District of Columbia Osteopathic Physician (DO) license renewal and CE requirements
District of Columbia osteopathic physicians (DO) must complete 50 CME credits of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the District of Columbia Board of Medicine (DC Health, Health Regulation and Licensing Administration).
A District physician license runs for two years. DC Health is moving all licenses to a birth month cycle: a credential issued on or after June 16, 2024 expires on the last day of the holder's birth month, and renewing licensees started moving onto that schedule in September 2024. Once a licensee is on the new cycle the renewal year follows the parity of the birth year, so a physician born in an odd year renews in odd years and one born in an even year renews in even years. The board must mail or email a renewal notice at least 30 days before expiration. The board's page also carries a renewal notice tied to a June 30, 2026 expiration date: a licensee who applied before that date may keep working while the application is pending and shows as Renewal pending, authorized to work, one who applies later shows as Expired, renewal eligible, and no licensee may work past September 1, 2026 without an active license.
Summary
Requirements are changing. The District is in the middle of moving every health professional license onto a birth month renewal cycle, so the expiration date on a physician license is changing. Credentials issued on or after June 16, 2024 expire on the last day of the holder's birth month, renewing licensees began moving onto that schedule in September 2024, and licensees who got less than two years on a term during the changeover owe only half the usual CE hours, though the two LGBTQ cultural competency hours and the public health priority hours are still owed in full. Check your own expiration date in the DC Health licensing portal and confirm your CE total with the Board of Medicine before you renew.
District of Columbia osteopathic physicians (DO) must complete 50 CME credits of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the District of Columbia Board of Medicine (DC Health, Health Regulation and Licensing Administration). A District physician license runs for two years. DC Health is moving all licenses to a birth month cycle: a credential issued on or after June 16, 2024 expires on the last day of the holder's birth month, and renewing licensees started moving onto that schedule in September 2024. Once a licensee is on the new cycle the renewal year follows the parity of the birth year, so a physician born in an odd year renews in odd years and one born in an even year renews in even years. The board must mail or email a renewal notice at least 30 days before expiration. The board's page also carries a renewal notice tied to a June 30, 2026 expiration date: a licensee who applied before that date may keep working while the application is pending and shows as Renewal pending, authorized to work, one who applies later shows as Expired, renewal eligible, and no licensee may work past September 1, 2026 without an active license. District of Columbia also mandates specific subjects. LGBTQ cultural competency: 2 CME credits every renewal cycle. Topics designated by the Director of DC Health as public health priorities: 5 CME credits every renewal cycle. Pharmacology: required every renewal cycle.
District of Columbia Osteopathic Physician (DO) renewal and continuing education rules
"Not stated" means the board's pages and rules we read do not address it. We do not fill in typical values.
| Renewal cycle | Two-year (24 months) |
|---|---|
| Renewal deadline | Tied to the licensee's birth month |
| Continuing education required | Yes |
| Hours per cycle | 50 CME credits |
| Self-study or online cap | No cap stated |
| Carryover to next cycle | Not stated |
| First renewal exempt | Not stated |
The Board of Medicine states that physicians (MD/DO) need 50 hours of continuing education every two years, which must include two hours in LGBTQ cultural competency, five hours in a topic the Director of DC Health has designated a public health priority, and at least one course in pharmacology. The five hour figure comes from a rule that applies to every profession under the Board of Medicine and requires at least ten percent of the total hours to be in a designated public health priority topic. D.C. Official Code 3-1205.10(a) caps the term of a license at two years unless the Mayor sets a longer period by rule. During the one time move to birth month renewal, all DC Health boards agreed to accept 50 percent of the CE requirement from licensees who received less than two years on a license term, but the two LGBTQ cultural competency hours and the ten percent public health priority hours are still owed in full. DC Health points physicians who need pharmacology or prescribing CME to free programs from the DC Center for Rational Prescribing. Whether the board sets an AMA PRA Category 1 or AOA Category 1-A floor, a live or interactive minimum, an online cap, a carryover allowance, or a first renewal exemption is set out in 17 DCMR 4614 and 4615, whose text could not be read, so those fields are null.
