District of Columbia Board of Medicine · PA

100 hours. Every two years. Tied to your birth month.

A source-verified guide to District of Columbia's CME requirements for PAs — hours, mandatory topics, audit rules, and exemptions.

Updated April 2026Sourced from DCBM~7 min read

Reviewed by Doug Doehrman, MD · Last reviewed April 21, 2026

Mandatory topics

For PAs, 100 hours is the total CME requirement. District of Columbia also requires a set of one-time topics that count toward the 100-hour total.

Cultural competency[1]
2 hrs
Biennial
Covers clinical relationships, health disparities, legal obligations, and bias recognition for patients who identify as LGBTQ+. Non-waivable even under the NCCPA substitute pathway — PAs using NCCPA certification must still complete this independently.
View sourceVerbatim from source
“One hundred (100) [hours] of CE every two (2) years, which includes two (2) hours in the subject of LGBTQ cultural competency and ten (10) hours must be in a topic designated as a public health priority. PAs may substitute NCCPA certification for the one hundred (100) hours, however, they will still be required to complete the required hours of CE in the subject area of LGBTQ cultural competency and the public health priorities.”
DC Board of Medicine CE frameworkSee source [1] in Primary Sources
Custom[2]
10 hrs
Biennial
Ten hours (10% of the 100-hour total) in public health priority topics designated by the Director of DC Health. The operative list is the October 1, 2025 DC Health Public Notice, which identifies ten broad topics — any combination across them counts toward the 10-hour total. NCCPA substitution does NOT waive this requirement.
View sourceVerbatim from source
“One hundred (100) [hours] of CE every two (2) years, which includes two (2) hours in the subject of LGBTQ cultural competency and ten (10) hours must be in a topic designated as a public health priority.”
DC Board of Medicine CE framework; DC Health Public Notice (eff. 2025-10-01)See source [2] in Primary Sources
Atlas CME tracks each of these mandatory topics against your District of Columbia cycle automatically. Start tracking free →
Accepted credit

Credit must come from an organization accredited by the ACCME, AMA, District of Columbia 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
AAPA Category 1
PAs onlymin 40 hrs
AAPA Category 1 CME credit counts toward the DC Board's 40-hour Category 1 minimum.Source17 DCMR § 4906.4(a)[3]
AMA PRA Category 1
AMA PRA Category 1 Credit from ACCME-accredited providers counts toward the 100-hour biennial total and the Category 1 minimum.Source17 DCMR § 4906.4(a)[3]
AAFP Prescribed
AAFP Prescribed credit is typically accepted as Category 1 equivalent under the Board's general accreditation language.Source17 DCMR § 4906.4[3]
NCCPA Category 2 credits
PAs onlymax 60 hrs
Category 2 credit from nationally accredited or DC Board-approved providers may satisfy up to 60 of 100 hours. PAs who use the NCCPA certification substitute pathway are deemed to satisfy the 100-hour total regardless of Category 1/2 split, but must still complete the mandatory topic hours.Source17 DCMR § 4906.4(b)[3]
Documentation & audit

DC Health transitioned its license renewal cycle in June 2024. Initial licenses issued on or after June 16, 2024 now expire on the last day of the licensee's birth month on a biennial cycle. PAs born in even-numbered years receive even-year expiration dates; those born in odd-numbered years receive odd-year expiration dates. PAs licensed before June 16, 2024 remain on the legacy December 31 biennial cycle until that cycle ends, at which point they transition to the birth-month schedule.

Waivers & exemptions

PAs who did not see patients clinically during the previous licensing cycle may apply for a CE waiver from the Mayor.

PAs with current NCCPA PA-C certification may substitute it for the 100-hour CE total per verbatim 17 DCMR § 4906.6, which states the certification may be furnished 'in lieu of meeting the requirements of those sections' (§§ 4906.4 and 4906.5). However, the DC Board of Medicine's published CE framework is explicit that two mandatory topic allocations survive the NCCPA substitution: PAs may substitute NCCPA certification for the 100 hours but will still be required to complete LGBTQ cultural competency and the public health priority hours. The LGBTQ cultural competency requirement (2 hrs) and the Public Health Priority requirement (10 hrs) are therefore non-waivable.

