Ohio Osteopathic Physician 50 AOA Category 1-A Credits CME Renewal Package

How many CME hours do Ohio osteopathic physicians need?

Ohio osteopathic physicians need 50 hours of CME every two years to renew ( ORC 4731.282 ; OAC 4731-10-02 ). Of that total, only 1 hour is a fixed, mandatory topic that repeats every renewal period; the remaining 49 hours are general CME which is up to the Physician. The Board licenses MDs and DOs under the same chapter with the same required topics for CME: a DO satisfies the 50 hours with activities the American Osteopathic Association or the American Medical Association recognizes as Category 1. Category 2 credit is not accepted for either ( OAC 4731-10-02 ).

Renewal falls every two years, on the osteopathic physician's own individual license expiration date, which is set two years from the date of issuance ( ORC 4731.281 ). A CME-hour waiver (not a renewal exemption) is available for an osteopathic physician disabled by illness or accident, or absent from the United States, for 6 or more consecutive months, requested at least 60 days before the end of the registration period ( OAC 4731-10-03 ). Ohio Medical Doctors & Osteopathic Physicians can take either an accredited 50 Credit AMA Category 1 Package or a 50 Credit AOA Category 1-A Package .

Which CME topics are required for Ohio osteopathic physicians?

Every osteopathic physician must complete 1 hour of CME on the duty to report misconduct every renewal period, effective for renewals filed on or after July 1, 2021 ( OAC 4731-10-02 ; State Medical Board of Ohio — Duty to Report ).

An osteopathic physician who owns or provides care at a pain management clinic must also complete 20 hours of Category I pain medicine CME every two-year cycle, including at least one course addressing the potential for addiction — these hours are accepted toward the general 50-hour total, not layered on top of it ( OAC 4731-29-01 ).

Osteopathic physicians holding a DEA registration must also complete a one-time 8-hour DEA MATE Training on Opioid or Substance Use Disorder , per the federal MATE Act — a federal DEA registration requirement, not an Ohio Board mandate, and not counted toward the state's 50-hour total ( DEA Diversion Control Division — MATE Act Training FAQ ).

Do newly licensed Ohio osteopathic physicians need CME for their first renewal?

Yes. OAC 4731-10-02 sets the same 50-hour standard for a first renewal as for every later one, and because each physician's two-year cycle is individually anchored to their own license-issuance date, the first registration period still runs a full 24 months ( OAC 4731-10-02 ).

Does the State Medical Board of Ohio audit CME records?

Yes. Osteopathic physicians self-certify compliance at renewal, and the Board may select applications for verification that all CME requirements have been met; documentation (activity description, dates, and hours) must be retained for 2 years after the CME period ends ( OAC 4731-10-08 ). A pending rule (new OAC 4731-10-07, filed with JCARR for an August 19, 2026 hearing but not yet confirmed adopted) would formalize this process with specific timelines: an emailed audit notice, 14 days for the licensee to acknowledge it, and 30 days to submit evidence of completed CME, with a failure to respond referred for investigation. A related pending change to OAC 4731-10-08 would also tighten what counts as acceptable evidence, from a general activity description to specifically requiring certificates of completion or institutional transcripts.

Sources

Last verified: September 24, 2026

• State Medical Board of Ohio

• State Medical Board of Ohio — Physician (MD, DO, DPM) Licensing and Renewal

• OAC 4731-10-02 — Requisite Hours of Continuing Medical Education for License Renewal or Reinstatement

• OAC 4731-10-03 — CME Waiver

• OAC 4731-10-08 — Evidence of CME

• OAC 4731-29-01 — Pain Management Clinics

• ORC 4731.281 — License Renewal

• ORC 4731.282 — Continuing Medical Education Requirement

• State Medical Board of Ohio — Duty to Report

• DEA Diversion Control Division — MATE Act Training FAQ

• State Medical Board of Ohio, "Continuing Medical Education" CSI Business Impact Analysis (submitted for CSI review 5/1/2026, comment period ended 5/22/2026)

• State Medical Board of Ohio Legal Dept., "Rules Schedule" (as of July 31, 2026)