New York Physician (MD) license renewal and CE requirements

Summary

New York does not require continuing education for MD license renewal, which happens every two years. A New York professional license is valid for life, but to practice you must keep a current registration. Most professions reregister every three years; medicine reregisters every two years. You are automatically registered for your first registration period when the license is issued, and the Office of the Professions mails renewal information to your address on file at least four months before the registration expires. Online renewal opens in the final five months of the current registration period and stays available for up to four months after the last valid period ended. New York also mandates specific subjects. Infection control and barrier precautions: required on a periodic schedule set by the board (all physicians, physician assistants and specialist assistants; an exemption based on the nature of the practice may be requested from the Department of Health). Identification and reporting of child abuse and maltreatment: a one-time requirement of 2 hours (physicians applying initially for licensure or a limited permit; graduates of New York registered licensure-qualifying programs after September 1, 1990 are treated as having met it, but training received during a medical residency does not satisfy it). Pain management, palliative care, and addiction: 3 hours on a periodic schedule set by the board (only prescribers licensed under Title 8 of the Education Law to treat humans who hold a DEA registration number to prescribe controlled substances, and medical residents who prescribe controlled substances under a facility DEA registration number).

New York Physician (MD) 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.

New York sets no general continuing medical education hour requirement for physicians. The Office of the Professions publishes a list headed "The following professions have a continuing education requirement in New York", and medicine is not on it; the professions listed are architecture, audiology, chiropractic, dentistry, land surveying, landscape architecture, massage therapy, the mental health practitioner professions, occupational therapy, ophthalmic dispensing, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, podiatry, professional engineering, professional geology, psychology, public accountancy, respiratory therapy, social work, speech-language pathology and veterinary medicine. What New York requires instead is specific mandated coursework, recorded in mandatory_topics: infection control and barrier precautions, child abuse identification and reporting, and, for controlled substance prescribers, pain management, palliative care and addiction. Because there is no hour total, required is false and unit is not_applicable rather than a fabricated number.

Required CE topics for New York physician (md)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 New York MD need to renew?

New York does not require continuing education for MD license renewal, which happens every two years. New York sets no general continuing medical education hour requirement for physicians. The Office of the Professions publishes a list headed "The following professions have a continuing education requirement in New York", and medicine is not on it; the professions listed are architecture, audiology, chiropractic, dentistry, land surveying, landscape architecture, massage therapy, the mental health practitioner professions, occupational therapy, ophthalmic dispensing, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, podiatry, professional engineering, professional geology, psychology, public accountancy, respiratory therapy, social work, speech-language pathology and veterinary medicine. What New York requires instead is specific mandated coursework, recorded in mandatory_topics: infection control and barrier precautions, child abuse identification and reporting, and, for controlled substance prescribers, pain management, palliative care and addiction. Because there is no hour total, required is false and unit is not_applicable rather than a fabricated number.

How often does a New York MD license need to be renewed?

Physician (MD) licenses in New York renew every two years. A New York professional license is valid for life, but to practice you must keep a current registration. Most professions reregister every three years; medicine reregisters every two years. You are automatically registered for your first registration period when the license is issued, and the Office of the Professions mails renewal information to your address on file at least four months before the registration expires. Online renewal opens in the final five months of the current registration period and stays available for up to four months after the last valid period ended.

What specific CE topics are required for New York physicians (MD)?

Infection control and barrier precautions: required on a periodic schedule set by the board (all physicians, physician assistants and specialist assistants; an exemption based on the nature of the practice may be requested from the Department of Health). Identification and reporting of child abuse and maltreatment: a one-time requirement of 2 hours (physicians applying initially for licensure or a limited permit; graduates of New York registered licensure-qualifying programs after September 1, 1990 are treated as having met it, but training received during a medical residency does not satisfy it). Pain management, palliative care, and addiction: 3 hours on a periodic schedule set by the board (only prescribers licensed under Title 8 of the Education Law to treat humans who hold a DEA registration number to prescribe controlled substances, and medical residents who prescribe controlled substances under a facility DEA registration number). Citations: infection control and barrier precautions (Public Health Law section 239), identification and reporting of child abuse and maltreatment (Social Services Law section 413), and pain management, palliative care, and addiction (Public Health Law section 3309-a(3)).

Do New York physicians (MD) have to submit CE certificates at renewal?

Licensees attest to completion at renewal rather than submitting certificates. Infection control training must come from a provider approved by either the State Education Department or the Department of Health, using the Department's prescribed syllabus and covering at minimum the seven core elements jointly approved by the two departments. Child abuse identification and reporting training must come from a Department-approved provider. The Department of Health approves infection control course work offered by DOH-regulated health care facilities and by physician or physician and specialist assistant organizations.

Sources

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

• General Licensing Information, New York State Education Department Office of the ProfessionsState board page, accessed September 7, 2026
• Training and Continuing Education, New York State Education Department Office of the ProfessionsState board page, accessed September 7, 2026
• Mandated Training Related to Infection Control, Office of the ProfessionsState board page, accessed September 7, 2026
• Mandated Training Related to Child Abuse, Office of the ProfessionsState board page, accessed September 7, 2026
• NYSDOH Mandatory Prescriber Education, Office of the Professions, PhysiciansState board page, accessed September 7, 2026
• Online Registration Renewal, Office of the ProfessionsState board page, accessed September 7, 2026
• License Requirements for Physicians, Office of the ProfessionsState board page, accessed September 7, 2026

New York has no separate osteopathic board. Physicians are licensed by the New York State Education Department's Office of the Professions under Education Law Article 131, and the education requirement accepts the degree of Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from an LCME, AOA, CACMS or New York registered program, so MDs and DOs hold the same license and the same registration, and this record and ny-physician_do cite the same sources. Two points worth reading carefully. First, the registration period for medicine is two years, not the three years that applies to most New York professions: the Office of the Professions states this explicitly as "reregister every three years (two years for medicine)". Second, there is genuinely no general CME hour count for physicians, which is why continuing_education.required is false and unit is not_applicable; the requirement is specific mandated coursework instead. The renewal basis is recorded as issue_date because the Office of the Professions states that the licensee is automatically registered for the first registration period when the license is issued and is notified before that period expires; no page read tied the expiration to a birth month or a fixed calendar date. Hour counts for infection control were not stated on the pages read and are left null. Whether registration proof is audited, and any retention period, were not stated and are left null; physicians attest at registration and keep the certificates, except that a physician not affiliated with a hospital must send the infection control certificate to the Department of Health.