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New Mexico CME and nursing CE requirements
Continuing education and license renewal rules for physicians, advanced practice clinicians and nurses licensed in New Mexico, as recorded by ClinLicense for planning.
Planning aid only. ClinLicense is not legal or compliance advice. Boards change rules between cycles, so confirm every requirement with the board before you rely on it.
- Licensing board
- New Mexico Medical Board
MD CME requirements
Reviewed 2026-10-31 This entry was last reviewed on 2026-10-31. That date records our own review and is not a board approval. Some details below are marked for confirmation, so treat those as unverified until the board confirms them. Always confirm with the board before you rely on it.
- Total hours
- 75 hours every 3 years
Required topics
| Topic | Hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opioid & controlled-substance prescribing | 5 | Every cycle | DEA registrants | Pain management for controlled-substance prescribers; confirm |
Notes. 75 hours per 3 years; Category 1 requirement and other topic rules not confirmed.
DO CME requirements
Not yet verified Not yet verified, confirm with the board. This entry has not been checked against the board’s own published rules.
- Total hours
- 75 hours every 3 years
- Board for this profession
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Required topics
| Topic | Hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opioid & controlled-substance prescribing | 5 | Every cycle | DEA registrants | Pain management for controlled-substance prescribers; confirm |
Notes. A separate osteopathic board exists in this state, and its hours may differ from the MD board (some require AOA Category 1-A credit). Hours copied from the MD block. Confirm with the board.
NP CME requirements
Reviewed 2026-11-01 This entry was last reviewed on 2026-11-01. That date records our own review and is not a board approval. Always confirm with the board before you rely on it.
- Total hours
- No hour minimum recorded every 2 years
Required topics
| Topic | Hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pain management | 5 | Every cycle | DEA registrants | Management of non-cancer pain, for those with DEA registration during the renewal period |
Notes. 16.12.2.10(J) NMAC (Board of Nursing): nurse practitioners must maintain national certification, shown at each biennial renewal, and an NP who held a DEA registration at any time in the renewal period needs 5 contact hours on management of non-cancer pain. The rule treats national recertification as meeting the RN 30-hour CE requirement. Hours 0 means no hour total beyond certification.
PA CME requirements
Reviewed 2026-11-01 This entry was last reviewed on 2026-11-01. That date records our own review and is not a board approval. Always confirm with the board before you rely on it.
- Total hours
- No hour minimum recorded every 2 years
Required topics
| Topic | Hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pain management | 3 | Every cycle | DEA registrants | Pain management with controlled substances, for PAs holding DEA and NM controlled substances registrations |
Notes. 16.10.14 and 16.10.15.18 NMAC (Medical Board): PA licenses follow NCCPA certification (biennial), and PAs holding both a DEA and a New Mexico controlled substances registration complete 3 CME hours in pain management with controlled substances in addition to NCCPA certification. The rules set no other PA CME total (hours 0 means none beyond certification).
CRNA CME requirements
Reviewed 2026-11-01 This entry was last reviewed on 2026-11-01. That date records our own review and is not a board approval. Always confirm with the board before you rely on it.
- Total hours
- No hour minimum recorded every 2 years
Required topics
| Topic | Hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pain management | 5 | Every cycle | DEA registrants | Management of non-cancer pain, for those with DEA registration during the renewal period |
Notes. 16.12.2.10(I) NMAC: CRNAs must maintain NBCRNA certification, shown at each biennial renewal, and NBCRNA recertification is accepted as meeting the CE requirement; a CRNA who held a DEA registration in the renewal period needs 5 contact hours on management of non-cancer pain. Licensed nurses renew every two years.
CAA CME requirements
Reviewed 2026-11-01 This entry was last reviewed on 2026-11-01. That date records our own review and is not a board approval. Always confirm with the board before you rely on it.
- Total hours
- 100 hours every 2 years
Required topics
No mandated topics are recorded for this profession in this state. That is not the same as the board having none, so confirm with the board.
Notes. Per the New Mexico Medical Board: AAs must pass the NCCAA exam and complete 100 hours of Continuing Professional Education every two years. The Board licenses anesthesiologist assistants under 16.10.19 NMAC.
New Mexico nursing CE requirements
Nursing boards usually count continuing education in contact hours rather than CME credits, and the nursing license renews on its own schedule, which may differ from the medical board dates above. Nurse practitioners and nurse anesthetists have their own sections above.
Nurse Licensure Compact New Mexico has implemented the Nurse Licensure Compact. A registered or practical nurse whose primary state of residence is New Mexico can hold a multistate license issued by New Mexico, which carries the privilege to practice in the other compact states, and a nurse with a multistate license from another compact state can practice in New Mexico under that privilege. Renewal and CE for a multistate license follow the rules of the home state that issued it. The compact covers RN and LPN/LVN licenses only, and advanced practice authority is still granted state by state. This compact list was last reviewed on November 3, 2026. Read the compact guide for RNs and LPNs.
