Continuing Medical Education (CME)
As part of the ABS Continuous Certification Program, diplomates are required to earn a certain amount of CME credits over a five-year period.
CME Overview
Diplomates must meet specific Continuing Medical Education (CME) requirements to maintain their certification
Credits are counted on a five-year rolling basis and expire five years from date of activity completion.
Requirements for Diplomates Enrolled in Continuous Certification
- Total Credits: 125 credits every five years
- Self-Assessment: Not required
Requirements for Diplomates with Time-Limited Certificates
Diplomates with time-limited certificates have a different CME requirement from those who are enrolled in Continuous Certification::
- Total Credits: 150 credits of Category 1 CME relevant to their practice (or if clinically inactive, to the broad discipline of surgery) every five years
- Self-Assessment: At least 50 of those credits must include a self-assessment component (question-and-answer exercise)
What Counts as Category-1 CME?
To be accepted by the ABS, activities must be accredited by the AMA, ACCME, RCPSC, or EACCME. Valid activities include:
- Seminars, conferences, and grand rounds
- Webinars and podcasts
- Departmental scientific meetings
- Skills courses and state-required courses (e.g., ethics, patient safety, surgeon leadership)
Check with your CME provider or the ACCME’s CME Passport website to find CME activities that meet ABS Continuous Certification requirements.
The “12-Hour” Rule
The ABS expects each credit to correspond to one hour of activity. Therefore, a maximum of 12 CME credits can be earned and accepted in a single calendar day.
Understanding Self-Assessment
Self-assessment (SA) ensures active engagement with the material rather than passive attendance.
- The Requirement: To qualify as SA, the activity must provide Category 1 credits and include a written or electronic Q&A exercise or test/quiz component.
- Passing Score: You must achieve a score of 75% or higher.
- Identification: Look for the “SA” denomination on your certificates (e.g., ABS Credit Type: CME, SA).
- Automatic Transfer: Credits earned through the ACCME’s CME Passport or activities utilizing the PARS system are transferred automatically to your ABS repository.
Tracking Your Progress
- ABS CME Repository: Use the tool in your portal to track earned credits and identify any gaps before your current five-year window closes.
- No Duplication: Diplomates holding multiple ABS certificates only need to fulfill the CME requirement once.
Waiving of CME
The ABS will waive a certain number of CME credits for various situations
The 150 CME credits/50 self-assessment requirement will change to 125 CME credits with no self-assessment required once a diplomate passes their first Continuous Certification Assessment, beginning January 1 of the year following the first successful assessment attempt.
The ABS will also waive 60 credits of CME with self-assessment for new diplomates who pass an initial certifying exam. A waiver for 60 credits will appear in their CME Repository.
Once a diplomate is enrolled in Continuous Certification, the ABS will waive 12 credits of CME with no self-assessment for passing a Continuous Certification Assessment. A waiver will appear in their CME repository within two weeks of successful assessment completion.
If a diplomate achieves initial certification by another ABMS board, they may also waive 60 credits of CME with self-assessment. These diplomates should contact the ABS to submit their request. Documentation must be provided if requested.
Diplomates in a fellowship will receive a CME waiver for the time they spent completing training (up to 24 months). These diplomates can earn up to 2.5 CME credit waivers per month for a fellowship that is 12-24 months in duration and accredited by the ACGME or a surgical organization with a formal accreditation process (e.g., SSO, ASTS, ACS, Fellowship Council, etc.). Details about the fellowship must be provided via the diplomate’s ABS portal.
Submitting Information
Automated CME reporting through the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education
The ABS and Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) have collaborated to streamlines the wayprocess through which diplomates monitor and report their CME credits to fulfill ABS Continuous Certification Program requirements. This collaboration eliminates manual data entry, allowing earned CME credits to sync directly with the ABS repository.
Identifying Eligible Activities
Look for the “CME for ABS CC” badge on CME providers’ websites. This badge signifies the activity is pre-approved to meet ABS Continuous Certification requirements and is set up for automated reporting.
How to Automate Your Credit Tracking
To ensure CME credits automatically appear in the ABS repository, follow these three steps when registering for an activity:
- Verify Reporting: Ask the CME provider if they report participation data directly to the ACCME
- Provide Your Details: Give the provider the following information:
- First and last name
- Month and day of birth
- ABS ID number (may be requested)– you can find this by navigating to the Personal Profile page and then scrolling down to the Demographic Information section of the ABS Surgeon portal.
- Grant Permission: You must provide permission for the provider to share your “learner data” with the ACCME and the ABS.
Once the activity is completed, the CME provider will collect and submit the diplomate’s credit information to the ACCME. These credits will then automatically appear in their ABS CME repository.
For more information on this process, see our process overview, collaboration announcement, and CME FAQs.
NOTE: ACCME’s CME Passport website is hosted and maintained by the ACCME, not by the ABS. For questions or concerns related to any activities listed in the CME Passport, please contact the ACCME or the CME provider directly.
If the CME provider doesn’t know how to report credit, they should contact the ACCME for assistance with getting their activity registered and learning how to report CME credit.
Since 2021, the ABS collaboration with the ACCME has enabled ABS diplomates to have more than three million CME credits automatically transferred into their ABS CME repositories – no manual entry required.
*Data as of 7/2/2026
For diplomates who use ACS MyCME
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) has recently launched an opt-in process to automatically transmit CME credit from ACS MyCME to the ABS via the ACCME. To opt in, diplomates should follow these steps:
- Log in to the ACS MyCME portal.
- Select the Send CME tab.
- Toggle to Opt In (green): “I choose to opt in and permit the ACS to automatically transfer all my ACS-Accredited CME data to my chosen specialty board.”
Preferences can be changed at any time. For more information or to request assistance, please contact mycme@facs.org.
Manual entry
All diplomate-earned CME must be transferred to the ABS through the automatic process that has been established through our collaboration with the ACCME. A process for manual CME entry is available only for credits that cannot be transferred through the ACCME via the CME Repository page of the ABS surgeon portal.
Participating in manual CME reporting may subject your account to additional review or audit to confirm the accuracy of the data being reported.
Auditing
No documentation is required when logging CME credits into the portal using one of the above methods. However, the ABS does audit a percentage of diplomates each year. Diplomates who are selected for audit will need to supply documentation of completed CME activities.
AMA Credit
Diplomates may apply to the AMA to earn credit for completed activities
Diplomates who pass an ABS Continuous Certification Assessment may also apply to receive 12 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ from the AMA. The AMA will also grant credit for:
- Teaching at a live CME activity
- Being first author on a published article
- Obtaining a medically related advanced degree
See the AMA website and the direct CME application for details.
Please note that it is not necessary to apply for formal AMA credit to get a CME waiver from the ABS. For additional information regarding the waiving of CME credits by the ABS, please see Waiving of CME section above.