New York CME Requirements for Psychiatrists (2026)

New York requirements for all physicians

Renewal cycle: Physician registration is renewed every 2 years through the NYSED Office of the Professions; no CME hours are reported at renewal, but three mandated trainings run on their own statutory clocks.

No general CME hour requirement: New York does not require a minimum number of CME hours to renew a physician registration (registration renews every 2 years).
Infection control and barrier precautions: NYSDOH-approved course at initial licensure and every 4 years thereafter (Public Health Law § 239); exemptions are requested through the Department of Health.
Pain management, palliative care and addiction: 3 hours every 3-year period for every prescriber holding a DEA registration, attested to the Department of Health (Public Health Law § 3309-a(3)).
Child abuse and maltreatment identification and reporting: 2-hour approved course, required once at initial licensure (Education Law § 6507(3)(a)); the curriculum was updated by Social Services Law § 413 amendments, with previously trained mandated reporters required to complete the updated content (April 1, 2025 deadline; additional developmental-disability content due November 17, 2026).
Separate from state law, the federal DEA MATE Act requires a one-time 8-hour substance use disorder training at DEA registration/renewal; the NY 3-hour course may count toward it.

Mandated topics

Topic	Hours	How often	Applies to	Rule
Infection control and barrier precautions (HIV/HBV, engineering and work-practice controls)	0	once at licensure, then every 4 years	physicians, physician assistants, specialist assistants, residents and medical students practicing in NY	Public Health Law § 239
Pain management, palliative care and addiction (8 required content areas incl. state and federal prescribing rules, screening for addiction, end-of-life care)	3	once within each 3-year period	licensed prescribers with a DEA registration number (incl. residents prescribing under a facility DEA number)	Public Health Law § 3309-a(3)
Identification and reporting of child abuse and maltreatment (updated curriculum incl. implicit bias, adverse childhood experiences, virtual interactions)	2	once (updated-curriculum refresh required of all mandated reporters by April 1, 2025; further update by November 17, 2026)	all applicants for physician licensure; all physicians as mandated reporters	Education Law § 6507(3)(a); Social Services Law § 413

Topics marked in the table may be in addition to the total.

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

ABPN sets your pace, not New York. Because the state has no CME hour floor, the ABPN Continuing Certification requirement (an average of 30 Category 1 credits per year, plus 16 self-assessment credits and one PIP activity per 3-year block) is the only CME clock a board-certified NY psychiatrist must watch. See the ABPN CC guide.
Board certification does not replace anything here. The three NY mandates (infection control, pain management, child abuse) are statutory trainings, not CME, so ABPN participation cannot be substituted for them and they are tracked separately from your registration.
The 3-hour opioid course applies to nearly every psychiatrist. If you hold a DEA registration (you do if you prescribe stimulants, benzodiazepines or buprenorphine) you must complete and attest to the 3-hour pain/palliative/addiction course every 3 years. When taken as an accredited activity it is ordinary Category 1 CME for ABPN purposes; its addiction-screening content is the most clinically relevant piece for psychiatry.
Child abuse reporting is a mandated-reporter duty, not just a licensure hurdle. Child and adolescent psychiatrists in particular should make sure they completed the updated Social Services Law § 413 curriculum (implicit bias, ACEs, virtual-visit recognition), which was required even of physicians who took the old 2-hour course.
Telepsychiatry: New York is not an Interstate Medical Licensure Compact member (as of 2026), so out-of-state psychiatrists need a full NY license to treat NY patients remotely; NY-licensed psychiatrists practicing into IMLC states still need each state's license.
Your New York 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 New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions (State Board for Medicine); 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 do I need in New York?

None. New York has no general CME hour requirement for physician registration renewal (every 2 years). You must, however, keep three mandated trainings current: infection control every 4 years, a 3-hour pain management/opioid course every 3 years if you hold a DEA registration, and the one-time child abuse reporting course.

Does board certification count toward New York CME?

There is nothing for it to count toward, since NY requires no CME hours. ABPN certification does not exempt you from the infection control, pain management or child abuse trainings, which are statutory requirements separate from CME.

Is opioid or pain management CME required in New York?

Yes. Under Public Health Law § 3309-a(3), every prescriber with a DEA registration must complete at least 3 hours of coursework in pain management, palliative care and addiction once within each 3-year period and attest completion to the NYS Department of Health. This is separate from the one-time 8-hour federal DEA MATE Act training.

How often is infection control training required in New York?

Every 4 years, plus at initial licensure, under Public Health Law § 239. Only NYSDOH-approved providers' courses count, and physicians request any exemption (for example, no patient contact) through the Department of Health, re-applying every 4 years.

When is the New York medical license renewal deadline?

Physician registrations run for 2 years and expire on the last day of the period printed on your registration certificate. After licensure, NYSED adjusts the first registration period so that renewals fall in your birth month; NYSED sends a renewal document about 4 months before expiration and renewal is completed online through the Office of the Professions.

Do I need CME for my first New York renewal?

No CME hours are required for any renewal. For initial licensure you must show completion of the child abuse reporting course and the infection control course; the 3-hour pain management course becomes due once you hold a DEA registration.

New York CME Requirements for Psychiatrists