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Connecticut CME Requirements (2026): Physicians, NPs, PAs, CRNAs & CAAs
Connecticut 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 Connecticut Medical Examining Board.
General CME: 50 hours every 2 years.
Opioid / controlled substance
2 hours first renewal + every 6 years — behavioral health (may include SUD). NOT opioid-specific; an SUD module qualifies.
✓ No board pre-approval gate: No board pre-approval — generic ACCME Category 1 counts. Topic is behavioral health, not opioid-specific (verification note).
All mandated CME topics
| Topic | Hours | Timing | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infectious diseases (including HIV/AIDS) | 1 | 1st renewal then >=every 6 years | all |
| Risk management (including controlled-substance and opioid prescribing, and pain management) | 1 | 1st renewal then >=every 6 years | all |
| Sexual assault | 1 | 1st renewal then >=every 6 years | all |
| Domestic violence | 1 | 1st renewal then >=every 6 years | all |
| Cultural competency (including implicit bias, systemic racism and transgender care) | 1 | 1st renewal then >=every 6 years | all |
| Behavioral health (option to satisfy via suicide prevention / dementia / veterans MH) | 1 | 1st renewal then >=every 6 years | all |
Citation: Conn. Gen. Stat. §20-10(b)
Nurse Practitioners (APRN / NP)
Set by the Connecticut DPH (APRN licensure; Board of Examiners for Nursing) — separate from the physician rules above, with its own hours and topics.
General CE: Minimum 50 contact hours per 24 months. Must include 1 hour each: infectious disease (including AIDS/HIV), risk management, sexual assault, domestic violence, cultural competency, substance abuse; plus >=5 hours pharmacotherapeutics. First renewal exempt.
Opioid / controlled substance
1 hour, 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) | 5 contact hours | per cycle | prescribers |
| Opioid / controlled-substance prescribing | 1 | each 24-month CE period (ongoing) | all APRNs (holding prescriptive authority) |
| Veterans mental health / PTSD, suicide risk & prevention, depression, grief | 2 | first CE renewal, then >=once every 6 years (effective 1/1/2016) | all APRNs |
| Cultural competency | 1 | each 24-month cycle | all APRNs |
| Sexual assault | 1 | each 24-month cycle | all APRNs |
| Domestic violence | 1 | each 24-month cycle | all APRNs |
| Risk management | 1 | each 24-month cycle | all APRNs |
| Infectious diseases (including AIDS/HIV) | 1 | each 24-month cycle | all APRNs |
Tracking: Self-report/attestation at renewal; retain records >=3 years, produce within 45 days; audit. No CE Broker.
Physician Assistants (PA)
Set by the Connecticut DPH (PA licensure; CT Medical Examining Board) — separate from the physician rules above, with its own hours and topics.
General CE: CT sets no own numeric total; PAs must meet/maintain NCCPA CME (100 hours per 2 years) + any NCCPA exam. Renewed annually during birth month.
Opioid / controlled substance
1 hour, 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) | None | per cycle | prescribers |
| Opioid / controlled-substance prescribing | 1 | >=1 hour in preceding 2 years (ongoing) | all licensed PAs (prescribers) |
| Mental health / PTSD, suicide risk, depression & grief, suicide prevention | 2 | first CE renewal (effective 1/1/2022), then >=once every 6 years | all licensed PAs |
Tracking: Attestation at renewal; retain records >=3 years, produce within 45 days; audit. No CE Broker.
Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA)
Set by the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) — APRN licensure (with Board of Examiners for Nursing) — separate from the physician rules above, with its own hours and topics.
General CE: 'A minimum of fifty contact hours of continuing education within the preceding twenty-four-month period' with mandated content (below). First-time renewal exempt; non-practice exemption and medical waiver available; up to 10 hrs waived for service on the Board of Examiners for Nursing. License renews annually; CE measured over 24 months. Identical to the NP dataset.
State CE is owed in addition to NBCRNA. CGS §20-94d contains no provision allowing national certification (NBCRNA CPC) to satisfy the 50-hour requirement. Maintaining nurse-anesthetist certification is a license condition (§20-94a/§20-87a) but the state hours are additional. NBCRNA CPC Class A credits from ANCC/AANA-accredited providers generally qualify as acceptable CE activities under §20-94d(b). National layer: NBCRNA continued certification (4-year cycle: 60 Class A + 40 Class B credits, MAC Check).
Opioid / controlled substance
1 hour, every 2 years, for every CRNA in the state. Timing is built into the free multi-state planner.
All mandated CE topics
| Topic | Hours | Timing | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pharmacology / pharmacotherapeutics | 5 | per cycle | All CT APRNs including CRNAs — the statute attaches the hours to the APRN license, not to a prescriptive-authority endorsement (all CT APRNs, including nurse anesthetists, have prescriptive authority under §20-94b). |
| Opioid / controlled-substance prescribing | 1 | each 24-month CE period | All APRNs incl. CRNAs — the 1-hr substance-abuse topic must include 'prescribing controlled substances and pain management'. Same as NP dataset. FEDERAL (not state): DEA MATE Act one-time 8-hr SUD training applies only to CRNAs who personally hold a DEA registration. |
| Infectious diseases (incl. AIDS/HIV) | 1 | per cycle | all APRNs incl. CRNAs |
| Risk management | 1 | per cycle | all APRNs incl. CRNAs |
| Sexual assault | 1 | per cycle | all APRNs incl. CRNAs |
| Domestic violence | 1 | per cycle | all APRNs incl. CRNAs |
| Cultural competency | 1 | per cycle | all APRNs incl. CRNAs |
| Mental health conditions common to veterans (PTSD, suicide risk, depression, grief) | 2 | first renewal after 1/1/2016, then at least once every 6 years | all APRNs incl. CRNAs |
Tracking: Attestation at annual renewal; retain records ≥3 yrs; produce within 45 days of DPH request; random audit. No CE Broker.
Anesthesiologist Assistants (CAA)
Not authorized to practice in Connecticut.
Certified anesthesiologist assistants cannot practice in Connecticut — there is no CAA license, certification or physician-delegation pathway, so there are no state CE requirements to track here. No pending licensure bill was found as of August 2026. NCCAA certification requirements (50 CME hours every 2 years + the CDQ exam) still apply nationally.
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 Connecticut'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).
Notes (physician data)
- CT folds opioid/pain into risk management; no standalone opioid statute. Suicide/dementia are optional ways to meet behavioral health, not standalone mandates.
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 Connecticut 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.