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Delaware CME Requirements (2026): Physicians, NPs, PAs, CRNAs & CAAs
Delaware 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 Delaware Board of Medical Licensure & Discipline.
General CME: 40 hours every 2 years.
Opioid / controlled substance
2 hours every 2 years — controlled-substance prescribing / chronic pain. Trigger: all.
✓ No board pre-approval gate: No board pre-approval — generic ACCME/AOA Category 1 counts.
All mandated CME topics
| Topic | Hours | Timing | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled substance / opioid / chronic pain prescribing | 2 (+one-time course for new CSR) | per CSR renewal | DE Controlled Substance Registration holders |
Citation: 24 Del. Administrative Code 1700-12.0
Nurse Practitioners (APRN / NP)
Set by the Delaware Board of Nursing (Div of Professional Regulation) — separate from the physician rules above, with its own hours and topics.
General CE: APRNs hold active RN license: 30 contact hours each 2 years; >=3 hours substance abuse and >=1 hour recognition/response to abuse/exploitation/trafficking/DV of vulnerable populations. Maintain national certificate.
Opioid / controlled substance
2 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) | 2 hours | per cycle | prescribers |
| Opioid / controlled-substance prescribing | 2 | every 2 years (per CSR renewal) | all CS registrants/prescribers (profession-agnostic), including APRNs with CSR |
| Substance abuse | 3 | each 2-year RN cycle | all RNs/APRNs |
| Recognition/response to abuse, exploitation, human trafficking, or DV of vulnerable populations | 1 | each reporting period; eff. renewals on/after 10/1/2025 | all nurses/APRNs treating adults |
Tracking: DELPROS portal; self-report/attestation with random audit. Not CE Broker.
Physician Assistants (PA)
Set by the Delaware Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline — separate from the physician rules above, with its own hours and topics.
General CE: 100 hours approved CME each 2-year period (Apr 1-Mar 31 even years). Either current NCCPA certificate OR 50 hours AMA Category 1 + 50 hours Category 2. First-renewal proration.
Opioid / controlled substance
2 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) | 2 hours | per cycle | prescribers |
| Opioid / controlled-substance prescribing | 2 | every 2 years (per CSR renewal) | all CS registrants/prescribers (profession-agnostic), including PAs with CSR |
Tracking: DELPROS portal; self-report/attestation with random audit. Not CE Broker.
Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA)
Set by the Delaware Board of Nursing (Division of Professional Regulation) — separate from the physician rules above, with its own hours and topics.
General CE: CRNAs are one of the four APRN roles defined in 24 Del. Admin. Code 1900 s. 8.4 (graduate of a COA-accredited nurse anesthesia program, certified by NBCRNA or Board-approved equivalent). APRN renewal (s. 8.12): 'must meet the requirements for recertification as established by the certifying agency' (8.12.1) and practice hours of 1,500 in the past 5 yrs or 600 in the past 2 yrs (8.12.2). CE hours come from the underlying RN license: 30 contact hrs each biennium, at least 3 in substance abuse and at least 1 on recognition of/response to abuse, exploitation, trafficking or domestic violence of vulnerable persons (s. 9.2.1.1). Board CE page confirms 30 hrs/renewal period for RNs with the same two mandated topics.
NBCRNA recertification counts toward state CE (partial). NBCRNA recertification is required to keep the APRN/CRNA license (s. 8.12.1) but does not by itself satisfy the RN 30-hr CE. Rule 9.2.1.2.6 / 9.3.3: 'National certification or recertification equals 20 contact hours awarded during the biennium' in which it is awarded (excluding pre-acquired skills). The remaining 10 hrs, including the 3-hr substance-abuse and 1-hr abuse/trafficking topics, must still be earned. National layer: NBCRNA continued certification (4-year cycle: 60 Class A + 40 Class B credits, MAC Check).
Opioid / controlled substance
2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opioid / controlled-substance prescribing | 2 | every 2 yrs, attested at CSR renewal | Only CRNAs who hold an individual Delaware Controlled Substance Registration (profession-agnostic all-CSR-holder rule); CRNAs administering facility-stock controlled substances without their own CSR are not subject |
| Substance abuse | 3 | per cycle (RN biennium) | All RNs incl. CRNAs |
| Recognition of and response to suspected/known sexual abuse, physical abuse, exploitation, trafficking, or domestic violence of vulnerable persons | 1 | per cycle (RN biennium) | All RNs incl. CRNAs |
| Alzheimer's/dementia | 1 | per cycle | Practitioners in adult/gerontology settings (secondary-source claim; unlikely to reach anesthesia practice) |
Tracking: DELPROS portal; self-attestation at renewal (s. 9.2.2.1) with random audit; licensee retains certificates (s. 9.2.5). RN/APRN expire together (odd years: 2/28, 5/31 or 9/30; compact-RN holders' APRN expires 9/30 odd years). Not CE Broker.
Anesthesiologist Assistants (CAA)
Not authorized to practice in Delaware.
Certified anesthesiologist assistants cannot practice in Delaware — 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 Delaware'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)
- Board CME rule mandates no other subject topics.
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 Delaware 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.