Massachusetts CME Requirements for Physicians

Massachusetts CME requirements look heavier than most states at first glance, but much of the list is made up of one-time trainings you may have already finished. Here is what the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine (BORIM) expects from a full licensee at each two-year renewal.

We checked these requirements against the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine’s website in October 2026. Rules change, so confirm with the Board before your renewal.

The short answer

Full licensees need 50 CME credits every two-year licensing cycle, and under the Board’s CME Pilot Program those credits may be Category 1 or Category 2.
Each cycle must include 10 credits of risk management, 2 credits for reading the Board’s regulations, and 3 credits of opioid education and pain management if you prescribe controlled substances.
One-time requirements cover end-of-life care, electronic health records, implicit bias, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (if you serve adults), child abuse and neglect reporting, and domestic and sexual violence training.
Many of the topic credits count toward your risk management total and your 50 overall credits, so they do not add hours on top.

Massachusetts CME requirements at a glance

The Board publishes a one-page chart, CME Requirements for Physicians Based on License, and a set of Guidelines for Fulfilling the CME Requirements and the Educational Trainings (amended April 11, 2024). The table below summarizes what they say for a full license renewal.

Requirement	Credits	How often	Counts toward
Total CME	50	Every two-year cycle	Category 1 or 2
Risk management	10	Every cycle	Category 1 or 2
Reading Board regulations (243 CMR 1.00 to 3.00)	2	Every cycle	Risk management or Category 1 or 2
Opioid education and pain management (if prescribing)	3	Every cycle	Risk management or Category 1 or 2
End-of-life care	2	Once	Risk management or Category 1 or 2
Implicit bias in healthcare	2	Once	Risk management
Proficiency in electronic health records	3	Once	Risk management or Category 1 or 2
Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (if serving adults)	1	Once	Category 1 or 2
Recognizing and reporting suspected child abuse	Not credit specific	Once	Category 1 or 2
Domestic violence and sexual violence training	Not credit specific	Once	Category 1 or 2

Total hours, cycle, and the Category 1 question

Massachusetts licenses renew every two years. Under 243 CMR 2.06(1), the licensing period starts on the date your license was issued or last renewed and ends on the following renewal date, so your cycle is personal to you rather than tied to a statewide deadline.

The current credit total comes from Board Policy 2017-05, the CME Pilot Program, which began January 1, 2018 and was most recently amended April 11, 2024. It sets the minimum at 50 credits per biennial licensing period and says those credits may be Category 1 or Category 2. It stays in effect until the Board writes it into 243 CMR 2.00.

That matters because the regulation itself still reads differently. 243 CMR 2.06(6) calls for 100 credits, at least 40 of them Category 1, with at least 4 of the 10 risk management credits in Category 1. The Board’s own chart and guidelines follow the 50-credit pilot numbers, but if you want to be safe, earning a healthy share of AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ covers you either way.

The pilot also allows alternative formats, such as quality assurance work, self or practice audits, HEDIS reports, and MACRA measures. Reading a journal or point-of-care resource earns 1 credit per hour. Most of your credits should relate to your area of practice.

Requirements you repeat every cycle

Risk management

You need 10 risk management credits each cycle. The Board defines risk management study as instruction in medical malpractice prevention, including patient safety, medical error prevention, risk identification, medical ethics, quality assurance, medical-legal issues, patient relations, electronic health records, end-of-life issues, and studying the Board’s regulations.

Under Board Policy 19-06, up to 7 credits in physician wellness or burnout can count toward the 10.

Opioid education and pain management

If you prescribe controlled substances, you need 3 credits of opioid education and pain management at every renewal. Under 243 CMR 2.06(6)(d), the training must cover how to identify patients at high risk for substance abuse and how to counsel patients on side effects, addictive nature, and proper storage and disposal of prescription medicines. These credits can count toward risk management.

Reading the Board’s regulations

Every cycle, you must study the Board’s regulations at 243 CMR 1.00, 2.00, and 3.00. The Board’s chart counts this as 2 credits, which may be applied to risk management or to your Category 1 or 2 total.

One-time requirements

The Board’s guidelines say the one-time requirements can be satisfied no matter when you completed them. Training you did in medical school or for another state can count, as long as an out-of-state course came from an accredited provider and matched the required content and length.

End-of-life care

You need 2 credits on end-of-life care issues once. These credits can count toward risk management.

Implicit bias

Board Policy 2021-04 added a 2-credit implicit bias in healthcare requirement for initial and renewing physicians beginning June 1, 2022. The credits apply toward your risk management total. The Board’s current guidelines and pilot policy list it as a one-time requirement.

Electronic health records

Full licensees must demonstrate proficiency in electronic health records once. One way to do this is a 3-hour Category 1 EHR-related CME course, and those credits can count toward risk management. The regulation lists other ways to demonstrate proficiency, along with waivers and exemptions, in 243 CMR 2.02 and 2.06(2)(d).

Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias

Physicians who serve adult populations need 1 credit on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, one time.

Child abuse and neglect reporting

Massachusetts physicians are mandated reporters, and 243 CMR 2.06(2)(g) requires one-time training in recognizing and reporting suspected child abuse and neglect. You can meet it through a hospital program, CME on the topic, a Board-approved online training, or a specialized certification. The Board links to a state training video on its guidelines page.

Domestic violence and sexual violence

This one-time training, sometimes called Chapter 260 training, is required under state law. The Board’s guidelines say only a Department of Public Health approved course fulfills it, and DPH offers an e-learning option.

Other renewal items to know

Renewal also requires applying to participate in MassHealth, either as a provider or as a non-billing provider for ordering and referring. It is not CME, but 243 CMR 2.06(2)(f) makes it a renewal condition.

Under the pilot, you attest under the pains and penalties of perjury that you completed each activity. The Board’s guidelines say it is not currently running random CME audits unless the review is tied to an investigation. The regulation still requires you to keep a written record of your credits, with certificates for Category 1 activities, for at least one full renewal cycle after you earn them.

A few license types are exempt from CME, including limited licenses, inactive licenses, Temporary Substitute Physician licenses, and Temporary CME participation licenses. Newly licensed physicians with a first renewal period of one year or less need no CME for that period, and those with a period between one and two years complete half the requirement. Temporary faculty licensees renew with 25 credits and 5 risk management credits, per the Board’s chart.

Planning your Massachusetts renewal

If you hold licenses elsewhere, our CME requirements by state guide helps you line up overlapping rules.

Travel Medical Seminars offers Audio-Digest self-study courses in 10-credit and 20-credit formats, each designated for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, which you study at your own pace and test on online. Audio-Digest lectures are designated for credit by the Lippincott Continuing Medical Education Institute, which is accredited by the ACCME. If you plan to use a course for a specific Massachusetts topic, check that it is approved for that requirement. You can browse all specialty courses to cover your general credits.

Massachusetts CME requirements for physicians (2026)