If you hold a North Dakota physician assistant license, the North Dakota Board of Medicine ties your continuing education to your national certification: you may not practice in North Dakota without a current NCCPA certificate. Rather than setting its own separate CME hour total for PAs, the state requires you to keep your NCCPA certification active — and you must notify the board within ten days if it lapses. NCCPA certification maintenance requires 100 CME hours every two years (at least 50 of them AAPA Category 1). Below is the full breakdown.
NCCPA certification required
You may not practice in North Dakota without a current NCCPA certificate.
100 hours / 2 years (via NCCPA)
NCCPA certification maintenance requires 100 CME hours every two years, 50 of them AAPA Category 1.
No separate state total
North Dakota does not add a separate PA CME hour requirement beyond NCCPA.
Report lapses promptly
Notify the board within ten days if your NCCPA certification lapses.
How CME works for North Dakota PAs
North Dakota does not set its own separate CME hour total for physician assistants. Instead, the state requires you to maintain current NCCPA certification to practice. NCCPA certification maintenance requires 100 CME hours every two years, of which at least 50 must be AAPA Category 1.
Mandated subject requirements
North Dakota does not mandate specific CME subject areas for physician assistants beyond what NCCPA requires for certification maintenance. The 60-hour-per-three-years state CME rule applies to physicians, not PAs.
Renewal cycle and deadlines
North Dakota PA licenses are renewed annually. Because compliance is established through NCCPA certification, keep your NCCPA status current and report any lapse to the board within ten days.
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View pricingNorth Dakota Physician Assistants (PA) CME at a glance
Double-check this one — our sources varied
Sources disagreed on some figures for this state, so treat the numbers above as a researched starting point and verify the specifics with the board before you rely on them.
North Dakota physician assistants are licensed by the North Dakota Board of Medicine. The state does not impose its own separate CME hour total on PAs; instead, you may not practice in North Dakota without a current NCCPA certificate, and the board requires proof of current NCCPA certification (you must notify the board within ten days if your NCCPA certification lapses). NCCPA certification maintenance itself requires 100 CME hours every two years (at least 50 of them AAPA Category 1). The 60-hour-per-three-years CME rule in North Dakota administrative code applies to physicians, not to physician assistants.
CME requirements change, and North Dakota relies on NCCPA certification rather than a separate state CME total for PAs. Confirm current rules with the North Dakota Board of Medicine before relying on these figures.
Source: North Dakota Board of Medicine. Board website · Researched as of 2026-06-01 · CME rules change; this is administrative guidance, not legal or CME-accreditation advice.
Licensed in more than one state?
PA Licensure Compact: enacted but not yet active. Enacted by enough states and a commission is standing up, but NOT yet issuing the compact privilege — PAs still license state-by-state.
Each state license carries its own CME requirement and renewal date — if you hold more than one, you need a plan for each.
Also licensing in North Dakota or beyond?
Our sister teams handle the licensing side with the same concierge service.
North Dakota Physician Assistant CME Requirements — Frequently Asked Questions
How many CME hours do North Dakota PAs need?
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North Dakota does not set a separate state CME total for PAs. You must maintain current NCCPA certification, which requires 100 CME hours every two years (50 of them AAPA Category 1).
Is NCCPA certification required in North Dakota?
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Yes — you may not practice in North Dakota without a current NCCPA certificate, and you must notify the board within ten days if it lapses.
Does North Dakota mandate specific CME topics for PAs?
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No state-specific topic mandates apply to PAs beyond NCCPA's own certification requirements.
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