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Alabama CME Requirements (2026): Physicians, NPs, PAs, CRNAs & CAAs
Alabama regulates five clinician professions through different boards, each with its own continuing-education rules — physicians (MD/DO), nurse practitioners (APRN/NP), physician assistants (PA), nurse anesthetists (CRNA), and anesthesiologist assistants (CAA, in the states that license them). Below, each profession's total hours, mandated topics, opioid/controlled-substance rule, and tracking, plus the one federal rule they share. Last reviewed 2026-08-24.
Physicians (MD / DO)
Set by the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners.
General CME: 12 hours AMA PRA Category 1 per year (Alabama-specific ACCME requirement).
Opioid / controlled substance
2 hours every 2 years — controlled-substance prescribing, abuse recognition, chronic pain. Trigger: Alabama Controlled Substances Certificate (ACSC) holders.
✓ No board pre-approval gate: No board pre-approval — generic ACCME AMA PRA Category 1 on the CS-prescribing topic counts.
All mandated CME topics
| Topic | Hours | Timing | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled substance prescribing / abuse recognition / chronic pain | 2 | every 2 years | AL Controlled Substances Certificate holders |
| Professional boundaries / sexual misconduct | 2 | one-time (all active by 12/31/2025; new within 12 months) | all |
Citation: Ala. Administrative Code 540-X-14
Nurse Practitioners (APRN / NP)
Set by the Alabama Board of Nursing (ABN) — separate from the physician rules above, with its own hours and topics.
General CE: 24 contact hours per biennial license period from a Board-approved provider. Renewal Sep 1-Dec 31; single-state renew even years, compact odd years.
Opioid / controlled substance
4 hours, every 2 years, for holders of controlled-substance prescriptive authority. Timing is built into the free multi-state planner.
All mandated CE topics
| Topic | Hours | Timing | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pharmacology / pharmacotherapeutics (prescriptive authority) | 24 hours | per cycle | prescribers |
| Opioid / controlled-substance prescribing | 4 | 4 credits every 2 years (QACSC renewal); 12 hours initial | CRNPs/CNMs holding a QACSC (controlled-substance prescriptive authority) |
Tracking: Self-report at ABN renewal; ABN audit. NOT CE Broker. QACSC CME tracked separately by ALBME.
Physician Assistants (PA)
Set by the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners / Medical Licensure Commission (ALBME) — separate from the physician rules above, with its own hours and topics.
General CE: 50 AMA PRA Category 1 credits every 2 calendar years (~25/year), cycle ends Dec 31; ACCME-accredited AMA PRA Category 1.
Opioid / controlled substance
4 hours, every 2 years, for holders of controlled-substance prescriptive authority. Timing is built into the free multi-state planner.
All mandated CE topics
| Topic | Hours | Timing | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pharmacology / pharmacotherapeutics (prescriptive authority) | 12 hours | per cycle | prescribers |
| Opioid / controlled-substance prescribing | 4 | 4 credits every 2 years (QACSC renewal); 12 hours initial | PAs holding a QACSC (controlled-substance prescriptive authority) |
| Navigating Professional Boundaries in Medicine (Board-designated) | 2 | one-time; all active PAs by 12/31/2025; new within 12 months (effective 1/1/2025) | all licensed PAs |
Tracking: Self-report to ALBME; audit; retain certificates 3 years. NOT CE Broker.
Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA)
Set by the Alabama Board of Nursing (ABN) — separate from the physician rules above, with its own hours and topics.
General CE: Same RN rule as all Alabama nurses: 'A licensed nurse shall earn in each earning period not less than 24 contact hours of Board-approved or Board-recognized continuing education as a condition for renewal' (r. 610-X-4-.08). First renewal after initial licensure: 4-hour Board-provided regulatory course + 1 hr per remaining calendar month, max 24. CRNA approval renews concurrently with the RN license each biennium (r. 610-X-9-.03). Renewal window Sep 1–Dec 31 of even years (single-state RN).
State CE is owed in addition to NBCRNA. Current NBCRNA certification is a condition of CRNA approval (approval expires on the earlier of RN license expiry or national certification expiry, and loss of certification must be reported immediately), but ch. 610-X-4/610-X-9 contain no provision allowing certification to substitute for the 24 contact hours; the 24 hrs (incl. 6 pharmacology) must be earned from Board-approved/recognized providers and posted to the ABN CE record. National layer: NBCRNA continued certification (4-year cycle: 60 Class A + 40 Class B credits, MAC Check).
Opioid / controlled substance
No standalone state opioid/controlled-substance CE mandate identified for this profession. The federal DEA MATE Act (one-time 8-hour training) still applies if you hold a DEA registration.
