Illinois CME Requirements for Psychiatrists (2026): 150 hours every 3 years + ABPN

Illinois requirements for all physicians

Renewal cycle: Triennially; every physician license expires July 31 of the renewal year (2026, 2029, ...), and the prerenewal period is the 36 months preceding that date. IDFPR extended the 2026 deadline to August 31, 2026.

150 hours of CME every 3-year prerenewal period (the 36 months preceding July 31 of the renewal year); the 2026 renewal deadline was extended to August 31, 2026
At least 60 hours must be formal CME (ACCME-accredited or other approved sponsors, including courses required for specialty board certification or recertification); up to 90 hours may be informal CME (journal reading, peer consultation, teaching, self-assessment, peer review/QA, etc.), documented in a dated log
A current AMA Physician's Recognition Award (PRA) certificate is accepted as documentation of the full 150 hours, provided the hours fall within the prerenewal period
Mandated topics every renewal: 1 hour sexual harassment prevention and 1 hour implicit bias awareness
Mandated topics on a 6-year clock (once every 2 renewal periods for triennial licensees, beginning with renewals on/after Jan 1, 2025): 1 hour cultural competency and 1 hour Alzheimer's disease/other dementias (the dementia hour applies only to physicians who provide care to and directly interact with patients 26 or older)
Prescribers with an Illinois Controlled Substance Registration must complete 1 hour of CME on safe opioid prescribing practices for each Controlled Substance Registration renewal (no first-renewal exemption); the hour counts toward the 150. This is the current rule for renewals on or after January 1, 2025 (720 ILCS 570/315.5 as amended by P.A. 103-531); older IDFPR reinstatement packets that still say 3 hours reflect the 2023-2024 version of the statute
Exemptions: no CME is required for the first renewal of an Illinois license, or for a license reinstated to active status during the prerenewal period. CME completed for another jurisdiction may be applied if approved by that jurisdiction

Mandated topics

Topic	Hours	How often	Applies to	Rule
Sexual harassment prevention training	1	every renewal	All licensees	20 ILCS 2105/2105-15.5; 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1285.110
Implicit bias awareness training	1	every renewal	All licensees	20 ILCS 2105/2105-15.7
Alzheimer's disease and other dementias (assessment/diagnosis, communication strategies, management and care planning)	1	once before the end of the first renewal period requiring CME, then every 6 years (every 2 renewal periods)	physicians who provide health care services to, and have direct patient interactions with, adults age 26 or older	20 ILCS 2105/2105-365; 2105-375(c), (d-5)
Cultural competency training	1	once, then every 6 years (every 2 renewal periods), for renewals on or after Jan 1, 2025	All licensees	20 ILCS 2105/2105-370; 2105-375(c)
Safe opioid prescribing practices	1	every Controlled Substance Registration renewal (no first-renewal exemption); 1 hour is the current rule for renewals on/after Jan 1, 2025 (older IDFPR forms citing 3 hours are out of date)	prescribers holding an Illinois Controlled Substance Registration	720 ILCS 570/315.5 (as amended by P.A. 103-531, eff. 1-1-25)
Mandated reporter training (child abuse and neglect), administered by DCFS	1	within 3 months of starting a role that involves children, then every 6 years; attested at each IDFPR renewal	physicians who are mandated reporters working with children (those not working with children may attest instead of retaking)	325 ILCS 5/4

All mandated topic hours count toward the total above.

