01 In short
The most reliable free CME and CE comes from federal programs: CDC TRAIN gives CME, ANCC nursing hours, ACPE pharmacy credit and seven other credit types at no cost, and VHA TRAIN, the HRSA-funded National HIV Curriculum and AHRQ PSNet add accredited courses for free. Some state boards also offer their own free courses for mandatory topics, such as the Texas Medical Board's Life of the Mother Act course and Nevada's pharmacy law hour. Before you start any free course, check two lines on its page: the accreditor named in the credit statement and the expiration date.
- Free by policy
- CDC: credits are provided to learners "at no cost"
- Widest credit menu
- CDC TRAIN: CME, CNE, CPE, IACET CEU, CHES, CPH, AAPA, ACE, AAVSB RACE
- Most hours in one place
- National HIV Curriculum (HRSA): up to 77.50 CME/CNE, 57.5 CPE
- Check first
- Accreditor named on the page and the course expiration date
02 Free sources at a glance
Where can you get free CME from official sources?
Seven federal programs were worth checking in October 2026. Four of them were issuing free, accredited credit when we looked. Two had problems you would only notice on the course page, and one had moved to a nonprofit partner after its federal funding period ended.
The table lists credit types exactly as each source names them. If a cell says "nursing contact hours" rather than "ANCC", that is because the source does.
| Source | Who it serves | Credit types the source lists | How you get the certificate | Status in Oct 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDC TRAIN | Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, PAs, health educators, public health staff, social workers, veterinarians | CME, CNE, CPE (joint accreditation: ACCME, ACPE, ANCC), IACET CEU, CHES/MCHES, CPH, AAPA, ACE, AAVSB RACE | Register at train.org/cdctrain, finish the evaluation, pass the posttest, download from Your Learning | No cost. Each course has its own deadline |
| VHA TRAIN (VA) | VA and non-VA clinicians, community care providers | Courses accredited by ACCME, ANCC, APA, NBCC, ASWB; 0.5 to 1.5 hours each on VA's recommended list | Account at train.org/vha with your NPI and group code VHACCP | No cost under MISSION Act section 123 |
| National HIV Curriculum (HRSA-funded AETC program) | Clinicians who treat or screen for HIV | Up to 77.50 CME, CNE, CE; 57.5 pharmacology CE for APNs; 57.5 CPE; 47.5 IPCE. Joint accreditation through UAB | Free account, score 80% or higher on each quiz | 4th edition accredited Sept 1, 2026 to Aug 31, 2029 |
| AHRQ PSNet | Physicians, pharmacists, other clinicians interested in patient safety | CME, ABIM MOC points, ACPE CPE | Register on PSNet, complete the module quiz | Offered "at no charge" |
| PCSS-MOUD (SAMHSA-funded) | All health care and behavioral health professionals | AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, AAPA Category 1 CME, nursing contact hours, pharmacy CE, social work CE, IPCE | Through each activity page | SAMHSA agreement ended Sept 29, 2026; AAAP keeps the courses online |
| FDA Topics in Public Health | Physicians, PAs, pharmacists, nurses, CPH holders | CME, CPE, CNE, CPH for live webinars | Not stated; FDA CE team: [email protected] | FDA posted on 8/12/2025 that its CE program cannot process CE credits |
| NIDA (NIDAMED) | Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists | AMA PRA Category 1, nursing contact hours, ACPE, ADA CERP (jointly provided with Postgraduate Institute for Medicine) | Course code on the accredited partner's site, 75% on the post-test | Both NIDA-branded courses we opened had expired |
03 CDC TRAIN step by step
How do you get a free CE certificate from CDC TRAIN?
CDC is the easiest place to start because it is jointly accredited by ACCME, ACPE and ANCC and also issues IACET CEUs. One account covers every profession on the table above. Order matters, though: CDC TRAIN will not open the posttest until you submit the evaluation.
- Create an account at train.org/cdctrain and complete your profile.
- Search the course number (for example WB5027 for CDC's Watch Me! course) and register.
- Select the credit type you need: CME, CNE, CPE, CEU or another listed type. Pick the one your board counts, not the biggest number.
- Launch the course and finish it. If you already watched it, use Mark Completed.
- Submit the course evaluation. Only then does the posttest open.
- Pass the posttest. CDC's NHSN courses ask for 80% or higher; some courses allow only two attempts.
- Download the certificate from the Your Learning tab with the blue Certificate button.
Every CDC course has its own last date for the posttest and evaluation. One CDC page we opened listed Aug 1, 2029; an older course listed Aug 1, 2026, which had already passed. Read the date before you spend an hour on the content.
