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New York CME and nursing CE requirements
Continuing education and license renewal rules for physicians, advanced practice clinicians and nurses licensed in New York, 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 York State Education Department (Office of the Professions)
- License lookup
- Public license verification
- License renewal
- Every 2 years
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. Always confirm with the board before you rely on it.
Board-approved course required At least one topic must come from a course the board has approved, and a general CME course may not count. Check the board’s approved list before you buy.
- Total hours
- No hour minimum recorded every 3 years
- License renewal
- Every 2 years
Required topics
| Topic | Hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opioid & controlled-substance prescribing | 3 | Every cycle | DEA registrants | Pain management, palliative care and addiction coursework for DEA-registered prescribers, every 3 years |
| Infection control | No minimum | Every 4 years | Everyone Board-approved course required | Infection control coursework every 4 years; no hour count fixed |
| Child abuse recognition | 2 | Once | Everyone Board-approved course required | One-time at first licensure: child abuse identification and reporting |
Notes. No general CME hours for physicians. Mandated coursework: opioid/pain/addiction every 3 years for prescribers, infection control every 4 years, one-time child abuse. Registration is every 2 years.
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.
Board-approved course required At least one topic must come from a course the board has approved, and a general CME course may not count. Check the board’s approved list before you buy.
- Total hours
- No hour minimum recorded every 3 years
- License renewal
- Every 2 years
Required topics
| Topic | Hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opioid & controlled-substance prescribing | 3 | Every cycle | DEA registrants | Pain management, palliative care and addiction coursework for DEA-registered prescribers, every 3 years |
| Infection control | No minimum | Every 4 years | Everyone Board-approved course required | Infection control coursework every 4 years; no hour count fixed |
| Child abuse recognition | 2 | Once | Everyone Board-approved course required | One-time at first licensure: child abuse identification and reporting |
Notes. Copied from the MD block as a planning default; the osteopathic rules were not separately confirmed. 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
- Not recorded, and the renewal cycle is not recorded
- License renewal
- Every 2 years
Required topics
| Topic | Hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pain management | 3 | Every cycle | DEA registrants | Public Health Law 3309-a(3): prescribers with a DEA registration must complete 3 hours in pain management, palliative care and addiction once every 3 years. |
| Child abuse recognition | 2 | Every cycle | Everyone | One-time 2 hours on identifying and reporting child abuse and maltreatment, required of registered nurses at initial licensure; NPs hold an RN license. Updated mandated-reporter coursework due by November 17, 2026 for those trained earlier. |
| Infection control | Not recorded | Every cycle | Everyone | Course on infection control and barrier precautions required of registered nurses every 4 years under Education Law 6505-b; hours not stated on the page. |
Notes. NYSED Office of the Professions pages (nurse practitioner prescriber education, RN mandated training). No general NP CE hour total was found on the pages read; triennial registration. NP renewal fee $35 per certificate plus $73 RN registration (FAQ).
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
- Not recorded, and the renewal cycle is not recorded
- License renewal
- Every 2 years
Required topics
| Topic | Hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infection control | Not recorded | Every cycle | Everyone | Physicians, PAs and specialist assistants must complete infection control course work at initial licensure and every 4 years under Public Health Law 239; hours not stated on the page. |
| Pain management | 3 | Every cycle | DEA registrants | Public Health Law 3309-a(3): prescribers with a DEA registration must complete 3 hours in pain management, palliative care and addiction once every 3 years. |
Notes. NYSED Office of the Professions PA mandated training pages. The child-abuse training requirement lists physicians and RNs but not PAs. No general PA CE hour total was found on the pages read.
