Opioid & Controlled-Substance CME Requirements by State

The DEA MATE Act is not your state requirement

The federal MATE Act requires a one-time 8 hours of training on treating and managing patients with substance-use disorders as a condition of your DEA registration. It is separate from — and does not automatically satisfy — your state's opioid/controlled-substance CME, which is usually recurring every renewal cycle.

The overlap that does help: because a MATE-qualifying course must be from an ACCME-accredited provider, its hours will usually still count toward a state's general CME total. Whether it also satisfies a state's specific opioid topic mandate is each board's call — confirm before you rely on it.

Where a generic course won't count — the 7 gate states

Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia require a board-approved or state-specific course for at least one controlled-substance/opioid mandate. A strong national course may not satisfy these — check each state's page before enrolling.

Opioid / controlled-substance CME by state

State	Hours	Timing	Course type
Alabama	2 hrs	every 2 yr	Any ACCME Cat 1
Alaska	2 hrs	per cycle (recurring)	Any ACCME Cat 1
Arizona	3 hrs	per renewal	Any ACCME Cat 1
Arkansas	1 hr	each year	Any ACCME Cat 1
California	12 hrs	one-time (by 2nd renewal / within 4 yr)	Any ACCME Cat 1
Colorado	2 hrs	per renewal period	Any ACCME Cat 1
Delaware	2 hrs	per CSR renewal	Any ACCME Cat 1
Florida	2 hrs	per renewal	Any ACCME Cat 1
Georgia	3 hrs	one-time (by 1st renewal)	Any ACCME Cat 1
Illinois	1 hr	per cycle (eff 1/1/2025)	Any ACCME Cat 1
Iowa	2 hrs	every 5 yr	Any ACCME Cat 1
Kansas	1 hr	per annual renewal	Any ACCME Cat 1
Kentucky	4.5 hrs	per 3-yr cycle	Board-approved course required
Louisiana	3 hrs	one-time (before 1st renewal on/after 1/1/2019)	Board-approved course required
Maine	3 hrs	per 2 yr	Any ACCME Cat 1
Maryland	2 hrs	one-time (before 1st CDS reg on/after 10/1/2018)	Any ACCME Cat 1
Massachusetts	3 hrs	per renewal	Board-approved course required
Michigan	3 hrs	per cycle	Any ACCME Cat 1
Mississippi	5 hrs	per 2-yr cycle	Any ACCME Cat 1
Nebraska	3 hrs	biennial	Any ACCME Cat 1
Nevada	2 hrs	per licensure period	Any ACCME Cat 1
New Hampshire	3 hrs	per renewal	Any ACCME Cat 1
New Jersey	1 hr	per renewal	Any ACCME Cat 1
New Mexico	5 hrs	each triennial cycle	Any ACCME Cat 1
New York	3 hrs	every 3 yr	Any ACCME Cat 1
North Carolina	3 hrs	per 3-yr cycle	Any ACCME Cat 1
Oklahoma	1 hr	each year	Any ACCME Cat 1
Oregon	7 hrs	one-time (within 12 mo of licensure)	Board-approved course required
Pennsylvania	2 hrs	per renewal	Any ACCME Cat 1
Rhode Island	8 hrs	one-time (before 1st CS registration renewal)	Any ACCME Cat 1
South Carolina	2 hrs	per 2-yr cycle	Any ACCME Cat 1
Tennessee	2 hrs	biennial	Board-approved course required
Texas	2 hrs	per biennium (FSMB says first 2 renewals then every 8 yr)	Any ACCME Cat 1
Utah	3.5 hrs	per licensing period	Board-approved course required
Vermont	2 hrs	per renewal	Any ACCME Cat 1
Washington	1 hr	one-time	Any ACCME Cat 1
West Virginia	3 hrs	per period (+3 within 1 yr of initial license)	Board-approved course required
Wisconsin	2 hrs	per biennium	Any ACCME Cat 1
Wyoming	1 hr	every 2 yr (tied to CS registration)	Any ACCME Cat 1

Timing/hours reflect board rules and FSMB summaries as of 2026-07-10; some carry known discrepancies noted on each state's page. States not listed do not currently mandate a recurring opioid/controlled-substance topic for all physicians.

Frequently asked questions

Does the DEA MATE Act training satisfy my state opioid CME requirement?

Not automatically. The MATE Act 8-hour training is a one-time federal condition of DEA registration; state opioid/controlled-substance CME is separate and usually recurring. Some boards let one accredited course count toward both, but that is each state's decision. The MATE hours will typically still count toward a state's general CME total.

How many states require opioid or controlled-substance CME?

39 of 51 US jurisdictions currently mandate opioid, controlled-substance, or pain-management CME for physicians, with hours and recurrence varying by state.

Which states require a board-approved opioid CME course specifically?

The 7 "gate" states — Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia — require a board-approved or state-specific course for at least one controlled-substance/opioid mandate, so a generic national course may not count.

Is opioid CME a one-time requirement or recurring?

Mostly recurring. Only a handful of states make their opioid/controlled-substance requirement one-time; most repeat it every renewal cycle, and cycles range from 1 to 5 years. (The federal MATE Act training is the one-time one.)

Do I still need an X-waiver to prescribe buprenorphine?

No. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 eliminated the DATA-waiver (X-waiver). Any prescriber with a standard DEA registration including Schedule III authority may prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder, subject to state law.