MD/DO · Requirements & free courses
Kentucky requires 60 hours every 3 years for MD/DO renewal, including 2 topic-specific mandates. Every one of them has a free option below unless we say otherwise.
Each requirement below is paired with activities we opened and verified ourselves.
4.5 hours.
PCSS / American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry
Bundle worth up to 15 credits; 8 are needed for the DEA attestation.
PCSS / Opioid Response Network
14 stand-alone modules, roughly 0.75–1.25 credits each. Take only what you need.
NEJM Group / Massachusetts Medical Society
Explicitly satisfies the full one-time 8-hour DEA requirement in a single program. No NEJM or MMS membership needed. Carries ABIM, ABA and ABS MOC.
PCSS / American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry
SAMHSA grant-funded. Completing all 8 courses earns a digital badge that PCSS states fulfills the DEA 8-hour requirement. The landing page designates 9.25 credits generally; AMA PRA Category 1 is among the credit types offered.
More options on the opioids & pain page.
One-time requirement for primary care physicians.
The National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center, The Fenway Institute
The leading free source of accredited LGBTQIA+ health CME and the strongest match for the District of Columbia's 2-hour requirement. AAFP Prescribed credit is accepted by the AMA as equivalent to Category 1. Also includes a free intimate partner violence panel.
Heads up: Credit eligibility is per-activity — confirm the credit statement inside each module.
Our finding: We could not verify a single activity that is both genuinely free to all physicians and designated AMA PRA Category 1 for this topic. Every candidate failed on price, membership, or expiration. The closest free accredited option is the Fenway Institute's intimate partner violence panel, which carries AAFP Prescribed credit at no cost but is not marketed for Florida or Kentucky board approval. If you need Florida-compliant DV credit, Baptist Health South Florida's course is $9.95 — the cheapest compliant option we found.
More options on the domestic violence page.
A one-time 8 hours on substance use disorders, required of every DEA-registered practitioner regardless of state, due at your next registration or renewal. The attestation does not recur — you will not be asked again at future DEA renewals.
PCSS / American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry
Bundle worth up to 15 credits; 8 are needed for the DEA attestation.
PCSS / Opioid Response Network
14 stand-alone modules, roughly 0.75–1.25 credits each. Take only what you need.
You may already be covered. The requirement is satisfied without new coursework if you are board certified in addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry, graduated within the past five years from a qualifying program whose curriculum included the required content, or previously completed DATA-2000 waiver training.
More at MATE Act options.
Boards revise requirements mid-cycle and interpret them differently. Confirm against your own board’s current rules — find yours here — before counting an activity toward renewal.