01 In short
AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ is the main CME credit of the American Medical Association's Physician's Recognition Award (PRA) credit system. Only providers accredited by the ACCME or by an ACCME-recognized state medical society can certify an activity for it, before the activity takes place (a live hour earns 1 credit); the AMA itself awards it directly for a short list of activities such as publishing a peer-reviewed article (10 credits). It is awarded only to physicians (MD, DO or an equivalent foreign degree), but NCCPA and ANCC count documented AMA PRA Category 1 activities toward PA and nursing certification renewal.
- Who certifies it
- ACCME-accredited providers and ACCME-recognized state medical societies
- Credit size
- 60 minutes = 1 credit, designated in 0.25-credit steps
- Who is awarded it
- Physicians: MD, DO or equivalent foreign degree
- Category 2
- Self-claimed by the physician, no certificate
02 What it is
What is AMA PRA Category 1 Credit?
The AMA created the Physician's Recognition Award in 1968 to push physicians to keep learning after training. The AMA PRA credit system grew out of it as the yardstick for who qualified for the award, which is why every credit still carries the "PRA" in its name.
The AMA owns the rules. It does not approve most courses itself. Within the US, it lets only organizations accredited by the ACCME, or by a state medical society that the ACCME recognizes, designate and award AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. The AMA's issue brief says the ACCME system covers more than 1,500 accredited providers, and the AMA is one of them.
Three rules from the AMA PRA booklet decide most real-world questions. The activity must be certified in advance; a provider cannot approve credit after the fact. For live activities, 60 minutes of formal interaction equals 1 credit, designated in 15-minute (0.25-credit) steps. And only physicians can be awarded it: the AMA defines them as holders of an MD, a DO or an equivalent medical degree from another country.
Some learning never earns AMA PRA credit at all. The booklet lists clinical experience, charity or mission work, mentoring, committee and board service, and passing exams that are not part of a certified activity.
03 The designation statement
How to read the AMA credit designation statement
Every certified activity must print the AMA Credit Designation Statement, word for word, in materials that mention CME credit. The template from the AMA PRA booklet reads:
"The <name of accredited CME provider> designates this <learning format> for a maximum of <number of credits> AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity."
The learning format must be one of eight the AMA approves: live activity, enduring material, journal-based CME, test-item writing, manuscript review, PI CME, Internet point-of-care, or "Other activity" with a short description in parentheses. A three-day conference brochure that says "designates this live activity for a maximum of 18.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™" is telling you the ceiling, not what you will receive.
Providers may never advertise that AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ "has been applied for." If a brochure says that, or only says "Category 1" without the full AMA PRA phrase and a named accredited provider, ask before you pay.
04 Credits by format
How many credits each CME format is worth
Live and online courses are measured in time. Several other formats carry a fixed amount set by the AMA.
| Learning format | AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ per activity |
|---|---|
| Live activity (conference, workshop, live webinar) | 1 per 60 minutes of participation, in 0.25 steps |
| Enduring material (online module, recorded talk, podcast) | Set by the provider from the average completion time, in 0.25 steps |
| Journal-based CME | 1 per article |
| Test-item writing | 10 |
| Manuscript review | 3 |
| Performance improvement (PI CME) | 20 for stages A–C (5 for stage A, 10 for A and B) |
| Internet point-of-care search | 0.5 per search |
| Other activity | 1 per hour, from the provider's best estimate of time |
05 Category 1 vs 2
Category 1 vs Category 2 CME
The difference is who vouches for the learning. An accredited provider certifies Category 1. You certify Category 2 yourself.
AMA PRA Category 2 Credit™ is self-designated and self-claimed for learning that was not certified for Category 1 but still fits the AMA definition of CME, follows the AMA ethical opinions, is not promotional, and that you judge worthwhile for your practice. No organization may certify or advertise an activity as Category 2. You log it at the same rate, 60 minutes per credit rounded to the nearest quarter hour, with the title or description, subject, dates and credits claimed. You cannot claim both categories for the same activity.