CDC NHSN: free CE steps · CDC Watch Me!: CDC TRAIN walkthrough
04 VA, HRSA, AHRQ, SAMHSA
VA, HRSA, AHRQ and SAMHSA: free CME that is easy to miss
VHA TRAIN is open to clinicians who never worked for the VA. The VA's community care page says its offerings are "no-cost, Veteran-focused, and accredited for continuing medical education" under section 123 of the MISSION Act. Put your NPI in the profile and add group code VHACCP. If you see veterans through community care, one course is not optional: the 1-hour "Opioid safety for Veterans with chronic pain", followed by an attestation form.
HRSA's money sits behind the National HIV Curriculum, run by the University of Washington as part of the Ryan White AETC program. It is the largest free bundle we found: up to 77.50 hours of CME and CNE, 57.5 CPE, and 57.5 pharmacology hours for advanced practice nurses. That last figure matters to NPs, whose renewal usually has a pharmacology quota (NP CE requirements).
AHRQ's PSNet runs short patient-safety case modules. CME, ABIM maintenance of certification and ACPE pharmacy credit are offered at no charge after you register.
PCSS-MOUD is the SAMHSA program for opioid use disorder and pain education. Its course archive lists AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, AAPA Category 1 CME, nursing contact hours, pharmacy CE and social work CE. The SAMHSA cooperative agreement ran until Sept 29, 2026, and the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry says it has adapted the material to keep it available. Expect the platform to change; the credit statement on each activity is what to check.
05 FDA and NIDA caveats
FDA and NIDA free CE: check the date before you start
Two agencies that appear on almost every "free CME" list were the weakest sources in October 2026.
FDA's Topics in Public Health page still says CE credit is available for physicians, PAs, pharmacists, nurses and CPH holders who attend live webinars. FDA's own CDERLearn page carries a different message dated Aug 12, 2025: the accredited CE program "is unable to process CE applications or CE credits at this time." Until those two pages agree, treat any FDA webinar as education without guaranteed credit, and email the FDA CE team before you count it.
NIDA lists about 20 CME/CE activities, but most are run by other organizations: CDC, SAMHSA, the American College of Physicians, Boston University and others. The two NIDA-branded courses we opened were jointly provided with the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine. "Words Matter" (0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™) expired on Sept 19, 2026. "Science to Medicine" (2.50 credits) expired on Oct 6, 2025. NIDA's own opioid and pain management CME set is marked "Expired".
An expired accredited course still plays, still has a quiz, and sometimes still prints a page. It does not give valid credit after the expiration date on its accreditation statement.
06 Free state-required courses
Which free courses satisfy state mandatory topics?
A handful of boards and state agencies publish their own free course for a topic they require. When a board says only its course counts, a commercial course on the same topic will not satisfy the rule, even if it is accredited. The Texas Medical Board says exactly that about the Life of the Mother Act course.
Take a Texas OB/GYN renewing in 2026. She completes the board's free SB 31 course in MyTMB and the free HHSC human trafficking course. The TMB course is not Category 1 credit, yet TMB lets it count toward her 2 required ethics hours, and the trafficking hour can count toward ethics too. She still needs 24 formal Category 1 or 1A hours in the 48-credit cycle.
| State and license | Topic and rule | Free course and provider | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas physicians | Life of the Mother Act (SB 31): one time, for designated obstetric, emergency and family medicine specialties | TMB course in MyTMB; TMB says "This course is FREE" | Only the TMB course meets SB 31. TMB is not an accredited CME provider, so it counts toward ethics hours, not Category 1. Not tracked separately in CE Broker |
| Texas physicians | Human trafficking: 1 hour in the first renewal, then every third renewal | HHSC HEART training, "a free online training provided by HHSC" | Course must be HHSC-approved. HHSC revised its course standards and is re-reviewing approved courses |
| Nevada pharmacists and technicians | 1 hour of approved Nevada pharmacy law CE before renewal | Nevada Board of Pharmacy free law course | Watch the full video, score 80% on the quiz. Not reported to CPE Monitor; keep the certificate 4 years |
| Illinois physicians, nurses and other licensees | Mandated reporter training: medical personnel who work with children at least every 6 years | DCFS free online Mandated Reporter Training | Print the certificate at the end; DCFS says applicants need proof of completion |
| New York licensees whose profession requires NYSED child abuse coursework (see NY physician rules) | Child abuse identification and reporting | OCFS course; NYSED says OCFS "offers the required training for free" | Must come from a NYSED-approved provider; OCFS is on that list |
Implicit bias training requirements by state · Mandated reporter training by state
07 AMA Ed Hub and societies
Is AMA Ed Hub CME free?
Partly. In a June 2025 article the AMA advertises "thousands of free CME activities to fulfill state requirements" on AMA Ed Hub, plus automated credit tracking and reporting for some states and specialty boards. The same article describes its 5-credit ethics track as AMA member-exclusive. So a physician who does not belong to the AMA will find free courses there, but not all of them.
