Obtaining CME/CE credit

What types of CME/CE credit are available?

How do I earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™?

How do I view my credit log to see how many credits I have?

How do I submit my credit log and receive a certificate?

Is there a processing fee for the credit certificate?

Can I earn and redeem CME/CE credit if I do not have an individual subscription?

I am not a US-licensed physician. Can I receive CME credit?

I am an AAFP member. Can I receive Prescribed credit?

I am an AAP member. Can I receive AAP credit?

I am an ACEP member. Can I receive ACEP credit?

I am an ACOG member. Can I receive ACOG cognate credit?

I am a Physician Assistant. Can I receive CME credit?

I am a Physician of Osteopathic Medicine. Can I receive AOA credit?

I am a Nurse Practitioner. Can I receive contact hours?

May I submit both my online and my desktop computer credit logs at the same time to receive a single certificate?

What happens to credit that I didn't submit?

Does my credit expire?

What date will be on my certificate?

How do I obtain a duplicate CME/CE certificate?

Are CME/CE credits available for the use of UpToDate on a PDA?


What types of CME/CE credit are available?


To view our accreditation statement and a list of the types of credit available, click here.

Users can receive CME/CE credit as follows:

  • MDs/DOs — For using UpToDate, you earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ that you can apply toward your licensing requirements.
  • AAFP members — For using UpToDate, you receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, which the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has approved as AAFP Prescribed credit. You may earn 20 Prescribed credits per year using UpToDate, and any credit earned over those 20 credits may be used toward AAFP Elective credit.
  • AAP members — For using UpToDate, you receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, which the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has approved as AAP credit. You may earn up to 50 AAP credits per year using UpToDate.
  • ACEP members — For using UpToDate, you receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, which the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) has approved as ACEP Category I credit. You may earn up to 30 credits of ACEP Category I credit over a three-year period.
  • ACOG members — For using UpToDate, you receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, which the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has approved as ACOG cognate credit.
  • Physician Assistants — According to AMA policy, AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ can be awarded only to physicians (MDs and DOs). For using UpToDate, you receive a certificate of participation that you can use to document your activity. The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) accepts this documentation toward the AAPA Category I CME requirement.
  • Physicians of Osteopathic Medicine — For using UpToDate, you receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, which the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) has approved as AOA Category 2-B credit.
  • Nurse Practitioners — For using UpToDate, you earn AANP contact hours. You can accrue up to 10 minutes of credit per topic per visit, which will result in 0.167 contact hours (minimum certificate award must be at least 15 minutes of learning or 0.25 contact hours).

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How do I earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™?

To earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, you must complete the three-step learning cycle required by the American Medical Association.

For each month for which you want to earn credit, you must complete the credit log by selecting options that describe the application of your findings to practice. You may view and complete your monthly credit logs at any time, either prior to or during the process of submitting credits.

To complete a monthly log, access your CME/CE credit log, then do the following:

  1. Click on the name of a month.
  2. Verify your log and select the appropriate option for each search to indicate how you applied the information to practice.

    Note: In some cases, the system pre-selects suggested application options, based on your search term and the information in the selected topics; in those instances, you need to verify that the suggested application options are correct, and change them if they are not.

  3. Click Save.

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How do I view my credit log to see how many credits I have?

As you use UpToDate, the system automatically creates a monthly log of your clinical questions and topics viewed. The log reflects the current status of your credits or contact hours.

To access your CME/CE credit log, do one of the following:

  • Click CME or CE on the toolbar (depending on your default setting).
  • Click the Access my available UpToDate CME/CE credits link in My Account.

For AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, you will see both completed and potential credits. Completed credits reflect the searches for which you have completed the three-step learning cycle. Potential credits are those that can be fully accrued once you verify the application to practice.


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How do I submit my credit log and receive a certificate?

To receive a certificate, you must submit your credits for processing. See the following for instructions on how to submit your credits:

Submitting UpToDate online credits

Submitting UpToDate desktop computer credits online

Submitting UpToDate desktop computer credits by mail


Submitting UpToDate online credits

Use the following procedure to submit credits from UpToDate online:

  1. Access your CME/CE credit log.
  2. For CME credits — if you have not already done so, you must complete the learning cycle for each month for which you want to submit credits.

    For CE contact hours — Proceed directly to Step 3.

  3. Click the box in the Submit column for each month that you want to submit.
  4. Click Continue.

    UpToDate prompts you to complete and submit a CME/CE evaluation.

  5. After you submit the evaluation, review your submission request and click Submit.

    UpToDate displays a confirmation page. If you want to view your certificate immediately in PDF format, click the View/Print Certificate link on the confirmation page.


Submitting UpToDate desktop computer credits online

If you have an Internet connection for your computer, we recommend that you submit your desktop computer credits online, as follows:
  1. Access your CME/CE credit log.
  2. For CME credits — if you have not already done so, you must complete the learning cycle for each month for which you want to submit credits.

    For CE contact hours — Proceed directly to Step 3.

  3. Click the box in the Submit column for each month that you want to submit.
  4. Click Continue.
  5. Enter your online password and click Process Online.

    UpToDate uploads your desktop computer credits to your online account.

  6. If you want to continue processing your uploaded credits, click Yes.

    UpToDate online opens in a browser window.

