West Virginia CME Requirements for Psychiatrists
Reviewed by CME Psychiatry Center editorsLast reviewed against the West Virginia medical board4 primary sourcesHow we verify
West Virginia requirements for all physicians
- 50 hours of CME every 2-year reporting period for biennial MD license renewal (W. Va. Code § 30-3-12; W. Va. Code R. § 11-6-4); failure to certify completion automatically expires the license
- Acceptable CME is AMA or AAFP Category 1; at least 30 of the 50 hours must relate to the physician's specialty area(s)
- Up to 20 hours may come from teaching or precepting medical students, residents, or physicians
- ABMS certification/recertification or MOC participation, or completion of 12 months of ACGME training, during the reporting period may count for up to 50 hours (47 if the prescribing course below is mandatory for the licensee)
- Licensees who prescribed, administered, or dispensed any controlled substance during the reporting period must complete a 3-hour Board-approved course on Risk Assessment and Responsible Prescribing of Controlled Substances (drug diversion, best-practice prescribing, opioid antagonist) every renewal; it counts toward the 50 hours and is waived for non-prescribers (Rule 11-6-3.2)
- New licensees who prescribe controlled substances must complete the same 3-hour course within 1 year of initial licensure regardless of renewal date (Rule 11-6-3.1)
- Effective June 12, 2026 (HB 4951, 2026), the CME requirement must include medical education in nutrition; the Board has rulemaking authority and has not yet specified the hours
- Keep CME records for 6 years; the Board may request supporting documentation within 30 days
What this means if you are a board-certified psychiatrist in West Virginia
- Your West Virginia 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 the West Virginia medical 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 →
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- ✓ Credits remaining (CME, SA, PIP, patient safety) and the pace you need
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- ✓ Your state license rules side by side with ABPN's
- ✓ An audit-ready checklist of what to keep on file
- ✓ Reminders at 6 months, 2 months and 2 weeks before your block closes — so December never surprises you
Sources
- W. Va. Code R. § 11-6-3 — Mandatory CE on Risk Assessment and Responsible Prescribing of Controlled Substances
- W. Va. Code R. § 11-6-4 — Periodic Continuing Education Satisfactory to the Board
- HB 4951 (2026) — amending W. Va. Code § 30-3-12 to require nutrition CME
- WV Board of Medicine — Continuing Education for Medical Doctors