West Virginia Physician Assistant license renewal and CE requirements

Summary

West Virginia physician assistants must complete 100 CME credits of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the West Virginia Board of Medicine. A physician assistant renews every two years on a schedule the licensing board sets and publishes, by filing a complete renewal application, the fee, and an attestation that all continuing education requirements for the reporting period have been met. A license that is not renewed on time expires automatically. The reporting period is the two years preceding the renewal deadline; the Board's own example describes a license expiring March 31, 2025 with a reporting period running April 1, 2023 through the date the 2025 renewal application is submitted. Because the deadline is set by the board rather than fixed in statute, check the expiration date printed on your own license. West Virginia also mandates specific subjects. Risk Assessment and Responsible Prescribing of Controlled Substances, or Drug Diversion Training and Best Practice Prescribing of Controlled Substances: 3 CME credits every renewal cycle (physician assistants who prescribe controlled substances). No more than 50 CME credits may be self-study or online.

West Virginia 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.

Successful completion of a minimum of 100 hours of continuing education satisfactory to the Board during the preceding two year period is required for the biennial renewal of a physician assistant license. Credit designated Category I by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Physician Assistants or the American Academy of Family Physicians is acceptable, and a minimum of 50 hours must be Category I. Category II credit from the same organizations is acceptable up to a maximum of 50 hours, which is why the self study and non accredited ceiling is recorded as 50. In place of the hours, the Board accepts passing an NCCPA recertification examination during the reporting period, and a new licensee whose master's degree was issued after April 1, 2023 may demonstrate compliance through the degree. Records must be kept for six years and the Board may audit compliance, with documentation due within 30 days of a request.

Required CE topics for West Virginia 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 West Virginia PA need to renew?

West Virginia physician assistants must complete 100 CME credits of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the West Virginia Board of Medicine. Successful completion of a minimum of 100 hours of continuing education satisfactory to the Board during the preceding two year period is required for the biennial renewal of a physician assistant license. Credit designated Category I by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Physician Assistants or the American Academy of Family Physicians is acceptable, and a minimum of 50 hours must be Category I. Category II credit from the same organizations is acceptable up to a maximum of 50 hours, which is why the self study and non accredited ceiling is recorded as 50. In place of the hours, the Board accepts passing an NCCPA recertification examination during the reporting period, and a new licensee whose master's degree was issued after April 1, 2023 may demonstrate compliance through the degree. Records must be kept for six years and the Board may audit compliance, with documentation due within 30 days of a request.

How often does a West Virginia PA license need to be renewed?

Physician Assistant licenses in West Virginia renew every two years. A physician assistant renews every two years on a schedule the licensing board sets and publishes, by filing a complete renewal application, the fee, and an attestation that all continuing education requirements for the reporting period have been met. A license that is not renewed on time expires automatically. The reporting period is the two years preceding the renewal deadline; the Board's own example describes a license expiring March 31, 2025 with a reporting period running April 1, 2023 through the date the 2025 renewal application is submitted. Because the deadline is set by the board rather than fixed in statute, check the expiration date printed on your own license.

What specific CE topics are required for West Virginia physician assistants?

Risk Assessment and Responsible Prescribing of Controlled Substances, or Drug Diversion Training and Best Practice Prescribing of Controlled Substances: 3 CME credits every renewal cycle (physician assistants who prescribe controlled substances). Citations: Risk Assessment and Responsible Prescribing of Controlled Substances, or Drug Diversion Training and Best Practice Prescribing of Controlled Substances (W. Va. C.S.R. 11-1B-14; W. Va. Code 30-1-7a(b)).

Do West Virginia 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 6 years. Category I and Category II designations must come from the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Physician Assistants, or the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the three controlled substance hours must be Board approved.

Sources

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

• Continuing Education, Physician Assistants, West Virginia Board of MedicineState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
• W. Va. C.S.R. 11-1B-14, continuing medical education for physician assistants (Cornell LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
• W. Va. Code 30-3E-6, License renewal requirements (Physician Assistants Practice Act)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
• W. Va. Code 30-1-7a, Continuing education (general provisions applicable to all licensing boards)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
• License Renewal, Physician Assistants, West Virginia Board of MedicineState board page, accessed September 8, 2026

West Virginia splits physician assistants across two boards by the discipline of the collaborating physician: the Board of Medicine licenses physician assistants working with medical doctors and podiatric physicians, while the separate West Virginia Board of Osteopathic Medicine licenses or certifies osteopathic physician assistants under a different statute with different hours. This record covers the Board of Medicine route, which is the larger one, and a reader whose license came from the osteopathic board should not rely on these figures. The topic key controlled_substances is not on the canonical list and is used because the mandate is broader than opioids. The renewal basis is recorded as other rather than a fixed date because W. Va. Code 30-3E-6 says only that a licensee shall renew biennially on a schedule established by the appropriate licensing board, and the Board's physician assistant renewal page was showing renewals are not currently open with no dates during this verification; the March 31, 2025 date that appears in the record is the Board's own worked example on its continuing education page, not a statutory deadline, so it is described rather than recorded in the fixed deadline field. The physician assistant requirement is not layered on any other license, and at 100 hours per two years it is double the 50 hour physician requirement in this state.