are required 2 hours in pain management, the identification of addiction, or the practices of prescribing or dispensing of opioids.

As a one-time requirement for initial licensure, and in accordance with Act 31 of 2014, all MDs and DOs must complete 3 hours of approved child abuse recognition and reporting training.*

Within one year of issuance of prescriptive authority, all MDs and DOs have a one-time requirement of 4 hours: 2 of which must be in pain management or addiction, and 2 in the practices of prescribing or dispensing opioids.

DOs are required 100 hours every two years, 20 of which must be AOA Category 1-A, and the remaining 80 hours may be AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.** A minimum of 12 hours must be in activities related to patient safety and risk management, which may be completed in Category 1 or 2.

In accordance with Act 31 of 2014, DOs must complete 2 hours of approved child abuse recognition and reporting training every renewal.* Licensees with prescriptive authority, as a condition of license renewal, are required 2 hours in pain management, the identification of addiction, or the practices of prescribing or dispensing of opioids.

NEW! Pennsylvania Organ and Tissue Donation Requirement:

Beginning May 1, 2026, Pennsylvania registered nurses, medical doctors, and osteopathic physicians must complete a one-time, 2-hour continuing education requirement on the organ and tissue donation and recovery process.

The requirement must be completed within five years of initial licensure or within five years of license renewal, whichever occurs first.

NEW! DEA MATE Act:

Beginning with DEA initial registrations or renewals starting June 27, 2023, all DEA-registered practitioners (with the exception of DVM-only license holders) are required 8 hours on treating and managing patients with opioid or other substance use disorders, including the appropriate clinical use of all FDA-approved drugs for the treatment of a substance use disorder, one-time only.

Mandatory Subjects:

In accordance with Act 31 of 2014, MDs must complete 2 hours of approved child abuse recognition and reporting training every renewal.* Licensees with prescriptive authority, as a condition of license renewal, are required 2 hours in pain management, the identification of addiction, or the practices of prescribing or dispensing of opioids.

As a one-time requirement for initial licensure, and in accordance with Act 31 of 2014, all MDs and DOs must complete 3 hours of approved child abuse recognition and reporting training.*

Within one year of issuance of prescriptive authority, all MDs and DOs have a one-time requirement of 4 hours: 2 of which must be in pain management or addiction, and 2 in the practices of prescribing or dispensing opioids.

DOs are required 100 hours every two years, 20 of which must be AOA Category 1-A, and the remaining 80 hours may be AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.** A minimum of 12 hours must be in activities related to patient safety and risk management, which may be completed in Category 1 or 2.

In accordance with Act 31 of 2014, DOs must complete 2 hours of approved child abuse recognition and reporting training every renewal.* Licensees with prescriptive authority, as a condition of license renewal, are required 2 hours in pain management, the identification of addiction, or the practices of prescribing or dispensing of opioids.

Pennsylvania PAs licensed by the State Board of Medicine and physician assistants licensed by the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine must maintain current NCCPA certification or other Board-recognized national certification and complete CME as required by NCCPA as a condition of renewal.

For biennial renewal, Pennsylvania requires 2 hours of approved child abuse recognition and reporting training under Act 31 of 2014. PAs who have prescriptive authority and hold a current DEA registration, or who use another person’s or entity’s DEA registration to prescribe controlled substances, must also complete at least 2 hours in pain management, identification of addiction, or the practices of prescribing or dispensing opioids.

Separately, under the federal DEA MATE Act requirement, beginning with DEA initial registrations or renewals submitted on or after June 27, 2023, DEA-registered practitioners, except practitioners who are solely veterinarians, must complete a one-time 8-hour training requirement on treating and managing patients with opioid or other substance use disorders, unless they qualify through an accepted exception or prior qualifying training.

As a one-time Pennsylvania initial licensure requirement, PA applicants must complete 3 hours of approved child abuse recognition and reporting training.

PAs subject to the Pennsylvania initial opioid education rule must complete, within 1 year of licensure, 2 hours in pain management or identification of addiction and 2 hours in the practices of prescribing or dispensing opioids; this applies only to those holding a current DEA registration or using another person’s or entity’s DEA registration to prescribe controlled substances.