DO Renewal Application

You are due to renew your license on December 31st of either the even-numbered years or the odd-numbered years. If you are not sure when you are due to renew, please view your online profile on our website at www.azdo.gov > Doctor Search to check your next renew by date.

The Board will mail you a renewal notice letter at the last known mailing address we have on file for you. The renewal notices are sent out the last Friday in October in the year you are due to renew. If you do not receive your notice, you may still renew your license without it. The notice simply provides instructions about how to renew your license and tells you if you have been randomly selected for CME audit (Your notice letter states, “CME Audit – YES”).

Please follow the instructions on your notice letter to renew your license.

Instructions are on your renewal notice letter. On or about November 1st, the Board will post the links to the Online Renewal system and the paper forms. Renewal applications will be accepted beginning November 1st. The easiest and fastest way to renew is online using the Online Renewal form at www.azdo.gov > For DOs> Online License Renewal. At the end of the Online Renewal form, you will be required to pay your renewal fee by credit card. Visa, MasterCard and American Express are accepted.

You can also renew by printing and completing the two (2) page paper renewal form found on our website. You can mail the completed renewal form with your check, money order or credit card payment form or fax the completed renewal form with a credit card payment form to the Board. Please note it may take up to thirty (30) days to process a paper renewal. Paper applications are processed in the order in which they are received.

The Online License Renewal is our web-based system that lets you log in, complete the renewal application using your web browser and pay online using our secure system. Once completed, your addresses are updated in our database immediately, and your online profile will reflect that your license has been renewed within seconds. Credentialers look at your online license profile on our website to check the status of your license, so it is very convenient to have this updated in real time when you use the Online License Renewal. When you renew by sending in a paper form, it may take staff up to 30 days to complete your license renewal.

The Online License Renewal also has a voluntary ASU Workforce Survey built in to the renewal. If you do not wish to participate in the survey, you may opt out by clicking the “Next” button without selecting any survey fields.

There are two reasons why you might receive an error message 1) the data in our database is not matching up with the data you typed in the fields, or 2) you are not due to renew this year. Please check your renew-by-date on your online profile (www.azdo.gov > Doctor Search). You may also call the licensing division at 602-771-2525 to troubleshoot the problem.

The biennial renewal fee is $636.00. This fee is non-refundable even if you move out of state or stop practicing for any reason. If you renew during the late renewal period (January 31 through April 30) you will be assessed an additional late fee of $175.00, for a total of $811.00. Renewal and late fees are non-refundable.

These fees will automatically populate when you reach the payment screen in the Online License Renewal application. If you are seeing a different amount on the payment screen, do not pay this invoice. Please call the licensing division at 602-771-2525 to troubleshoot the problem before you complete the payment.

No. You should not send a check by itself. If you want to pay the renewal fee by check, complete the Online Renewal or download the two-page License Renewal Application form and submit it along with your check. If you just send a check without completing the application, your renewal status will be “Renewal Deficient” and your license may expire if the form is not completed by April 30th.

No, we do not accept credit card payments by phone. Payments will need to be made via the online portal.

The renewal process is paperless and done completely online via the link that can be found at the bottom of the renewals page.

No. Background checks are required for the initial license application, locum tenens registration application, and teaching license application only.

In order to maintain a license to practice osteopathic medicine in the state of Arizona, you are required to obtain forty (40) hours of Board approved CME during the two (2) years preceding license renewal (A.R.S. § 32-1825(B)). For example, if you are due to renew on December 31, 2018, you are reporting CME completed in calendar years 2017 and 2018.

As a D.O. licensed in Arizona, regardless of your training, specialty, board certification, or state in which you currently reside, CME per renewal cycle must include at least twenty-four (24) hours of Category 1-A activities sponsored by an AOA accredited sponsor. The remaining balance may consist of any category of CME, including CME activities sponsored by an accredited AMA or ACCME provider and certified by the accredited provider as AMA PRA Category 1 credit.

A physician may fulfill twenty (20) hours of the AOA Category 1A CME requirement each year by participating in an approved residency, internship, fellowship or preceptorship.

Contact the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) for specific 1-A program certification. You can review the CME Guide for Osteopathic Physicians published by the AOA at www.osteopathic.org.

No.

The Board holds the physician responsible for his/her own recordkeeping. CME certificates/documentation need only be submitted upon request such as if you are randomly selected for CME Audit on your renewal notice.

