Arkansas State Medical Board · MD

20 hours. Every year. Tied to your birth month.

A source-verified guide to Arkansas's CME requirements for physicians — hours, mandatory topics, audit rules, and exemptions.

Updated April 2026Sourced from ASMB~5 min read

Reviewed by Doug Doehrman, MD · Last reviewed April 17, 2026

Mandatory topics

For physicians, 20 hours is the total CME requirement. Arkansas also requires a set of one-time topics that count toward the 20-hour total.

Opioid / controlled substances[1]
1 hr
Annual
Applies to all physicians regardless of prescribing status — not limited to those who hold a DEA registration. Counts within the 20-hour annual total, not on top of it.
View sourceVerbatim from source
“One of the 20 annual credits must be in the area prescribing opioids and/or benzodiazepines.”
Regulation 17 (ASMB Physician FAQ)See source [1] in Primary Sources
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Accepted credit

Credit must come from an organization accredited by the ACCME, AMA, Arkansas Medical Association, or AAFP. ACGME residency or fellowship time accrues toward the requirement. Teaching or presenting accredited CME can satisfy a portion of required hours.

Credit systemNotes
AMA PRA Category 1
min 10 hrs
50% of CME hours must be Category 1 and in the physician's primary area of practice. For the 20-hour annual total, the Category 1 minimum is 10 hours. The underlying Regulation 17 rule text is referenced in the FAQ but was not separately scraped.SourceASMB Physician FAQ — Regulation 17[1]
Category 2 self-directed activities
max 10 hrs
The remaining 10 hours of the 20-hour annual total may come from non-Category-1 activities (Category 2 / self-directed learning). Specific enumerations of accepted non-Category-1 credit types (AOA Category 1-A, AAFP Prescribed, specialty society CME) are customary defaults and not enumerated in the Board FAQ; Regulation 17 rule text was not scraped.SourceASMB Physician FAQ — Regulation 17[1]
Documentation & audit

The CME reporting period is defined by the physician's birth month: credits must be earned from the birth month of the previous year through the birth month of the current year. This creates a rolling 12-month window rather than a calendar-year one.[1]

Waivers & exemptions

Physicians in an ACGME-accredited residency or fellowship training program are generally considered to satisfy the CME requirement through training. The Board FAQ does not explicitly state this exemption; it is a customary Board practice reported in secondary aggregators.

Newly licensed physicians begin accruing CME from the month of their initial licensure; the first renewal prorates accordingly. Customary Board practice; not explicit in Layer 1 text.

FAQ
How many CME hours do Arkansas physicians need?
Arkansas physicians must complete 20 hours of approved continuing medical education each year.[1] The CME reporting period runs from the physician's birth month in the previous year through the same birth month in the current year, creating a rolling 12-month cycle that is different for every physician. At least 10 of the 20 hours must be AMA PRA Category 1 credits in the physician's primary area of practice, and at least 1 hour must cover opioid or benzodiazepine prescribing.
When does Arkansas's CME cycle start and end?
Arkansas uses a birth-month-anchored rolling cycle.[1] CME hours must be earned between the physician's birth month in one year and the same birth month in the following year. A physician born in May, for example, must complete 20 hours between May of the prior year and May of the current year. This differs from calendar-year states like Alabama and from biennial birth-month states like California. Arkansas resets every 12 months, not every 24.
How often are Arkansas physicians audited for CME?
The Arkansas State Medical Board performs random audits every month rather than in annual waves.[1] Physicians who are selected must submit certificates of completion for every credit they have claimed, and the Board may disallow credits that are not documented. For this reason, the Board recommends retaining records continuously, including course title, dates, length in hours, sponsor, and credit type, rather than compiling them at renewal.
Do residency hours count toward Arkansas CME?
Physicians in ACGME-accredited residency or fellowship programs are generally considered to satisfy the Arkansas CME requirement through their training, similar to how most states treat active residents. Physicians completing training mid-year should contact the Board to confirm how the transition year is handled and whether a prorated first cycle applies.
Do Arkansas MDs and DOs have different CME requirements?
No. Arkansas does not maintain a separate osteopathic licensing board — DOs and MDs are both licensed by the Arkansas State Medical Board and subject to the same CME requirements (20 hours per renewal cycle).[1]

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Sources & Citations

Every mandatory topic and conditional requirement above cites the underlying statute or rule. Numbered references below correspond to the bracketed citations next to each requirement.

  1. Frequently Asked Questions (Physician) — Arkansas State Medical Board
    Primary sourceAccessed 2026-04-21
    Show verbatim text
    “20 hours annually. Reference Regulation 17 in the Arkansas Medical Practices Acts & Regulations. CME hours must be from birth month of previous year through birth month of current year. 50% of CME hours must be Category 1 and in the physician's primary area of practice. One of the 20 annual credits must be in the area prescribing opioids and/or benzodiazepines. Random audits are performed monthly. If audited, certificates of CME completion are required to be submitted.”ASMB Physician FAQ (Regulation 17)
    “One of the 20 annual credits must be in the area prescribing opioids and/or benzodiazepines.”Regulation 17 (ASMB Physician FAQ)

This page is provided for general educational purposes and reflects the best available information as of the last reviewed date above. CME requirements change. Atlas CME is not affiliated with the Arkansas State Medical Board, or any other state medical board, licensing authority, or professional organization. Physicians are solely responsible for verifying their own current CME requirements directly with their state's medical board before relying on any information presented here.

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