Whether Category 2 helps you depends on your board. Texas, for example, asks for 48 credits every 24 months: at least 24 must be formal hours such as AMA PRA Category 1, and up to 24 may be informal self-study, including grand rounds or hospital lectures not approved for formal CME. Other boards list only formal credit types, so read your board's wording.
| AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ | AMA PRA Category 2 Credit™ | |
|---|---|---|
| Who designates it | Accredited CME provider, or the AMA for direct-credit activities | The physician |
| Certificate | Yes, from the provider or the AMA | None; you keep your own log |
| Typical activities | Certified conferences, online modules, journal CME, PI CME | Reading literature, consulting peers, teaching, research, uncertified talks |
| Counted toward license renewal | Accepted by most state medical boards | Accepted by some boards for part of the hours |
06 Direct credit from the AMA
Credit the AMA awards directly
Some learning happens outside any accredited provider, so the AMA awards Category 1 credit itself. You apply with documentation and a processing fee; the AMA issues one certificate per activity. The current direct credit application (valid until 12/31/2026) accepts activities completed within the last six years.
| Activity | Credits | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Peer-reviewed article | 10 per article | First or last listed author, journal indexed in MEDLINE/PubMed |
| Poster presentation | 5 per poster | First author; poster in the published abstracts of a Category 1-certified conference |
| Teaching at a live certified activity | Up to 4 per hour (2 per hour for 2022 or earlier) | Original presentation; only if the accredited provider did not already award the credit; a repeated talk counts once |
| Medically related advanced degree | 25 | Master's or doctoral level, such as an MPH; not if its courses were already certified |
| ABMS board certification or MOC by secure exam | 60 | The AMA's direct-credit page gives 25 for certification or MOC completed before Sept 1, 2010 |
| ABMS continuing certification assessment | Set per board | Approved boards only, e.g. ABS: 12 every other year; ABPN: 60 per three-year cycle |
| ABMS Focused Practice Designation | Per AMA approval | Only for designations the AMA has approved |
| ACGME-accredited residency or fellowship | 20 per year | Per year of training |
Direct credit is not reported to the ACCME, so it will not show up for your licensing board automatically. Send the AMA certificate yourself.
07 Earn and document it
How to earn AMA PRA Category 1 credit and prove it
Seventeen boards have made the ACCME's reporting system (PARS) their primary source of CME data for relicensure, among them the Medical Board of California, the Maryland Board of Physicians, the North Carolina Medical Board and the Washington Medical Commission. If your board is not on that list, you can email your CME Passport transcript to it.
- Before you register, find the full designation statement on the course page and the name of the accredited provider. Then search CME conferences by specialty and date.
- Claim only the time you attended. If a seven-hour course day is designated for 7 credits and you left after lunch, claim the hours you sat through, rounded to the nearest quarter hour.
- Download the certificate or transcript. The AMA requires it to show your name, the provider, the activity title, the learning format, the date(s) and the number of credits awarded.
- Check CME Passport, the ACCME's free transcript tool. It shows only credit that providers reported for you, and you cannot self-report into it, so missing activities mean you should ask the provider.
- Keep your own file of certificates and a separate Category 2 log. The AMA states there is no central repository of all credits, and providers must keep their records for only six years.
08 How many you need
How many CME credits do physicians need?
Your state board sets the number, not the AMA. Hours, cycle length and mandatory topics differ from state to state.
Two examples from the boards' own pages. The Medical Board of California asks MDs for at least 50 hours of approved CME in each two-year renewal cycle and approves programs that qualify for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. The Texas Medical Board asks for 48 credits every 24 months, of which at least 24 must be formal, such as AMA PRA Category 1.
For every other state, use our physician CME requirements by state table, with the board's own link and the date we checked it. Licensed in several states? The multi-state CE planner shows which credits count everywhere at once.
09 PAs, NPs and nurses
Can PAs, NPs and nurses use AMA PRA Category 1 credit?
Strictly, no one but a physician can be awarded it. The AMA booklet lets providers give non-physicians a participation certificate that states the activity was designated for a given number of AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. That document is what certification boards look at.