No, you do not. If this is your first renewal, you are required to attest to completing 20 CME credits, 12 of which must be AOA Category 1A. Some new licensees choose to report 40 CME credits if they have 24 or more AOA Category 1A hours in the previous year, but only non-1A hours in the current year of licensure. This is also acceptable. Based on your original license issue date, the Board is aware you are attesting to either 20 or 40 CME. You only have to document your CME if you are randomly selected for CME Audit.

No. Your participation in a postgraduate training program fulfills 20 hours of AOA Category 1A CME for a given year, even if your training comprised only six months of the year.

Five percent (5%) of renewing licensees are randomly selected for a CME audit of your compliance with the CME renewal requirement. If your renewal notice says “CME Audit – YES”, you have been noticed for audit. Also, if you request an extension or waiver, you are automatically added to the CME Audit.

If you renew online, the CME Audit page will automatically present after step #2. On this page, you are required to provide a list of all CME hours completed for the two years preceding renewal for a total of forty (40) hours. If mailing your renewal, you must complete the CME Audit/Extension Reporting Form which is available at www.azdo.gov.

Regardless of how you choose to renew, if you are audited, or if you request an extension or waiver, you must document CME you have completed in the previous two years.

Your certifying specialty Board and/or the AOA maintain documentation of your CME in their activity reports. You may submit these reports to the Board to document your CME. For CME not accounted for on the activity reports, please send completion certificates. For SLS courses, send a copy of your wallet card showing the provider’s signature and date. Your license will not be renewed until your compliance with the CME requirement is fully documented. You may send documentation via email, mail or delivery service.

It may be possible if the need is due to disability, military service, absence from the United States or other circumstances beyond the licensee’s control. The waiver request must be filed between November 1st and January 30th. Please use the Request for Waiver of CME Requirement form (downloadable from our website between the above dates) and submit appropriate documentation. The Board decides each waiver request individually.

Yes. You must file a Request for Extension of Time to Comply with CME Requirement form between November 1st and January 30th. With an approved Extension request, you have until April 30th to complete the required CME. This form can be found on our website during Renewal “season” between November 1st and January 30th. When you request an Extension, you are automatically added to the CME Audit.

Yes. You can apply any extra hours. But, if you apply the same hours to two renewals, you may be in violation of statute and the Board may take disciplinary action against your license.

It is best to complete the online license renewal in one sitting. You may opt out of the voluntary ASU survey by clicking the “Next” button without selecting answers. Once the Online Renewal is completed, you should receive a receipt by email. If you have not received this receipt, please call the licensing division at 602-771-2525.

Once complete, your profile on our website is updated within minutes. Click on “Doctor Search” in the menu on our website to search for and view your profile, and verify your license has been renewed.

If you have been noticed for CME Audit, the Renew By Date, Renewal and Expiration dates on your profile will not change but you will receive the email receipt. All your answers were saved and your payment processed, but your renewal status is “Renewal Deficient”. Your license cannot be renewed until we receive your documentation demonstrating the required CME was completed.

When you renew your license you may notice your online profile’s dates did not change. In our database your renewal status has been changed to "Renewal Deficient". This is an Active license status. It means your renewal is administratively incomplete. A letter or email will be sent to you noting the deficiencies. The correspondence will also include instructions for completing the renewal process.

Deficiencies may include one or more of the following:

• An unchecked box on your application;
• Unpaid renewal fee and/or late fee payment (if applicable);
• Missing documentation of completed Continuing Medical Education (if randomly selected for audit); and/or
• Missing documentation regarding any “yes” answers on the Questionnaire and Confidential Questionnaire sections of the renewal application.

Your license cannot be renewed until your renewal application is administratively complete. If your license expires before a timely and sufficient renewal application is submitted to the Board, you must cease practicing medicine in Arizona and must reapply for and receive a new Arizona license before resuming the practice of medicine In the State of Arizona.

Yes, there is a four-month grace period to complete the renewal of your license. If you do not renew by midnight December 31st, submit your renewal by midnight January 31st to avoid any penalty fees.

Yes, there is a penalty for late renewal. After January 31st, you are required to pay a late fee of $175.00 in addition to the renewal fee. You have until April 30th to complete late renewal.

Your license will expire on May 1st. Renewal is no longer an option, nor is “re-instatement.” You cannot practice medicine in Arizona and you must re-apply for a new license if you wish to practice medicine in Arizona. It may take up to six (6) months to complete the application process. There is no guarantee of re-licensure. If your license expires and you wish to re-apply and you have not been practicing clinical medicine for more than a year, please review the Application Procedures for Doctors Re-Entering Practice on the website, www.azdo.gov, at “For DOs > New License Application > Initial Licensure > Application Procedures for Doctors Re-Entering Practice”.

