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Mississippi CME Requirements (2026): Physicians, NPs, PAs, CRNAs & CAAs
Mississippi 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 Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure.
General CME: 40 hours every 2 years.
Opioid / controlled substance
5 hours every 2 years — prescribing medications, emphasis on controlled substances. Trigger: DEA registrants.
✓ No board pre-approval gate: No board pre-approval — generic ACCME Category 1 counts. The 5-hour requirement exceeds any single 2-hour module, so it must be met across more than one activity.
All mandated CME topics
| Topic | Hours | Timing | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled substance / opioid prescribing | 5 | per 2-year cycle | active DEA certificate holders |
Citation: MS Rules Part 2610 Ch. 2
Nurse Practitioners (APRN / NP)
Set by the Mississippi Board of Nursing (MSBN) — separate from the physician rules above, with its own hours and topics.
General CE: No fixed biennial CE-hour total: maintaining current national certification satisfies the general CE requirement (30 Miss. Administrative Code Part 2840 R.1.2.B.8). The former 40-hour rule (old Part 2815) was repealed 9/16/2021. Prescriptive-authority APRNs owe 5 contact hours of controlled-substance CE per certification period. Cert period Jan 1 (odd) - Dec 31 (even).
Opioid / controlled substance
5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled-substance CE (prescriptive authority) | 5 | per 2-year certificate period | all APRNs |
Tracking: CE Broker - APRNs must register with CE Broker and upload CE completion documentation (PDF); MSBN may conduct periodic audits with a 10-business-day documentation response window.
Physician Assistants (PA)
Set by the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure (MSBML) — separate from the physician rules above, with its own hours and topics.
General CE: At least 100 hours of CME every 2 years, of which at least 50 hours must be AMA/AAPA Category 1. PAs holding current NCCPA certification may satisfy the overall 100-hour CME requirement by providing evidence of active NCCPA certification.
Opioid / controlled substance
5 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) | 5 | per cycle | prescribers |
| Controlled-substance prescribing CME | 5 | Every 2-year renewal cycle (within the 50 Category 1 hours) | PAs authorized to prescribe controlled substances |
Tracking: Self-certification of CME compliance at renewal through the Mississippi Electronic Licensing System (MELS); MSBML may audit. Board-approved CME tracking systems (e.g., CE Broker) and active certification are recognized for physicians and available to PAs; PAs retain documentation for audit.
Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA)
Set by the Mississippi Board of Nursing (MSBN) — separate from the physician rules above, with its own hours and topics.
General CE: 30 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 2815 R.1.6.B: 'APRN's licensed in Mississippi shall complete a minimum of forty (40) contact hours of accepted continuing education per renewed licensure period'; up to 20 carry-over hrs (not usable for the CS portion); new-graduate APRNs exempt for first renewal. Cycle Jan 1 odd year – Dec 31 even year; renewal Sep–Dec of even years. Identical to NP dataset.
State CE is owed in addition to NBCRNA. CRNAs must 'maintain documentation of current national certification' (Part 2840) as a condition of State Certification, but neither Pt. 2815 nor Pt. 2840 allows certification to substitute for the 40 hrs or the CS hours; CE certificates must be uploaded to CE Broker. National layer: NBCRNA continued certification (4-year cycle: 60 Class A + 40 Class B credits, MAC Check).
Opioid / controlled substance [VERIFY]
5 hours, 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 [VERIFY] | 5 or 10 (DISCREPANCY) | per cycle | ALL APRNs incl. CRNAs — 'irrespective of controlled substance prescriptive authority' (Pt. 2840 R.1.2.B.9; MSBN webpage). CRNAs owe it even though they cannot prescribe. |
Tracking: CE Broker (mandatory): upload CE certificates (PDF) and national certification; MSBN periodic audit with 10-business-day response window.
Some figures flagged [VERIFY] — verify with the board.
Anesthesiologist Assistants (CAA)
Not authorized to practice in Mississippi.
Certified anesthesiologist assistants cannot practice in Mississippi — there is no CAA license, certification or physician-delegation pathway, so there are no state CE requirements to track here. Pending / recent legislation: HB 1481 (2026, Rep. Mansell) 'Anesthesiologist assistants; allow licensure under physician assistant licensure law' – referred Public Health & Human Services 2026-01-19, died in committee 2026-02-03. Prior: HB 974 (2025) stand-alone AA licensure act – died in committee 2025-02-04; HB 1649 (2024) – similar. No enacted authority as of 2026-08-24. 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 Mississippi'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)
- MATE 8-hour satisfies. Medical-cannabis certifiers: separate 8hr+5hr/year. No other special 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 Mississippi 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.