Delaware's New Dementia CME Requirement for 2027 Renewals

A new required training block lands at Delaware's next physician renewal. Beginning with the license renewal due March 31, 2027, Delaware physicians must have completed at least 2 hours of continuing education on the diagnosis, treatment, or care of patients with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias. It applies broadly — to MDs, DOs, and other licensees under Chapter 17 who treat adult patients — but it comes with a clean, attestation-based exemption. And because the reporting period for that renewal is already open, the hours you earn now can count. Here is exactly who must complete it, the window it falls in, the attestation that exempts you, and how it behaves at renewals after 2027.

What changed

Delaware's General Assembly created the requirement through Senate Bill 319 (84 Del. Laws c. 468), which was signed and took effect on September 30, 2024 and is codified at 24 Del. C. § 1713(d). Under the statute, a professional renewing a license must have completed “at least 2 hours of the total required during that reporting period of continuing education dedicated to the diagnosis, treatment, or care of patients with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias.”

The phrase that matters most is “of the total required.” These 2 hours are not bolted on top of your CME total — they count within it. Delaware physicians already complete 40 hours of approved CME during each full biennial renewal period (Category I credit approved by the American Medical Association, or the American Osteopathic Association equivalent), so the dementia requirement simply says that at least 2 of those 40 hours must be on Alzheimer's disease or other dementias. As the bill's own synopsis puts it, doctors “must only complete 2 hours of this continuing education once.”

Who must complete it

The requirement reaches broadly across the physicians the Delaware Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline oversees under Chapter 17 — MDs, DOs, and other Chapter 17 licensees. What narrows it is not the license type but the patient population. A professional is exempt, by attestation at renewal, if either of the following is true:

• they do not provide health-care services to, or have direct patient interactions with, adults age 26 or older; or
• they do not provide health-care services to anyone within the State of Delaware.

In the words of SB 319's synopsis, doctors who “do not have direct patient interactions with adult populations over the age of 25 or do not currently practice within the State of Delaware are exempt from this requirement.” Section 1713(d)(7) permits previously applied qualifying training to count toward the post-2027 requirement in paragraph (d)(3). For the 2027 physician renewal, complete the qualifying hours within April 1, 2025–March 31, 2027.

The reporting window and the first deadline

Delaware MD and DO licenses expire on March 31 of odd-numbered years, and CME accrues over the two-year period running from April 1 to March 31 of odd years. For the renewal now on the horizon, that reporting period is April 1, 2025 through March 31, 2027. That is the first renewal at which the dementia hours are required, so the 2 hours must fall inside this current window. Credit earned before April 1, 2025 generally belongs to the prior period rather than this one.

How it behaves at later renewals

This is the part worth understanding, because it is what makes the requirement effectively one-time. For renewals after 2027, the statute still calls for the 2 hours during that reporting period (24 Del. C. § 1713(d)(3)) — unless the professional attests that they previously completed the education in a prior reporting period (§ 1713(d)(4)). At renewals after 2027, you need not repeat the education if you submit the required sworn statement or attestation of prior completion. That is why the bill's synopsis frames it as something doctors “must only complete…once.”

What to do now

1. Decide whether the exemption applies to you. You may claim exemption through the Division-prescribed sworn statement or attestation if you neither provide health-care services to nor have direct patient interactions with adults age 26 or older, or if you provide no health-care services to anyone within Delaware — but be sure your practice genuinely fits before you rely on it.
2. Bank 2 dementia hours this cycle. If you are not exempt, make sure at least 2 of the 40 accredited hours you complete between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2027 cover the diagnosis, treatment, or care of patients with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias. For renewals after 2027, previously applied qualifying training may count toward the requirement under § 1713(d)(3).
3. Note your renewal date. Delaware physician licenses expire March 31 of odd-numbered years; the current period closes March 31, 2027.
4. Keep a record of your qualifying dementia CME and check it against the board's renewal requirements.
5. Verify with the board. Rules and specifics can change, so confirm the current requirement with the Delaware Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline before you rely on it.

We keep the renewal cycle and CME details for both license types current in our state-by-state guides:

Sources

• 24 Del. C. § 1713 — Delaware Code, Title 24, Chapter 17 (Medical Practice Act): delcode.delaware.gov/title24/c017/sc02
• Senate Bill 319, 152nd General Assembly (84 Del. Laws c. 468), signed 9/30/2024: legis.delaware.gov — SB 319
• Session Laws chapter for SB 319: legis.delaware.gov/SessionLaws/Chapter
• Delaware Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline — physician license renewal (March 31 of odd years): dpr.delaware.gov/boards/medicalpractice/renewal
• Delaware Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline — continuing education and audit information (40 hours per full renewal period; April 1–March 31 accrual): dpr.delaware.gov/boards/medicalpractice/continuing-education-and-audit-information