  7. After you accept the Subscription and License agreement, click CME or CE on the toolbar (depending on your default setting). Note that your online account reflects the uploaded credits, as well as any that you have accrued through UpToDate online.

    UpToDate prompts you to complete and submit a CME/CE evaluation.

  8. After you submit the evaluation, review your submission request and click Submit.

    UpToDate displays a confirmation page. If you want to view your certificate immediately in PDF format, click the View/Print Certificate link on the confirmation page.


Submitting UpToDate desktop computer credits by mail

If your computer does not have an Internet connection, you must submit your credit request by mail, as follows:

  1. Access your CME/CE credit log.
  2. For CME credits — if you have not already done so, you must complete the learning cycle for each month for which you want to submit credits.

    For CE contact hours — Proceed directly to Step 3.

  3. Click the box in the Submit column for each month that you want to submit.
  4. Click Continue.
  5. Confirm that the correct number of credits is displayed in the Indicate the number of credits you would like to receive box, then click Process By Mail.

    UpToDate displays a mailing address form.

  6. After specifying any needed address information, click Continue.

    UpToDate prompts you to complete an evaluation form.

  7. After completing the evaluation, click Submit.

    UpToDate displays a submission form that includes your user information, your credit log, and the evaluation that you completed.

  8. Print the submission form and mail the entire form to UpToDate at the indicated address for processing. We recommend that you keep a copy for your records as well.

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Is there a processing fee for the credit certificate?

No. There is no processing fee for certificates.


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Can I earn and redeem CME/CE credit if I do not have an individual subscription?

Yes, if you access UpToDate from an EMR at a hospital or institution that has a site license, and you registered with UpToDate, you may earn and redeem CME/CE credit. To register, click the I want to register now link on the UpToDate Welcome page or Subscription and License Agreement page in your clinical information system, then fill out and submit the registration page. You will receive an e-mail containing a user name and password that allow you to access the My Account feature in UpToDate, through which you can redeem CME/CE credit.


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I am not a US-licensed physician. Can I receive CME credit?

Yes. We award credit certificates to physicians not licensed in the US.


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May I submit both my online and desktop computer credit logs at the same time to receive a single certificate?

If Internet access is available on your desktop computer, you can submit desktop computer credits online so that they can be processed along with credits accrued through UpToDate online. This allows you to combine the credits toward a single certificate.

For AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, you can either complete the three step learning cycle on your desktop computer and upload your final credits for processing, or you can upload your potential credits and complete the three step cycle from UpToDate online.

If your desktop computer does not have an Internet connection, you must process the desktop computer credits separately by mail.

For further information about submitting credits, click here.


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What happens to credit that I didn't submit?

Credit from months that were not submitted are saved and can be submitted at a later date, if desired.


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Does my credit expire?

As long as your subscription remains active, credits or contact hours may be submitted up to two years from the time they were accrued. If your subscription expires, you will have four months to submit saved months of credit for a certificate.


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What date will be on my certificate?

The certificate will show the range of dates (from first date to last) of the logs you are submitting.


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How do I obtain a duplicate CME/CE certificate?

You can obtain duplicate certificates as follows:

  • For online credit certificates requested after July 1, 2006 View your past submissions to see a list of submissions in order of date processed, with the associated logs and certificates. By clicking the View/Print link for a certificate, you can view a PDF version of the certificate and print a copy.
  • For online credit certificates requested prior to July 1, 2006View your past submissions to see a list of submissions with the associated logs. Click the View/Print link for the desired log, print a copy, and mail it to us with your request for a duplicate certificate. Your request will be processed in two to three weeks.
  • For desktop computer credit submissions — Contact Customer Service for instructions on how to access your credit logs.

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Viewing your past CME/CE submissions (online only)


To view your past CME/CE submissions, do one of the following:

  • Click CME or CE on the toolbar (depending on your default setting), then click View My Past Submissions in the navigation menu at left.
  • Click My Account on the toolbar, then click the View my past CME/CE submissions link.

UpToDate displays a page that lists your past submissions.

If you want to view or print your credit log or your certificate for a particular submission, you can do so as follows:

  • To display your credit log for a particular submission, click View/Print in the Log column for that submission. You can use your browser's print facility to print a copy of the log.
  • To display your certificate for a particular submission, click View/Print in the Certificate column for that submission, then click Open in response to the prompt that asks if you want to open or save the file. UpToDate displays the certificate in a PDF file, from which you can print the certificate.

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Are CME/CE credits available for the use of UpToDate on a PDA?

CME/CE credits are not available for the use of UpToDate software installed on a PDA device. However, you can earn CME/CE credits for the use of UpToDate online through a PDA device.


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Why Do I Need To Do This?

UpToDate offers Internet Point of Care CME for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians conducting structured searches on clinical topics may claim a half (0.5) AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for documented completion (either at the point of care or later) of the three-step learning cycle, which is as follows:

  1. Review the original clinical question.
  2. Identify the relevant sources from those consulted.
  3. Describe the application of findings to practice.
  • Your activity will post immediately so that you can complete the three-step cycle at any time during your use of the program.
  • You must submit credits within two years of the month of use (for example, credits accrued in July 2007 must be redeemed before July 31, 2009).
  • You may submit credits as long as your subscription is active. Once your subscription expires, you will have up to four months to redeem any available credits.
  • For more information, see our CME/CE FAQS.

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