CRNA 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
- Not recorded, and the renewal cycle is not recorded
- License renewal
- Every 2 years
Required topics
| Topic | Hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infection control | Not recorded | Every cycle | Everyone | Registered nurses complete infection control course work every 4 years (Education Law 6505-b); hours not stated. |
| Child abuse recognition | 2 | Every cycle | Everyone | One-time 2 hours of child abuse identification and reporting for registered nurses. |
Notes. NYSED does not list nurse anesthetist as a separate NP specialty or credential on the nurse practitioner pages read, so a CRNA appears to be governed as a registered nurse; requirements shown are the RN mandated trainings. No CRNA-specific CE hours found. Confirm with NYSED.
New York 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 York is not a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact. Nurses practicing in New York need a New York license, and a multistate license from a compact state does not cover practice there. 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
- The board requires no general continuing education hours for this license, apart from the required topics listed below.
- Nursing license renewal
- Every 3 years
- Board
- New York State Education Department (Office of the Professions, Nursing)
- Source
- The board page this entry was checked against
Required topics
| Topic | Contact hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infection control | Not recorded | Every 4 years | Everyone | NYSED-approved infection control and barrier precautions coursework every 4 years, recorded by attestation at registration; neither law nor regulation sets a minimum number of hours, and graduates of NYSED-registered programs and those who do not practice in New York may be exempt |
| Child abuse recognition | Not recorded | Once | Everyone | NYSED-approved child abuse reporting coursework, required once before the first RN license unless exempt (not required of LPNs); graduates of NYSED-registered RN programs after September 1, 1990 have already met it |
Notes. New York sets no continuing education hour total for nurses. The registration certificate lasts up to three years and must be renewed every three years.
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
- The board requires no general continuing education hours for this license, apart from the required topics listed below.
- Nursing license renewal
- Every 3 years
- Board
- New York State Education Department (Office of the Professions, Nursing)
- Source
- The board page this entry was checked against
Required topics
| Topic | Contact hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infection control | Not recorded | Every 4 years | Everyone | NYSED-approved infection control and barrier precautions coursework every 4 years, recorded by attestation at registration; neither law nor regulation sets a minimum number of hours, and graduates of NYSED-registered programs and those who do not practice in New York may be exempt |
Notes. New York sets no continuing education hour total for nurses. The registration certificate lasts up to three years and must be renewed every three years. The child abuse reporting course does not apply to LPNs.
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
- The board requires no general continuing education hours for this license, apart from the required topics listed below.
- Nursing license renewal
- Every 3 years
- Board
- New York State Education Department (Office of the Professions, Midwifery)
- Source
- The board page this entry was checked against
Required topics
| Topic | Contact hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pain management | 3 | Every 3 years | DEA registrants | Public Health Law 3309-a: prescribers with a DEA registration complete 3 hours on pain management, palliative care and addiction once every 3 years (rule recorded on the NP record and the NYSDOH prescriber education page linked from the midwifery board page; not re-read for midwives) |
Notes. NY midwives are licensed by NYSED and re-register every three years. Article 140 of the Education Law and the midwifery license pages list no continuing education hour requirement, and the infection control law (Education Law 6505-b) names nurses but not midwives.
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 3 years
- Board
- New York State Education Department (Office of the Professions, Nursing)
- Source
- The board page this entry was checked against
Required topics
| Topic | Contact hours | How often | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infection control | Not recorded | Every 4 years | Everyone | NYSED-approved infection control and barrier precautions coursework every 4 years, recorded by attestation at registration; neither law nor regulation sets a minimum number of hours, and graduates of NYSED-registered programs and those who do not practice in New York may be exempt |
| Child abuse recognition | Not recorded | Once | Everyone | NYSED-approved child abuse reporting coursework, required once before the first RN license unless exempt (not required of LPNs); graduates of NYSED-registered RN programs after September 1, 1990 have already met it |
Notes. NY certifies clinical nurse specialists by title on top of the RN license, and the RN rules apply: no hour total, infection control coursework every 4 years, and one-time child abuse reporting coursework. Registration is every three years.
See nursing CE requirements by state to compare New York with other states.
Plan this renewal
Use the free opioid CME planner to see the controlled-substance rules for New York 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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