Registered nurses (RN)
Reviewed 2026-11-03 This entry was last reviewed on 2026-11-03 against the source linked below. That date records our own review and is not a board approval.
- Continuing education
- 30 contact hours every 2 years
- Other ways to meet it
- 16.12.2 NMAC requires 30 contact hours in the 24 months before expiration, and current national certification or recertification in a nursing specialty is accepted in place of the 30 hours.
- Nursing license renewal
- Every 2 years, based on end of your birth month
- Board
- New Mexico Board of Nursing
- Source
- The board page this entry was checked against
No mandated topics are recorded for this license. That is not the same as the board having none, so confirm with the board.
Notes. 16.12.2 NMAC requires 30 contact hours in the 24 months before expiration, and current national certification or recertification in a nursing specialty is accepted in place of the 30 hours. Renewal is due by the end of the licensee's birth month, nurses mobilized for military action are excused while on active duty.
Licensed practical and vocational nurses (LPN/LVN)
Reviewed 2026-11-03 This entry was last reviewed on 2026-11-03 against the source linked below. That date records our own review and is not a board approval.
- Continuing education
- 30 contact hours every 2 years
- Other ways to meet it
- 16.12.2 NMAC requires 30 contact hours in the 24 months before expiration, and current national certification or recertification in a nursing specialty is accepted in place of the 30 hours.
- Nursing license renewal
- Every 2 years, based on end of your birth month
- Board
- New Mexico Board of Nursing
- Source
- The board page this entry was checked against
No mandated topics are recorded for this license. That is not the same as the board having none, so confirm with the board.
Notes. 16.12.2 NMAC requires 30 contact hours in the 24 months before expiration, and current national certification or recertification in a nursing specialty is accepted in place of the 30 hours. Renewal is due by the end of the licensee's birth month, nurses mobilized for military action are excused while on active duty.
Certified nurse-midwives (CNM)
Reviewed 2026-11-03 This entry was last reviewed on 2026-11-03 against the source linked below. That date records our own review and is not a board approval.
- Continuing education
- 30 contact hours every 2 years
- Nursing license renewal
- Every 2 years, based on end of your birth month
- Board
- New Mexico Department of Health (Midwifery Program)
- Source
- The board page this entry was checked against
Required topics
| Topic | Contact hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pharmacology | 15 | Every cycle | Everyone | At least 15 of the 30 hours must be pharmacology-related |
| Opioid & controlled-substance prescribing | 5 | At first renewal | Everyone | Controlled-substance topics (chronic pain rule, controlled substance risks, substance use disorder, or prescribing regulations): 5 hours with the first renewal and 2 hours with each later renewal; counted within the 15 pharmacology hours |
| Health equity | 2 | Every cycle | Everyone | At least 2 hours focused on health equity, such as implicit bias training |
Notes. New Mexico licenses CNMs through the Department of Health under 16.11.2 NMAC rather than the Board of Nursing; the CNM must also hold an NM RN license and current AMCB certification. Licenses expire at the end of the birth month, at most two years after issue.
Clinical nurse specialists (CNS)
Reviewed 2026-11-03 This entry was last reviewed on 2026-11-03 against the source linked below. That date records our own review and is not a board approval.
- Continuing education
- The board requires no general continuing education hours for this license, apart from the required topics listed below.
- Nursing license renewal
- Every 2 years, based on end of your birth month
- Board
- New Mexico Board of Nursing
- Source
- The board page this entry was checked against
Required topics
| Topic | Contact hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pain management | 5 | Every cycle | DEA registrants | Management of non-cancer pain, for CNSs with a DEA registration at any time in the renewal period |
Notes. 16.12.2.10(I) NMAC: a CNS must keep national certification in the specialty and show the certification card at each renewal, and 16.12.2.9 accepts that certification in place of the 30 CE hours, so no separate hour total applies. A CNS who held a DEA registration needs 5 hours on management of non-cancer pain.
See nursing CE requirements by state to compare New Mexico with other states.
Plan this renewal
Use the free opioid CME planner to see the controlled-substance rules for New Mexico next to other states, or the license cost calculator to estimate fees. Read how multi-state CME works if you hold more than one license.
Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurse anesthetists and anesthesiologist assistants usually also maintain national certification, which has its own cycle. The recertification basics guide explains how that fits alongside state rules. Nurses who hold licenses in more than one state can read the Nurse Licensure Compact for RNs and LPNs.
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