Physician assistants: NCCPA requires 100 CME credits each two-year cycle, at least 50 of them Category 1, logged by 11:59 p.m. PT on December 31 of the certification expiration year. Its list of accepted Category 1 sponsors includes AAPA and "AMA PRA Category 1 Credit from organizations accredited by ACCME or a recognized state medical society," plus AOA Category 1-A and AAFP Prescribed credit. NCCPA adds 50% to self-assessment Category 1 activities and doubles the first 20 PI-CME credits per cycle. Its Category 2 is broad: any activity related to medicine, patient care or the PA role that was not designated Category 1. State PA boards set their own rules; see PA CME requirements by state.
Nurses and NPs with ANCC certification: the 2025 renewal handbook asks for 75 contact hours, at least 60 of them formally approved, and lists "CME approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™" as formally approved. It converts 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ to 1 contact hour. NP and CNS renewals also need 25 pharmacology hours inside the 75. State boards of nursing decide license renewal separately, so check nursing CE or NP CE requirements for your state.
| Credential | Counts AMA PRA Category 1 activities? | What the official source says |
|---|---|---|
| Physician (MD/DO) | Yes | Awarded the credit directly by the provider or the AMA |
| PA (NCCPA certification) | Yes, as Category 1 | 100 credits per 2-year cycle, at least 50 Category 1 |
| RN/NP (ANCC certification) | Yes, as formally approved CE | 75 contact hours per renewal, at least 60 formally approved; 1 credit = 1 contact hour |
10 Common mistakes
Common mistakes with Category 1 CME credits
- Buying "CME" from a seller that is not an accredited provider. Without an ACCME- or state-society-accredited provider named in the designation statement, the hours are at best Category 2.
- Claiming the full designated maximum. The statement sets a ceiling; you claim the time you actually spent.
- Counting an activity twice, once as Category 1 and again as Category 2.
- Expecting credit for an activity that was not certified when you took it. AMA rules forbid certifying credit retroactively.
- Assuming ACLS, BLS or PALS renewals carry Category 1. A specific course offering does only if its materials carry the AMA designation statement from an accredited provider; check before you count it.
- Waiting for AMA direct credit to reach your board on its own. It is never reported to the ACCME.
A 60-minute grand rounds talk is worth 1 Category 1 credit only if your hospital's accredited CME office certified it in advance. If it did not, log it as Category 2.
11 Questions
AMA PRA credit questions
What is AMA PRA Category 1 credit?
It is the CME credit of the AMA's Physician's Recognition Award credit system. Providers accredited by the ACCME or an ACCME-recognized state medical society certify activities for it in advance (a live hour earns 1 credit), and the AMA awards it directly for a few activities such as publishing.
Is AMA PRA Category 1 credit the same as CME?
CME is the education itself; AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ is one way to count it. Texas, for example, also accepts AOA Category 1-A and AAFP-approved credit as formal CME. See CME vs CEU for how the units compare.
What is Category 2 CME?
AMA PRA Category 2 Credit™ is learning you certify yourself, such as reading literature or consulting peers, logged at 1 credit per 60 minutes. No provider can certify it and you get no certificate.
How do I get CME credits as a physician?
Attend or complete an activity whose materials carry the AMA Credit Designation Statement, claim the time you participated, and download the certificate. Some activities, like a first- or last-author MEDLINE article, can be submitted to the AMA for direct credit.
How many CME credits does an MD need?
Your state board decides. California asks MDs for 50 hours every two years; Texas asks for 48 credits every 24 months with at least 24 formal. Other states are in our state table.
Can physician assistants earn AMA PRA Category 1 credit?
PAs receive a participation certificate rather than the credit itself, and NCCPA accepts AMA PRA Category 1 activities from ACCME- or state-society-accredited providers as Category 1 CME.
How many CME credits does a PA need?
NCCPA requires 100 CME credits every two years, at least 50 Category 1. The other 50 can be Category 2, any activity related to medicine, patient care or the PA role.
Do nurses get credit for AMA PRA Category 1 courses?
ANCC counts CME approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ as formally approved CE for certification renewal, 1 credit to 1 contact hour. Your state board of nursing sets license renewal rules separately.
Do ACLS courses give CME credits?
Only when that specific course is certified by an accredited provider and its materials carry the AMA designation statement. Look for the statement on the course page or certificate before counting it.
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