What this means if you are a board-certified psychiatrist in Illinois

Illinois, not ABPN, sets the pace. 150 hours per 3 years is 50 hours/year, well above ABPN's 30 CME/year (90 per 3-year block). Hitting the Illinois number automatically satisfies the ABPN CME component, but only the 60 formal hours need to be accredited; ABPN wants AMA PRA Category 1 for its 90, so plan on at least 90 formal hours rather than the Illinois minimum of 60.
Up to 90 informal hours can come from what you already do. Journal reading, peer consultation, teaching residents, self-assessment activities and formal peer review/QA all count as informal CME under 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1285.110(b)(3). ABPN SA-CME and your PIP/quality-improvement work fit these categories, so log them contemporaneously (date plus short description) and they serve both programs.
Board certification itself does not replace CME in Illinois, but the rule explicitly accepts CME programs required for specialty board certification or recertification as formal CME, and accepts a current AMA PRA certificate as proof of the full 150 hours. Your ABPN Continuing Certification activities (SA-CME, Article-Based CC) are ordinary Category 1 CME for Illinois purposes; see ABPN CME requirements.
Mandated topics relevant to psychiatry: the 1-hour Alzheimer's/dementia course applies to nearly every adult psychiatrist (any direct care of patients 26+); the 1-hour safe opioid prescribing course is tied to your Illinois Controlled Substance Registration (buprenorphine and stimulant prescribers included) and has no first-renewal exemption; implicit bias and cultural competency hours are ordinary CME for ABPN. Child and adolescent psychiatrists are mandated reporters and must keep the DCFS training current (every 6 years).
Practicing from another state. Illinois CME is required even if you live and practice outside Illinois; the first-renewal exemption is the only waiver in 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1285.110, so an Illinois license held for telepsychiatry carries the full 150-hour obligation from the second renewal onward.
Your Illinois license and your ABPN certificate run on separate clocks: the state rules above are checked at license renewal; ABPN checks 90 CME and 16 SA-CME at the end of each 3-year block. One activity can count for both.
Any AMA PRA Category 1 activity satisfies both. Only activities on the ABPN Approved CC Activities List earn Self-Assessment credit; topic-specific state hours (ethics, opioids, etc.) satisfy the state but are ordinary CME for ABPN.
A state-mandated patient-safety or risk-management course can also satisfy the ABPN patient safety requirement; a hospital QI project may satisfy your PIP.

Last reviewed August 23, 2026. State figures come from Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation, Medical Licensing Board; ABPN figures from the CC Booklet (June 2025) and CC FAQ (April 2026). See the full ABPN CME requirements guide.

ABPN requirements (apply in every state)

Board certification and state licensure are tracked separately. Whatever your state requires below, ABPN Continuing Certification also requires, per 3-year block:

90 AMA PRA Category 1 CME credits per 3-year block (average 30 per year) (full CME rules)
16 Self-Assessment (SA) CME credits per block, counted within the 90, from the ABPN Approved CC Activities List (what counts as SA)
One Performance in Practice (PIP) activity per block — a Clinical or Feedback module (how PIP works)
One Patient Safety activity, one-time, if your first block began in 2017 or later (who it applies to)
Either the 10-year CC exam or 20 ABCC articles per block (compare the two)
An unrestricted license and the annual fee ($175 for one certificate) (fees and statuses)

CME from any ACCME-accredited provider counts toward the 90; SA credit only counts from activities on the ABPN list. Read the complete ABPN CME requirements →

Common questions

How many CME hours does a psychiatrist need in Illinois?

150 hours every 3 years, at least 60 of them in formal (accredited) CME and up to 90 informal. The first renewal after initial licensure is exempt (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1285.110).

When is the Illinois physician license renewal deadline?

Illinois physician licenses expire July 31 every three years (2026, 2029, ...). For the 2026 cycle IDFPR extended the deadline to August 31, 2026. The prerenewal period for CME is the 36 months before July 31 of the renewal year.

Does ABPN board certification count toward Illinois CME?

Not as a substitute for the 150 hours. However, CME required for specialty board certification or recertification counts as formal CME, and a current AMA PRA certificate is accepted as documentation of all 150 hours, so ABPN Continuing Certification activities fold in as ordinary Category 1 CME.

Is opioid CME required in Illinois?

Yes for prescribers with an Illinois Controlled Substance Registration: 1 hour on safe opioid prescribing practices for each Controlled Substance Registration renewal (720 ILCS 570/315.5, as amended by P.A. 103-531 effective Jan 1, 2025). There is no first-renewal exemption, and the hour counts toward the 150. You may still see 3 hours quoted in older IDFPR reinstatement packets and on some CME vendor sites; that was the 2023-2024 rule and no longer applies to renewals on or after January 1, 2025. IDFPR's own FAQ on this requirement states 1 hour.

Is the Alzheimer's/dementia course required if I am a psychiatrist?

Yes if you provide care to and directly interact with patients age 26 or older, which covers most adult psychiatrists. It is 1 hour, due before the end of your first renewal period requiring CME and then once every 6 years (20 ILCS 2105/2105-365 and 2105-375).

Do I need CME for my first Illinois license renewal?

No. Illinois waives the 150-hour requirement for the first renewal after initial licensure. The 1-hour safe opioid prescribing course tied to your Controlled Substance Registration still applies, and the dementia and cultural competency hours must be done by the end of your first renewal period that requires CME.

Illinois CME Requirements for Psychiatrists