Colorado Physicians Will Owe CME for the First Time in 2027

Here is something that surprises people who move to Colorado from almost anywhere else: the state has never required physicians to complete general continuing medical education to renew. No hour total. No mandated topics. You attested to your fitness to practice and you renewed.

That era is ending. House Bill 24-1153, signed in August 2024, introduces a CME requirement for Colorado physicians beginning with the 2027 renewal cycle: 30 AMA PRA Category 1 credits every 24 months, including a substance use disorder component.

The new numbers

Thirty credits per biennium is a moderate load by national standards — lighter than Texas, which asks for 48, and well under California's 50. Inside that 30, at least 2 hours must address substance use disorder, which counts toward the total rather than sitting on top of it. The Colorado Medical Board licenses both MDs and DOs, and the requirement applies across the board.

One important caveat: rulemaking is still ongoing. The statute sets the framework, but the board is filling in details, so the exact mechanics for that first 2027 cycle could shift. Confirm the current figures with the Colorado Medical Board before you rely on a number.

Why a state would add CME now

Colorado was one of a shrinking handful of states with no general physician CME mandate. The substance use disorder piece signals the legislative intent — this is part of the broader push you see in opioid and controlled-substance CME requirements spreading across states. If you prescribe, that 2-hour SUD requirement is the part to schedule first.

What to do if you have coasted

If you are a Colorado physician who has genuinely never tracked CME, the habit muscle is going to be cold. Most physicians earn far more than 30 credits' worth of education in two years through grand rounds, conferences, and journal-based activities — the trick is documenting it. Start a folder now. Read what counts as AMA PRA Category 1 so you are not surprised that some of what you do every week qualifies and some does not, and set up a tracking system before the requirement is live rather than after.

Also worth knowing: Colorado's pharmacists are already on a 24-month CE clock, and the state's LCSWs use a professional-competency model that confuses people for different reasons. Colorado is not anti-CME across the board — physicians have just been the exception.

Colorado is part of a wave

This is not happening in isolation. Oregon is phasing in a new RN rule for 2028, Wyoming is raising psychologist hours in 2028, and Idaho moved several licenses to two-year renewals. We tracked the whole set in our roundup of states changing CME rules between 2026 and 2028, and there is a profession-organized version in the deadline tracker by profession.

Getting ready without overthinking it

You do not need to do anything frantic. You need 30 credits, including 2 SUD hours, banked across the cycle that ends at your 2027 renewal. If you attend even one decent conference a year and read journals with credit attached, you are most of the way there. The work is documentation and making sure the SUD hours are explicitly logged.

If you would rather have it mapped for you — especially that first cycle when the rules are new and the board is still finalizing language — that is what we do. White Glove CME produces a written plan tied to your renewal date for a flat $99 per license renewal. We plan; we do not issue credit and we never log into your board portal. See the pricing or send us your details. The full requirement summary is on our Colorado physician page and the broader Colorado overview.