All mandated CE topics
| Topic | Hours | Timing | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anesthesia pharmacology CE | 6 | per cycle | All Alabama CRNAs, regardless of prescriptive authority (CRNAs have none) - pharmacology specific to the CRNA practice area, within the 24; unlike CRNPs/CNMs, whose 6 hrs are tied to prescriptive authority. |
| Board-provided regulatory/scope-of-practice course (first renewal after initial RN licensure only) | 4 | one-time | newly licensed nurses (RN level) |
Tracking: Board-approved providers post hours electronically to the licensee's ABN CE Record ('My Profile'); renewal cannot be completed until 24 hrs (incl. 6 pharmacology) are on the record; Board audit. NOT CE Broker. No QACSC/ALBME tracking for CRNAs.
Anesthesiologist Assistants (CAA)
Set by the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners — separate from the physician rules above, with its own hours and topics.
General CE: Rule 540-X-7-.62(1): 'Effective January 1, 2025, every two calendar years, each anesthesiologist assistant licensed by the Board must earn not less than fifty (50) hours of AMA PRA Category 1 Credits or the equivalent ... as a condition precedent to receiving his or her annual renewal of license.' Equivalents in (3) include AOA, AAFP, ACOG, advanced life support courses (max 2 credits/course) and 'programs accredited by the Federation for Advancement of Anesthesia Care Team (FAACT)'. (7) initial licensees exempt during first calendar year; (8) deployed military exempt; (6) hardship waivers at Board discretion. Separately, r. 540-X-7-.37(2): effective Jan 1 2024 AAs must complete Board-prescribed CE on Alabama rules/statutes governing supervised practice not more than 48 months before or within 12 months after registration to a physician.
State CE is owed in addition to NCCAA. The Alabama CME rule counts hours of AMA PRA Category 1 or listed equivalents; it does not state that maintaining NCCAA certification satisfies the 50-hour requirement. NCCAA Category I anesthesia CME (ACCME-accredited) would generally also qualify as AMA PRA Category 1 hours, but the state requirement is hour-based. National layer: NCCAA certification (50 CME hours every 2 years — 40 anesthesia + 10 general — plus the CDQ exam).
Opioid / controlled substance
No standalone state opioid/controlled-substance CE mandate identified for this profession. The federal DEA MATE Act (one-time 8-hour training) still applies if you hold a DEA registration.
All mandated CE topics
| Topic | Hours | Timing | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Board-designated professional boundaries course | Course (no set hours) | New licensees: within 12 months of license issue date; all active AAs: by Dec 31 2025 (one-time, no exemptions) | All licensed anesthesiologist assistants |
| Board-prescribed CE on Alabama rules and statutes governing supervised practice | Course (no set hours) | Not more than 48 months before, or within 12 months after, registration to a supervising physician (effective Jan 1 2024) | All anesthesiologist assistants registering to a physician |
Tracking: Self-certification of compliance on the annual renewal application (due Dec 31); AAs must retain attendance records/certificates for three years and produce them on Board request; failure to keep records is unprofessional conduct (r. 540-X-7-.62(4)-(5)). Board Licensee Gateway offers CME document upload.
Federal — DEA MATE Act (all professions)
One rule is the same for everyone below. Every DEA-registered prescriber — physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and any CRNA or CAA who holds a DEA registration — must complete a one-time 8-hour training on treating patients with opioid or other substance use disorders, as a condition of DEA registration/renewal (since June 27, 2023). It is federal, applies in every state, and does not replace Alabama's recurring opioid/controlled-substance CME. A MATE-qualifying accredited course will usually still count toward your state general CME/CE total. How the MATE Act differs from state rules →
Authority: MATE Act §1263, Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023 (21 U.S.C. §823).
Pick your profession and all your states in the free planner and get one 5-year schedule that batches your opioid/controlled-substance CME so a single course covers as many licenses as possible.
Build my multi-state CME plan →This page summarizes Alabama board rules and statutes as of 2026-08-24 for five separately-regulated professions: physicians (MD/DO), nurse practitioners (APRNs), physician assistants (PAs), nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), and anesthesiologist assistants (CAAs). Each is governed by its own board and its hour totals and mandated topics differ — never assume one profession's figures apply to another. Physician data is compiled from FSMB and state medical-board sources; APRN/PA data was validated against nursing- and PA/medical-board rules on 2026-07-20, with the opioid/controlled-substance timing structured on 2026-07-23; CRNA and CAA data was researched against nursing-board, medical-board and practice-act primary sources on 2026-08-24 (items the research could not pin to a primary source are flagged [VERIFY]). This is educational information, not legal advice — always verify current requirements with your own board before relying on them.