FAQ
How many CE hours do District of Columbia PAs need?
DC PAs must complete 100 hours of continuing education every two years, with at least 40 hours in AMA PRA Category 1 Credit, AAPA Category 1, or equivalent.[3] The remaining 60 hours may come from Category 1 or Category 2 credit from nationally accredited or DC Board-approved providers.[3] Within the 100-hour total, DC mandates 2 hours in LGBTQ cultural competency and 10 hours in topics designated by the Director of DC Health as public health priorities.[1] PAs with current NCCPA certification may substitute it for the 100-hour total, but must still complete the LGBTQ cultural competency and public health priority hours.[1]
Are there mandatory CE topics for PAs in DC?
Yes. DC PAs must complete 2 hours on LGBTQ cultural competency each biennial cycle, covering clinical relationships with LGBTQ patients, health disparities, and bias recognition.[1] Additionally, 10 hours (10% of the total) must address public health priority topics designated by the Director of DC Health.[1] The current list is the DC Health Public Notice effective October 1, 2025, which identifies ten topics: responsible opioid prescribing and pain management; nutrition and obesity prevention; identifying and reporting abuse/neglect/human trafficking/domestic violence; sexual health (including STDs, HIV/AIDS, HPV, latent TB, safe sex, birth control); ethics and appropriate patient interactions; smoking/vaping/tobacco; emergency preparedness and vulnerable populations; identifying impairment in patients and providers; vaccinations; and implicit bias / cultural competence / CLAS.[2]
Where can I check my DC PA license renewal date?
DC Health maintains a license renewal portal at dchealth.dc.gov. As of June 2024, DC transitioned to a birth-month-based renewal system: licenses issued on or after June 16, 2024 expire on the last day of the licensee's birth month on a biennial cycle. PAs licensed before that date remain on the legacy December 31 biennial cycle until it ends, then transition to the birth-month schedule. PAs should verify their specific expiration date through the DC Health online portal.
Can NCCPA certification substitute for DC's CE requirement?
Partially. Active NCCPA certification may be substituted for the 100-hour CE total.[3] However, the DC Board of Medicine's published CE framework is explicit that NCCPA substitution does NOT waive the 2-hour LGBTQ cultural competency or 10-hour public health priority requirements — PAs using the NCCPA pathway must still complete those mandatory topic hours independently.[1] PAs should not assume that NCCPA certification alone satisfies all DC renewal requirements.
What are DC's public health priority CE topics?
The current list is the DC Health Public Notice effective October 1, 2025, which identifies ten topics: (1) responsible opioid prescribing and effective pain management; (2) nutrition and obesity prevention; (3) identifying and reporting abuse, neglect, human trafficking, and domestic violence; (4) sexual health (including STDs such as HIV/AIDS, HPV vaccines, latent tuberculosis, safe sex, and birth control); (5) ethics and appropriate patient interactions (boundaries, patient privacy, telehealth); (6) smoking, vaping, and tobacco; (7) emergency preparedness and handling vulnerable populations in an emergency; (8) identifying impairment in patients and providers (ADA and OSHA compliance); (9) vaccinations (legal requirements and appropriate exemptions); and (10) implicit bias, cultural competence, and CLAS.[2] DC PAs need 10 hours total across any of these topics. This list supersedes the March 2025 five-domain list.

Never miss a District of Columbia CME deadline.

Atlas CME tracks your hours, maps them to your state requirements, and reminds you before your your birth month renewal.

Start tracking freeSee how it works

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. Board of Medicine — DC Health (CE framework for MD/DO and PA)
    Primary sourceAccessed 2026-04-21
    Show verbatim text
    “Physician Assistants (PA): One hundred (100) [hours] of CE every two (2) years, which includes two (2) hours in the subject of LGBTQ cultural competency and ten (10) hours must be in a topic designated as a public health priority. PAs may substitute NCCPA certification for the one hundred (100) hours, however, they will still be required to complete the required hours of CE in the subject area of LGBTQ cultural competency and the public health priorities.”DC Board of Medicine CE framework
    “One hundred (100) [hours] of CE every two (2) years, which includes two (2) hours in the subject of LGBTQ cultural competency and ten (10) hours must be in a topic designated as a public health priority. PAs may substitute NCCPA certification for the one hundred (100) hours, however, they will still be required to complete the required hours of CE in the subject area of LGBTQ cultural competency and the public health priorities.”DC Board of Medicine CE framework
  2. DC Health Public Notice — Public Health Topics for CE (effective October 1, 2025)
    Primary sourceAccessed 2026-04-20
    Show verbatim text
    “One hundred (100) [hours] of CE every two (2) years, which includes two (2) hours in the subject of LGBTQ cultural competency and ten (10) hours must be in a topic designated as a public health priority.”DC Board of Medicine CE framework; DC Health Public Notice (eff. 2025-10-01) · Effective 2025-10-01
  3. 17 DCMR § 4906 — Physician Assistant Continuing Education Requirements
    Primary sourceAccessed 2026-04-19
    Show verbatim text
    “4906.4 An applicant for renewal of a license to practice as a physician assistant shall submit proof pursuant to § 4906.7 of having completed during the two-year (2) period preceding the date the license expires approved continuing medical education as follows: (a) Forty (40) hours of credit in continuing medical education meeting the requirements of Category 1, as specified in § 4907.2; and (b) Sixty (60) hours of credit in continuing medical education meeting the requirements of either Category 1 or Category 2, as specified in § 4907.2 or § 4907.3. … 4906.6 A physician assistant who is required to obtain continuing medical education credits pursuant to § 4906.4 or 4906.5 may, in lieu of meeting the requirements of those sections, furnish proof satisfactory to the Board that the physician assistant holds a current valid certificate from the NCCPA that entitles the physician assistant (under the by-laws of the NCCPA) to use the designation 'Physician Assistant-Certified' or 'PAC.'”17 DCMR § 4906
  4. DC Code § 3-1205.10 — Term and Renewal of Licenses (HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ CE authorization)
    Primary sourceAccessed 2026-04-21

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 District of Columbia Board of Medicine, 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.

Privacy policyTerms of serviceContact