Massachusetts Physician Assistant license renewal and CE requirements

Summary

Massachusetts physician assistants must complete 100 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Physician Assistants. Each Massachusetts physician assistant renews the license on or before March 1 of every odd-numbered calendar year. A physician assistant who does not renew before the expiration date is not authorized to practice until the license is renewed, and may face disciplinary action. Renewal is on a board form with the fee, which may be waived under M.G.L. c. 112 section 1B. Massachusetts also mandates specific subjects. Pharmacology or pharmacokinetics: 4 contact hours every renewal cycle. Prescriber training on pain management and opioid misuse: required every renewal cycle (practitioners who prescribe controlled substances; the physician assistant renewal regulation requires the training as part of the 100 hours).

Massachusetts 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.

263 CMR 3.05(3): a licensed physician assistant completes a minimum of 100 hours of continuing education for each license renewal period, and that total must include at least four hours on pharmacology or pharmacokinetics, at least 40 hours in courses or programs meeting the Category I criteria of the AMA or the American Academy of Physician Assistants, and the prescriber training required by M.G.L. c. 94C section 18(e). Massachusetts sets its own hour count; the renewal regulation does not mention NCCPA certification at all, either as a requirement or as a substitute. The regulation was last amended effective January 9, 2025.

Required CE topics for Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts PA need to renew?

Massachusetts physician assistants must complete 100 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Physician Assistants. 263 CMR 3.05(3): a licensed physician assistant completes a minimum of 100 hours of continuing education for each license renewal period, and that total must include at least four hours on pharmacology or pharmacokinetics, at least 40 hours in courses or programs meeting the Category I criteria of the AMA or the American Academy of Physician Assistants, and the prescriber training required by M.G.L. c. 94C section 18(e). Massachusetts sets its own hour count; the renewal regulation does not mention NCCPA certification at all, either as a requirement or as a substitute. The regulation was last amended effective January 9, 2025.

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

Physician Assistant licenses in Massachusetts renew every two years. Each Massachusetts physician assistant renews the license on or before March 1 of every odd-numbered calendar year. A physician assistant who does not renew before the expiration date is not authorized to practice until the license is renewed, and may face disciplinary action. Renewal is on a board form with the fee, which may be waived under M.G.L. c. 112 section 1B.

What specific CE topics are required for Massachusetts physician assistants?

Pharmacology or pharmacokinetics: 4 contact hours every renewal cycle. Prescriber training on pain management and opioid misuse: required every renewal cycle (practitioners who prescribe controlled substances; the physician assistant renewal regulation requires the training as part of the 100 hours). Citations: pharmacology or pharmacokinetics (263 CMR 3.05(3)(a)) and prescriber training on pain management and opioid misuse (263 CMR 3.05(3)(c); M.G.L. c. 94C, section 18(e)).

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

Licensees attest to completion at renewal rather than submitting certificates and the board audits a sample of renewals and asks for documentation. At least 40 of the hours must meet the Category I criteria established by the AMA or the AAPA. Each licensed physician assistant submits proof of continuing education to the board upon request rather than with the renewal.

Sources

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

• 263 CMR 3.05 License Renewal, Board of Registration of Physician Assistants (Cornell LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
• 263 CMR 3.03 Full License Application, Board of Registration of Physician Assistants (Cornell LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
• M.G.L. c. 94C section 18(e) Prescriber training as a prerequisite to obtaining or renewing a professional licenseStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026

Massachusetts is one of the separate board states: physician assistants are licensed not by the Board of Registration in Medicine but by the Board of Registration of Physician Assistants, whose rules are 263 CMR. The requirement is separate from and larger than the Massachusetts physician requirement of 100 CME credits per two years with its own composition; the physician assistant rule sets 100 hours with a four hour pharmacology floor and a 40 hour Category I floor. Every mass.gov page returns HTTP 403 to automated clients, so the board's own pages, including the one used as board_url, were not read and are not cited; renewal_url is left null. The regulation text was read in the Cornell LII mirror, and the prescriber training statute on the legislature's own site. One topic key is outside the canonical list: pharmacology. Record retention, whether a first renewal is prorated, and any carryover allowance are not stated in 263 CMR 3.05 and are left null. A person should open https://www.mass.gov/orgs/board-of-registration-of-physician-assistants in a browser to confirm the board's current renewal instructions.