We’ve heard from accredited providers that it would be useful to have a regular communication focused solely on the connection between accredited CME/CE and collaborating partners like certifying and licensing boards and the expectation for reporting of individual physician learner data. For that reason, we are launching this special communication, which will provide periodic updates about our CME for MOC/CC Collaboration, State Licensing Board collaborations, resources to support learner data reporting, and enhancements to our Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS), so you can quickly see what’s new and what actions (if any) to take.
To date, more than 900 providers accredited in the ACCME System have registered more than 225,000 activities for MOC/CC and reported over 13 million individual learner interactions so that the credit earned counts for both MOC and CME credit. Congratulations on this strong momentum! We will continue to support accredited providers that are reporting learner data and encourage new providers to do so as well.
CME for MOC/CC Program
Update on Collaborating Specialty Certifying Boards
Register Your Activities Now for ABPMR Credit
The American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR) has recently joined the CME for Maintenance of Certification (MOC) / Continuing Certification (CC) collaboration. All accredited CME providers in the ACCME System are welcome to register CME activities that meet ABPMR CC requirements and to submit learner completion data in the Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS). Activities with a start date of on or after January 1, 2025, are eligible.
ABTS to Retire Self-Reporting of CME Credit by Diplomates
The American Board of Thoracic Surgery (ABTS) has announced an upcoming change in how Continuing Medical Education (CME) credit is recognized for ABTS Continuing Certification (CC) requirements. Effective December 31, 2027, ABTS will retire self-reporting of CME credit by diplomates. This means that for an ABTS surgeon to have their CME credit count toward their ABTS Continuing Certification (CC) requirements, CME credit must be reported directly by the accredited provider through PARS (or JA-PARS, as applicable) beginning January 1, 2028.
CME for MOC/CC Program Guide Updates
As a CME coordinator, you already have a lot to juggle when registering activities for MOC/CC credit. Our CME for Maintenance of Certification Program Guide is your go-to guide to help you keep track of each collaborating certifying board’s requirements to register a CME activity for MOC/CC credit.
Updates are documented on page three of the guide under Version History, and on the Program Guide Updates web page. We encourage you to check these pages regularly for the most recent changes. Here are some of the more significant changes to the guide since January 2026:
Practice areas help diplomates find accredited education that matches their needs and help the boards (and ACCME) spot gaps—so CME activities are typically tagged with one or more practice areas. Four collaborating boards recently modified their practice areas:
- American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) removed two practice areas: Sports Medicine and Hospital Medicine
- American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR) added two practice areas: All Practice Areas and Professionalism/Patient Safety/Other Skills
- American Board of Surgery (ABS) replaced the verbiage of a practice area from Bariatric Surgery to Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.
- Coming Soon: The ABS will add an additional credit type for Quality Improvement (Part IV – QA) under Accredited CME Improvement Activity.
Board-specific lookback windows: PARS accepts late learner-completion submissions only within board-specific two-year or five-year lookback windows (plus an ABPMR-specific rule) to accommodate delays from technical/matching issues. We have added more detailed explanations and examples in Appendix C of the Program Guide to help providers apply the cutoffs correctly and avoid rejected submissions.
Updated Certifying Board Crosswalk Tool: The Certifying Board Crosswalk Tool is a visual reference that shows, by board, the program name and which MOC/CC credit types/activity categories are available (and what’s unique by board) so providers can quickly map CME activity registrations to each board’s requirements.
Improvements to Learner Matching: ACCME updated the preliminary learner matching table to match the logic currently used in production. ACCME also added an explanation about the ID used in learner matching: This is the unique identifier assigned to each learner by the member board. Terminology varies by board, with some using “learner ID” and others using “board ID.”
Learner Data
New! Quick Start Guide to Data Reporting
Reporting CME credit doesn’t have to be complicated. ACCME has created a Quick Start Guide to walk you through the essential steps to report CME credit for physician learners, clearly, efficiently, and with confidence.
Coming Soon! Learner Credit State Content Tagging
The ACCME is developing learner credit state content tagging that allows accredited CE providers to associate one or more state-specific content topics with an individual learner’s CME credit, ensuring that credit is accurately attributed to applicable state licensing requirements when activity-level tagging alone is insufficient.
We are currently refining the requirements for this new feature. Once details are finalized, we will share more information to help accredited CE providers prepare.
State Medical Licensing Boards
ACCME at FSMB Annual Meeting
The ACCME will be exhibiting and presenting information about the CME Passport system at the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) 2026 Annual Meeting April 23–May 2 in Baltimore.
All boards have access to learner credit reported in PARS, and 17 licensing boards have designated PARS, or actively use PARS, for CME information required for licensure. Over 550,000 unique physician learners have credit in the system, and over 32 million credits have been reported to date. ACCME is pleased to be working with the FSMB to streamline boards’ access to the CME data in PARS.
Call to Action: Keep the Momentum Going / Report Learner Data
The progress we’re seeing across the ACCME System reflects the commitment of accredited providers to making CME credit count where it matters, across continuing certification and, increasingly, licensure. If you are already submitting learner completion data in PARS, please continue reporting consistently. If you are not yet reporting, now is the time to begin so your learners receive appropriate credit and the system can continue to grow.
Take action this month:
- Identify one eligible activity and submit learner completion data in PARS (or JA-PARS, as applicable).
- Use the Quick Start Guide to Data Reporting to confirm the essential steps and avoid common issues.
- Join PARS/JA-PARS Office Hours if you have questions about setup, learner matching, or submission timing.
Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS)
PARS Release Notes
PARS Release Notes provides a brief, up-to-date summary of the latest improvements in PARS, along with links to relevant documentation for your reference. We encourage you to check this page regularly for the most recent changes.
PARS/JA-PARS Office Hours
PARS/JA-PARS Office Hours are unstructured hours when ACCME’s accredited CME providers can ask the customer support team questions about PARS, CME for MOC/CC, learner reporting, or any topic relevant to PARS/JA-PARS.
Upcoming dates and times:
May 19, 2026, 10:30 – 11:30 am CT
June 9, 2026, 10:00 – 11:00 am. CT
See ACCME’s Events Calendar to register.
