Georgia Physician Assistant license renewal and CE requirements

Summary

Georgia physician assistants must complete 40 CME credits of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Georgia Composite Medical Board. A physician assistant license is renewed biennially on the last day of the month in which the licensee's birthday falls. The Board sends a courtesy renewal notice about 60 days before expiration. A licensee who has not met the continuing education requirement by the expiration date may not practice, but may late renew during the three months following expiration by showing the Board evidence of the required hours and paying the late fee. A license not renewed within those three months is revoked for failure to renew and the person must apply for reinstatement. Active practice also requires a Board approved primary supervising physician and an approved job description. Service members get a six month grace period after discharge or reassignment. Georgia also mandates specific subjects. Continuing medical education directly related to the specialty of the Board approved primary supervising physician: 10 CME credits every renewal cycle. Practice specific pharmaceuticals in which the physician assistant has prescription order privileges: 3 CME credits every renewal cycle (physician assistants authorized to issue prescription drug orders). Appropriate ordering and use of hydrocodone, oxycodone, or compounds thereof: 1 CME credit every renewal cycle (physician assistants authorized to issue prescription drug orders for hydrocodone, oxycodone or compounds thereof). Recognition and documentation of the causes of death and appropriate execution of death certificates: 1 CME credit every renewal cycle (physician assistants authorized to sign death certificates). Hours do not carry over between cycles and the first renewal is exempt.

Georgia Physician Assistant 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.

Georgia sets a state hour count rather than deferring to NCCPA: not less than 40 hours of Board approved continuing medical education biennially, all of it from the Category 1 sources the Board names. Inside that 40, at least 10 hours must be directly related to the specialty of the Board approved primary supervising physician, and a physician assistant with prescribing authority must complete at least three hours in practice specific pharmaceuticals in which the physician assistant has prescription order privileges. Two requirements sit on top of the 40 rather than inside it: one additional hour for a physician assistant authorized to prescribe hydrocodone, oxycodone or compounds thereof, and one additional hour for a physician assistant authorized to sign death certificates. A physician assistant who is initially licensed and has not renewed for the first time is excused from the 40 hours, but a prescriber still owes the three pharmaceutical hours. The Board may waive the requirement for hardship, disability, illness, congressional or General Assembly service, or military service, but the waiver can never reach the prescribing, hydrocodone or death certificate hours. Hours used to cure a previous biennium's deficiency cannot be counted again for the next biennium. The rule was last amended effective May 25, 2026.

Required CE topics for Georgia physician assistants

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 Georgia PA need to renew?

Georgia physician assistants must complete 40 CME credits of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Georgia Composite Medical Board. Georgia sets a state hour count rather than deferring to NCCPA: not less than 40 hours of Board approved continuing medical education biennially, all of it from the Category 1 sources the Board names. Inside that 40, at least 10 hours must be directly related to the specialty of the Board approved primary supervising physician, and a physician assistant with prescribing authority must complete at least three hours in practice specific pharmaceuticals in which the physician assistant has prescription order privileges. Two requirements sit on top of the 40 rather than inside it: one additional hour for a physician assistant authorized to prescribe hydrocodone, oxycodone or compounds thereof, and one additional hour for a physician assistant authorized to sign death certificates. A physician assistant who is initially licensed and has not renewed for the first time is excused from the 40 hours, but a prescriber still owes the three pharmaceutical hours. The Board may waive the requirement for hardship, disability, illness, congressional or General Assembly service, or military service, but the waiver can never reach the prescribing, hydrocodone or death certificate hours. Hours used to cure a previous biennium's deficiency cannot be counted again for the next biennium. The rule was last amended effective May 25, 2026.

How often does a Georgia PA license need to be renewed?

Physician Assistant licenses in Georgia renew every two years. A physician assistant license is renewed biennially on the last day of the month in which the licensee's birthday falls. The Board sends a courtesy renewal notice about 60 days before expiration. A licensee who has not met the continuing education requirement by the expiration date may not practice, but may late renew during the three months following expiration by showing the Board evidence of the required hours and paying the late fee. A license not renewed within those three months is revoked for failure to renew and the person must apply for reinstatement. Active practice also requires a Board approved primary supervising physician and an approved job description. Service members get a six month grace period after discharge or reassignment.

What specific CE topics are required for Georgia physician assistants?

Continuing medical education directly related to the specialty of the Board approved primary supervising physician: 10 CME credits every renewal cycle. Practice specific pharmaceuticals in which the physician assistant has prescription order privileges: 3 CME credits every renewal cycle (physician assistants authorized to issue prescription drug orders). Appropriate ordering and use of hydrocodone, oxycodone, or compounds thereof: 1 CME credit every renewal cycle (physician assistants authorized to issue prescription drug orders for hydrocodone, oxycodone or compounds thereof). Recognition and documentation of the causes of death and appropriate execution of death certificates: 1 CME credit every renewal cycle (physician assistants authorized to sign death certificates). Citations: continuing medical education directly related to the specialty of the Board approved primary supervising physician (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 360-5-.07(1)(a)), practice specific pharmaceuticals in which the physician assistant has prescription order privileges (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 360-5-.07(1)(b)), appropriate ordering and use of hydrocodone, oxycodone, or compounds thereof (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 360-5-.07(1)(c)), and recognition and documentation of the causes of death and appropriate execution of death certificates (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 360-5-.07(1)(d)).

Do Georgia physician assistants have to submit CE certificates at renewal?

Licensees attest to completion at renewal rather than submitting certificates, the board audits a sample of renewals and asks for documentation, and records must be kept for 5 years. The Board accepts AMA Category 1, AOA Category 1, American Academy of Anesthesiologist Assistants Category 1, AAFP Category I and AAPA Category 1 credit as Board approved. It is the licensee's responsibility to verify approval with the course provider, not with the Board, and to do so before taking the course. Records of attendance and supporting documents must be kept five years from the date of attendance and must show the provider name, date of completion and evidence of the credit type. The Board audits a fixed percentage of randomly selected renewal applications.

Is the first Georgia PA renewal exempt from CE?

Yes. Georgia does not require continuing education for a PA's first renewal.

Sources

Last verified September 8, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.

• Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 360-5-.07, Continuing Education Requirements (physician assistants)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
• Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 360-5-.06, Renewal of Physician Assistant License (Cornell LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
• Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. Chapter 360-15, Continuing Education (physicians)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
• Continuing Education and Other Required Training for Physicians, Georgia Composite Medical BoardState board page, accessed September 8, 2026

Georgia regulates physician assistants through the Composite Medical Board, not a separate physician assistant board. The full continuing education rule was read in a rendered browser because the Secretary of State rules host returns 403 to every automated client; the repository's link exceptions file covers 360-15 but not 360-5-.07, which will need an entry before the online link check passes. The renewal cycle and birth month basis were read in the Cornell LII mirror of Rule 360-5-.06. Topic keys supervising_physician_specialty and death_certification are not in the canonical list, and pharmacology is not either. The comparison with Georgia physicians is close but not identical: physicians owe 40 hours biennially under Chapter 360-15 with a one time three hour controlled substance prescribing course and a one time two hour professional boundaries course, while physician assistants owe the same 40 hours with recurring specialty, pharmaceutical, opioid and death certificate components and no one time boundaries course. NCCPA certification is not accepted in place of the Georgia hours in the rule text read.