Required CE topics for District of Columbia osteopathic physician (do)s
State-specific subject mandates. Where a mandate applies only to some licensees, the scope is listed.
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Applies to | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LGBTQ cultural competencyTwo credits of instruction on cultural competency, or specialized clinical training, focused on patients who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender nonconforming, queer, or who question their sexual orientation or gender identity and expression. The statute says the instruction must at a minimum give a health professional the information and skills to care effectively and respectfully for LGBTQ patients, and lists examples including clinical training and terminology, health disparity and risk factor data, legal obligations, confidentiality practices for sexual orientation and gender identity information, support staff training, intersecting systems of oppression, and addressing underlying cultural biases. Under D.C. Official Code 3-1205.10(b-1)(4) the Mayor may waive this by rule for occupations that do not see patients clinically or for a licensee who can prove to the board that he or she did not see patients in a clinical setting in the District during the previous licensing cycle. These two hours count inside the 50 hours, and the board says they are still owed in full even by licensees on a shortened transition term. | 2 CME credits | Every renewal | All licensees | D.C. Official Code 3-1205.10(b)(5); 17 DCMR 4614 |
| Topics designated by the Director of DC Health as public health prioritiesA rule that applies to every profession under the Board of Medicine requires at least ten percent of the required total CE hours to be in topics the Director of DC Health identifies as public health priorities, which for a physician's 50 hour total is five hours. The Director's current list is published in a public notice, the 2025 Public Notice Identifying Public Health Issues for Continuing Education, effective October 1, 2025. That notice and an earlier public notice are PDFs and were not opened, so the specific priority topics are not recorded here. These hours count inside the 50 hours and are still owed in full by licensees on a shortened transition term. | 5 CME credits | Every renewal | All licensees | Not stated |
| PharmacologyThe board states physicians must complete at least one course in the subject of pharmacology within the 50 hours. The board's page states a course rather than a number of hours, so hours is null. DC Health offers free pharmacology and prescribing programs through the DC Center for Rational Prescribing. | Not stated | Every renewal | All licensees | Not stated |
Documentation and audit
| Proof submitted at renewal | Not stated |
|---|---|
| Keep records for | Not stated |
| Board audits compliance | Yes |
| Approved providers | Approved continuing education programs and activities for practicing physicians are set out in 17 DCMR 4615, whose text could not be read, so the accreditation requirement is not recorded. DC Health does review CE compliance as part of renewal: the board's renewal notice says the subject matters under review during renewal processing vary from continuing education compliance to disciplinary history. Whether certificates are submitted with the renewal, and how long records must be kept, were not stated on the pages read. |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a District of Columbia DO need to renew?
- District of Columbia osteopathic physicians (DO) must complete 50 CME credits of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the District of Columbia Board of Medicine (DC Health, Health Regulation and Licensing Administration). The Board of Medicine states that physicians (MD/DO) need 50 hours of continuing education every two years, which must include two hours in LGBTQ cultural competency, five hours in a topic the Director of DC Health has designated a public health priority, and at least one course in pharmacology. The five hour figure comes from a rule that applies to every profession under the Board of Medicine and requires at least ten percent of the total hours to be in a designated public health priority topic. D.C. Official Code 3-1205.10(a) caps the term of a license at two years unless the Mayor sets a longer period by rule. During the one time move to birth month renewal, all DC Health boards agreed to accept 50 percent of the CE requirement from licensees who received less than two years on a license term, but the two LGBTQ cultural competency hours and the ten percent public health priority hours are still owed in full. DC Health points physicians who need pharmacology or prescribing CME to free programs from the DC Center for Rational Prescribing. Whether the board sets an AMA PRA Category 1 or AOA Category 1-A floor, a live or interactive minimum, an online cap, a carryover allowance, or a first renewal exemption is set out in 17 DCMR 4614 and 4615, whose text could not be read, so those fields are null.
