Florida Osteopathic Physician (DO) license renewal and CE requirements

Summary

Florida osteopathic physicians (DO) must complete 40 CME credits of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine. Osteopathic physician licenses renew on a two-year cycle that ends March 31 of even-numbered years. Failure to renew by the expiration date places the license in delinquent status, and the board's fee schedule states that licenses in the current cycle become null and void on April 1, 2028 if not renewed. All 40 CME hours must be completed with a board-approved provider and reported through CE Broker before the renewal application is submitted. Florida also mandates specific subjects. Florida Laws and Rules/Professional and Medical Ethics: 1 CME credit every renewal cycle. Prevention of Medical Errors: 2 CME credits every renewal cycle. Prescribing Controlled Substances: 2 CME credits every renewal cycle (applies only to licensees registered with the DEA and authorized to prescribe controlled substances). HIV/AIDS: a one-time requirement of 1 CME credit. Domestic Violence: 2 CME credits on a periodic schedule set by the board. No more than 8 CME credits may be self-study or online and hours do not carry over between cycles.

Florida 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.

The 40 hours must include 20 hours of board-approved AOA Category 1-A CME; category_1_minimum records that AOA Category 1-A minimum. The mandated courses may count toward the 20 AOA Category 1-A hours if the course itself is certified Category 1-A by the AOA. Home study is capped at 8 hours per biennium and home study courses must be approved by a college or university extension course, the AOA, the AMA, or the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association. CME hours do not carry over across biennial licensure cycles. Licensees initially licensed after July 1 of the second year of the biennium have a reduced first renewal (Florida laws and rules/ethics plus prevention of medical errors only), which is why exempt_first_renewal is false: first renewals are reduced, not exempt, and the full 40 hours still apply to anyone licensed before that date. Members of the armed services on active duty, or discharged within 6 months of course completion, may take all 40 hours by home study, but the 20 AOA Category 1-A hours still apply.

Required CE topics for Florida osteopathic physician (do)s

State-specific subject mandates. Where a mandate applies only to some licensees, the scope is listed.

Documentation and audit

Common questions

How many CE hours does a Florida DO need to renew?

Florida osteopathic physicians (DO) must complete 40 CME credits of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine. The 40 hours must include 20 hours of board-approved AOA Category 1-A CME; category_1_minimum records that AOA Category 1-A minimum. The mandated courses may count toward the 20 AOA Category 1-A hours if the course itself is certified Category 1-A by the AOA. Home study is capped at 8 hours per biennium and home study courses must be approved by a college or university extension course, the AOA, the AMA, or the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association. CME hours do not carry over across biennial licensure cycles. Licensees initially licensed after July 1 of the second year of the biennium have a reduced first renewal (Florida laws and rules/ethics plus prevention of medical errors only), which is why exempt_first_renewal is false: first renewals are reduced, not exempt, and the full 40 hours still apply to anyone licensed before that date. Members of the armed services on active duty, or discharged within 6 months of course completion, may take all 40 hours by home study, but the 20 AOA Category 1-A hours still apply.

How often does a Florida DO license need to be renewed?

Osteopathic Physician (DO) licenses in Florida renew every two years. Osteopathic physician licenses renew on a two-year cycle that ends March 31 of even-numbered years. Failure to renew by the expiration date places the license in delinquent status, and the board's fee schedule states that licenses in the current cycle become null and void on April 1, 2028 if not renewed. All 40 CME hours must be completed with a board-approved provider and reported through CE Broker before the renewal application is submitted.

What specific CE topics are required for Florida osteopathic physicians (DO)?

Florida Laws and Rules/Professional and Medical Ethics: 1 CME credit every renewal cycle. Prevention of Medical Errors: 2 CME credits every renewal cycle. Prescribing Controlled Substances: 2 CME credits every renewal cycle (applies only to licensees registered with the DEA and authorized to prescribe controlled substances). HIV/AIDS: a one-time requirement of 1 CME credit. Domestic Violence: 2 CME credits on a periodic schedule set by the board.

Do Florida osteopathic physicians (DO) have to submit CE certificates at renewal?

Licensees attest to completion at renewal rather than submitting certificates. Courses approved by the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine are listed in CE Broker; courses approved by the American Osteopathic Association, the American Medical Association, or the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association are also accepted. Completion is reported through CE Broker, including self-reporting. Licensees are told not to submit CE certificates to the board office because board staff cannot enter them.

Is the first Florida DO renewal exempt from CE?

No. Florida applies the continuing education requirement to the first renewal as well.

Sources

Last verified September 7, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.

• Osteopathic Physician Renewal, Florida Board of Osteopathic MedicineState board page, accessed September 7, 2026

Florida runs two separate boards for physicians, and their requirements differ. This record cites only the Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine (Chapter 459, Florida Statutes); the MD record cites only the Florida Board of Medicine. The differences read directly from the two boards' pages: the osteopathic board sets a 20-hour AOA Category 1-A minimum inside the 40 hours, requires a 1-hour Florida Laws and Rules/Professional and Medical Ethics course every renewal, caps home study at 8 hours, and allows up to 10 pro bono hours, none of which appear on the Board of Medicine's page; the Board of Medicine instead sets 38 general AMA Category I hours and caps pro bono credit at 5 hours. Both boards require 40 total hours, a 2-hour medical errors course, a 2-hour controlled substance prescribing course for DEA registrants, a 2-hour domestic violence course every third biennium, and an HIV/AIDS course before the first renewal. The March 31 even-year cycle end is stated in the board's footnote that the licensure biennial period concludes on March 31 of even-numbered years, and in the fee tab's null-and-void date of April 1, 2028. Record retention period and whether the board audits CME were not stated on the page read and are left null. The board's page references Rule 64B15-13.001, Florida Administrative Code for course formats and board meeting credit; the rule text itself was not fetched, so it is not cited as a source.