A source-verified guide to Connecticut's CME requirements for PAs — hours, mandatory topics, audit rules, and exemptions.
Reviewed by Doug Doehrman, MD · Last reviewed April 21, 2026
For PAs, 100 hours is the total CME requirement. Connecticut also requires a set of one-time topics that count toward the 100-hour total.
“completed not less than one contact hour of training or education in prescribing controlled substances and pain management in the preceding two-year period”
“for registration periods beginning on and after January 1, 2022, during the first renewal period and not less than once every six years thereafter, earn not less than two contact hours of training or education screening for post-traumatic stress disorder, risk of suicide, depression and grief and suicide prevention training administered by the American Academy of Physician Associates, or the American Academy of Physician Associates' successor organization, a hospital or other licensed health care institution or a regionally accredited institution of higher education.”
Credit must come from an organization accredited by the ACCME, AMA, Connecticut 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 system | Notes |
|---|---|
AAPA Category 1 PAs only | Core NCCPA-accepted credit type. Connecticut's PA CE obligation is defined by reference to NCCPA maintenance requirements.SourceCGS § 20-12j(b)(1)[1] |
AMA PRA Category 1 | AMA PRA Category 1 Credit from ACCME-accredited providers — standard NCCPA-accepted type.SourceCGS § 20-12j(b)(1)[1] |
NCCPA Category 2 credits PAs onlymax 50 hrs | NCCPA Category 2 credits (up to 50 of 100 hours per NCCPA rules). This is an NCCPA rule, not a Connecticut state rule; included because Connecticut's PA CE obligation is defined BY reference to NCCPA maintenance.SourceCGS § 20-12j(b)(1)[1] |
Compliance is attestation-based.[1] PAs do not submit NCCPA verification or CE certificates at renewal. DPH can request documentation; PAs must retain records for a minimum of three years following the year the CE was completed and submit them within 45 days of a request.[1]
Connecticut PA licenses renew annually during the licensee's birth month.[1] The license renewal is annual; the underlying NCCPA CE cycle is biennial. Annual renewal is an attestation checkpoint.
DPH CME framework generally exempts first-time renewal applicants for physicians under CGS 20-10b; whether this applies equivalently to PAs under CGS 20-12j is not explicitly stated in the PA statute. PAs in their first renewal period should confirm applicability with DPH.
Atlas CME tracks your hours, maps them to your state requirements, and reminds you before your your birth month renewal.
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.
“Each person holding a license as a physician assistant shall, annually, during the month of such person's birth, renew such license with the Department of Public Health … No such license shall be renewed unless the department is satisfied that the practitioner (1) has met the mandatory continuing medical education requirements of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants or a successor organization … (3) has completed not less than one contact hour of training or education in prescribing controlled substances and pain management in the preceding two-year period; and (4) for registration periods beginning on and after January 1, 2022, during the first renewal period and not less than once every six years thereafter, earn not less than two contact hours of training or education screening for post-traumatic stress disorder, risk of suicide, depression and grief and suicide prevention training administered by the American Academy of Physician Associates, or the American Academy of Physician Associates' successor organization, a hospital or other licensed health care institution or a regionally accredited institution of higher education.”CGS § 20-12j
“completed not less than one contact hour of training or education in prescribing controlled substances and pain management in the preceding two-year period”CGS § 20-12j(b)(3)
“for registration periods beginning on and after January 1, 2022, during the first renewal period and not less than once every six years thereafter, earn not less than two contact hours of training or education screening for post-traumatic stress disorder, risk of suicide, depression and grief and suicide prevention training administered by the American Academy of Physician Associates, or the American Academy of Physician Associates' successor organization, a hospital or other licensed health care institution or a regionally accredited institution of higher education.”CGS § 20-12j(b)(4)