- How often does a District of Columbia DO license need to be renewed?
- Osteopathic Physician (DO) licenses in District of Columbia renew every two years. A District physician license runs for two years. DC Health is moving all licenses to a birth month cycle: a credential issued on or after June 16, 2024 expires on the last day of the holder's birth month, and renewing licensees started moving onto that schedule in September 2024. Once a licensee is on the new cycle the renewal year follows the parity of the birth year, so a physician born in an odd year renews in odd years and one born in an even year renews in even years. The board must mail or email a renewal notice at least 30 days before expiration. The board's page also carries a renewal notice tied to a June 30, 2026 expiration date: a licensee who applied before that date may keep working while the application is pending and shows as Renewal pending, authorized to work, one who applies later shows as Expired, renewal eligible, and no licensee may work past September 1, 2026 without an active license.
- What specific CE topics are required for District of Columbia osteopathic physicians (DO)?
- LGBTQ cultural competency: 2 CME credits every renewal cycle. Topics designated by the Director of DC Health as public health priorities: 5 CME credits every renewal cycle. Pharmacology: required every renewal cycle. Citations: LGBTQ cultural competency (D.C. Official Code 3-1205.10(b)(5); 17 DCMR 4614).
- Do District of Columbia osteopathic physicians (DO) have to submit CE certificates at renewal?
- The board audits a sample of renewals and asks for documentation. Approved continuing education programs and activities for practicing physicians are set out in 17 DCMR 4615, whose text could not be read, so the accreditation requirement is not recorded. DC Health does review CE compliance as part of renewal: the board's renewal notice says the subject matters under review during renewal processing vary from continuing education compliance to disciplinary history. Whether certificates are submitted with the renewal, and how long records must be kept, were not stated on the pages read.
Sources
Last verified September 7, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- Board of Medicine, DC HealthState board page, accessed September 7, 2026
- D.C. Official Code 3-1205.10, Term and renewal of licenses, registrations, or certificationsStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 7, 2026
- 17 DCMR Chapter 46, Medicine, District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (section list)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 7, 2026
- 17 DCMR 4614, Continuing Education Requirements for Practicing Physicians (rule history and authority)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 7, 2026
The District has no separate osteopathic board. The DC Board of Medicine regulates the practice of medicine (MD/DO), its continuing education list is headed Physicians (MD/DO), and its application documents are for MDs and DOs together, so dc-physician_md and dc-physician_do cite the same sources and carry the same values. The 50 hours every two years, the two LGBTQ cultural competency hours, the five public health priority hours, the one pharmacology course, the ten percent public health priority rule, the birth month transition and the 50 percent transition CE allowance were read on the Board of Medicine page at dchealth.dc.gov, which returns an access denied page to curl and to automated fetchers and had to be read in a real browser. The two year term cap, the LGBTQ cultural competency credits and the renewal notice requirement were read in D.C. Official Code 3-1205.10. The text of 17 DCMR 4614 and 4615 could not be read: the DC Register site serves rule text only through a postback that produces a document file, which was not downloaded, so only the chapter section list and the section's authority and rulemaking history were read. One open question a reader should know about: D.C. Official Code 3-1205.10(b)(4) still directs that continuing education requirements for the practice of medicine include 3 credits of instruction on HIV and AIDS, but subsection (b-1)(3) lets the Mayor waive that by rule after December 31, 2018 with the advice of the relevant board, and the Board of Medicine's own current CE list does not mention an HIV and AIDS requirement. Because 17 DCMR 4614 could not be read, it is not recorded as a current mandate; a physician should confirm it with the board. Two mandated topic keys, public_health_priorities and pharmacology, are not in the canonical key list and were used because no canonical key fits. The Director's public health priority notices are PDFs and were not opened, so the specific priority topics are not listed. No Category 1 floor, live or interactive minimum, online cap, carryover allowance, record retention period or first renewal rule is stated in the sources that could be read, so those fields are null.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the District of Columbia Board of Medicine (DC Health, Health Regulation and Licensing Administration) before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.