Professional societies work the same way. Free CE is often a membership perk, and the society's own page is the only reliable statement of what is free and to whom. We list no society courses here because none we would name had a public, checkable free-credit statement.
08 Spotting real accreditation
How to tell accredited free CE from a "free CEU" offer
"Free CEU" is a marketing phrase. It says nothing about who stands behind the credit.
- Find the accreditor by name. A valid page says who accredits the provider: ACCME or a state medical society for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, ANCC for nursing contact hours, ACPE for pharmacy, or Joint Accreditation for all three.
- Look the provider up yourself. ACCME runs a Find a CME Provider database and the free CME Passport transcript; ANCC's Find an Accredited Organization search covers providers, approvers and joint providers; ACPE has a Program Lookup.
- Match the unit to your board. An IACET CEU is a much bigger unit than a contact hour, so a "2 CEU" course is not 2 hours. Our CME vs CEU guide shows the conversions.
- Check where the credit goes. Pharmacy credit has to reach CPE Monitor, and ACPE warns it will be rejected if the provider lacks your correct NABP e-Profile ID. Boards that use CE Broker may need you to upload the certificate yourself.
- Read the expiration date in the accreditation statement, not the date the page was published.
A course can be free, accredited and still useless for your renewal. A nurse in a state that counts only ANCC hours gets nothing from IACET CEUs, and a Texas physician gets nothing for SB 31 from a non-TMB course.
09 By profession
Free nursing CEUs, pharmacy CE and PA CME: what fits each license
| License | Credit to look for | Free sources that list it |
|---|---|---|
| Physicians | AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ (CME) | CDC TRAIN, PCSS-MOUD, National HIV Curriculum, AHRQ PSNet, VHA TRAIN (ACCME courses) |
| RNs and LPNs | ANCC contact hours (CNE) | CDC TRAIN, National HIV Curriculum, VHA TRAIN (ANCC courses), PCSS-MOUD |
| Nurse practitioners | ANCC contact hours, pharmacology hours | National HIV Curriculum (57.5 pharmacology CE for APNs), CDC TRAIN |
| Physician assistants | AAPA Category 1 CME or AMA PRA Category 1 | CDC TRAIN (AAPA), PCSS-MOUD (AAPA Category 1 CME) |
| Pharmacists | ACPE CPE, reported to CPE Monitor | CDC TRAIN, National HIV Curriculum, AHRQ PSNet, PCSS-MOUD |
| Social workers | ASWB ACE | CDC TRAIN (ACE), VHA TRAIN (ASWB courses), PCSS-MOUD |
| Veterinarians | AAVSB RACE | CDC TRAIN |
10 Questions
Free CME and CE: common questions
Where can physicians get free CME credits?
CDC TRAIN, PCSS-MOUD, the HRSA-funded National HIV Curriculum and AHRQ PSNet all list AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ or CME at no cost. VHA TRAIN adds free ACCME-accredited courses focused on veteran care, open to non-VA clinicians.
Are there free nursing CEUs approved by ANCC?
Yes. CDC is jointly accredited including ANCC and issues CNE contact hours for free, and the National HIV Curriculum offers up to 77.50 CNE hours. Most state boards of nursing accept ANCC contact hours, but check your own state's nursing rule.
Are "free 30 nursing CEUs, no test" offers legitimate?
Some may be, but the label proves nothing. Look for the accreditor's name and the provider in ANCC's public directory. The government courses we checked mostly end with a posttest, often with an 80% pass mark.
Is there free CME for PAs?
CDC TRAIN lists AAPA credit for physician assistants, and PCSS-MOUD lists AAPA Category 1 CME. See PA CME requirements for what NCCPA and your state count.
Where can pharmacists get free CE that reports to CPE Monitor?
CDC TRAIN, AHRQ PSNet and the National HIV Curriculum offer ACPE or CPE credit at no cost. Give the provider your correct NABP e-Profile ID, or CPE Monitor will reject the credit.
Is there free CE for pharmacy technicians?
Nevada's Board of Pharmacy runs a free 1-hour law course that technicians living or working in Nevada need before renewal. Note that the board says it is not reported to CPE Monitor, so keep the certificate.
Does free CME count toward state mandatory topics?
Only when it covers the topic in the form your board demands. Texas requires its own free TMB course for SB 31 and an HHSC-approved course for human trafficking; New York accepts the free OCFS child abuse course because OCFS is a NYSED-approved provider.
Is AMA Ed Hub free?
The AMA says Ed Hub has thousands of free CME activities, but some content, such as its ethics track, is reserved for AMA members.
Is there free CE for social workers and counselors?
CDC TRAIN lists ACE credit for social workers. VHA TRAIN's recommended community care courses include ASWB and NBCC accredited options at no cost.
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