If you do not renew your license, your license will expire on May 1st. You will continue to receive renewal reminders, including a phone call in April, until May 1st. After May 1st you will receive a letter from the Board stating your license has expired. You are not required to notify the Board that you are letting your license expire; there is no penalty or adverse action if you allow your license to expire.

If you prefer, you may write a letter and request the Board cancel your license. It will be cancelled immediately if you are not the subject of a Board investigation or disciplinary proceeding. You will no longer receive renewal reminders from the Board once your license has been cancelled.

No. Your license is either Active or Expired.

Yes. You may request to have your license status changed to Retired Status by filling out the Affidavit form on our website at www.azdo.gov > For DOs > New License Application. Please read the attestations carefully. The affidavit must be notarized and the original affidavit sent to the Board by mail or delivery service. If you have an open investigation, the matter must be resolved before a request for Retired Status can be considered. Your request will be placed on an agenda to be decided on by the Board.

With a Retired Status, you can no longer practice medicine or prescribe medications. However, you may do volunteer work as a physician a maximum 10 hours a week. Renewal fees and CME requirements are waived with a Retired Status, but you are required to renew every two years. A renewal form will be mailed to you in November of the year you are due to renew.

“Suspended-E” means the expiration of your license has been suspended. You are currently the subject of Board investigation or disciplinary proceeding. When you did not renew your license, the expiration of your license was suspended until the open investigation is resolved. Because you did not renew your license, you cannot practice medicine in Arizona under a “Suspended-E” status. Once the matter is resolved, your license status will change.

To report the death of a physician licensed in Arizona, please send the Board a copy of the death certificate or obituary for verification purposes. The license will be cancelled immediately. No further renewal reminders will be sent.

Continuing medical education activities sponsored by an AOA accredited Category 1 CME sponsor and are limited to the following. For further details, see AOA’s CME Guide.

• Formal Osteopathic CME: formal, face-to-face programs or interactive online sponsored by an AOA accredited sponsor

  Documentation: AOA CME Activity Report which states licensee’s name, the CME activity name,the date it was completed, the number of Category 1-A hours granted and name of the AOA accredited sponsor; OR participation certificate which states the same information. Interactive online CME is granted up to 15 credits of Category 1-A per AOA three (3) year CME cycle.

• Osteopathic Medical Teaching / Grand Rounds

  Documentation: Copy of AOA approval letter AND copy of submission for credit sent by CME Department of AOA accredited College of Osteopathic Medicine or sponsoring hospital that submitted the hours / faculty names.

• Standardized Federal Aviation Courses / Federal Programs

  Documentation: Certificate of completion of FAA "Aviation Medicine" course or US Armed Services "Flight Surgeon Primary Course" OR certifications of completion of formal, face-to-face courses AND documentation that physician was on active duty or employed by a uniformed service during the time the course was completed.

• Judging Osteopathic Clinical Case Presentations and Research Poster Presentations

  Documentation: Certificate/letter from AOA sponsor of hours awarded for this activity including name of sponsor and formal CME function at which judging occurred up to a maximum of ten(10)1-A credits per AOA three (3)year CME cycle.

• Standardized Life Support Classes (ALS)

  Documentation: Certificate of completion and /or signed and dated wallet card. Refer to the CME Guide at the American Osteopathic Association website (www.osteopathic.org) for the eligible course names and hours of credit awarded for each up to a maximum eight (8) 1-A credits per AOA three (3) year CME cycle.

Continuing medical education activities sponsored by an accredited AMA or ACCME provider and certified by the accredited provider as AMA PRA Category 1 credit.

• CME activities including face-to-face and online courses by an accredited AMA or ACCME sponsor

  Documentation: The participation certificate states the licensee’s name, the CME activity name, the date it was completed, the number of Category 1 hours granted and the name of the AMA or ACCME accredited sponsor.

No. For each year you hold a full license and you have participated in an AOA or ACGME accredited postgraduate training program (PGT), you may substitute that PGT for twenty (20) CME hours.

• Accredited Postgraduate Training substitutes for CME each year you are in training

  Documentation: If your license application was approved between January 2 and July 1 of the current year, you will need to submit a letter from the Director of Medical Education or a copy of your certificate of completion for the approved postgraduate training or preceptorship. If your license application was approved after July 1 of the current year, we have documentation of your postgraduate training in your license file.