Free tool
CME credit calculator
How are CME credits calculated for a live conference?
For AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, a live activity is designated at one credit per 60 minutes of educational time, in 0.25-credit (15-minute) increments rounded to the nearest quarter hour, and physicians claim only the credit that matches the time they took part. This calculator applies that arithmetic to each session and shows a minimum-attendance rule alongside it.
Enter each session’s educational minutes and the minutes an attendee was present. The calculator shows the AMA live-activity arithmetic and a minimum-attendance rule next to each other, because the two can give different answers.
Calculate credit per session
The first three rows are an example. Change them, add your own, and choose the minimum attendance.
| Session | Educational minutes | Minutes attended | Designated | By participation | Threshold rule | Remove |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 (100%) | ||||
| 1.50 | 1.25 | 0.00 (77.8%) | ||||
| 1.00 | 0.75 | 1.00 (80%) | ||||
| Total | 3.50 | 3.00 | 2.00 | |||
Runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent or saved. This is arithmetic, not accreditation — your accredited provider decides how credit is designated and claimed.
How each column is calculated
- Designated credit
- The session’s educational minutes divided by 60, rounded to the nearest quarter credit. This is the most the session can carry.
- Credit by participation
- The minutes the attendee was present divided by 60, rounded to the nearest quarter, and never more than the designated credit. This follows the AMA rule that physicians claim credit for the time they took part.
- Minimum-attendance rule
- The session’s full designated credit if the attendee was present for at least the minimum share of it, otherwise nothing. This is the rule WebMobi applies to session check-ins.
Where the two rules disagree
| Session | Designated | By participation | Minimum-attendance rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90-minute session, 70 minutes attended | 1.50 | 1.25 | 0.00 |
| 60-minute session, 48 minutes attended | 1.00 | 0.75 | 1.00 |
In the first example the attendee earns 1.25 credits by participation but nothing under an 80 percent rule, because 70 of 90 minutes is 77.8 percent. In the second, the threshold is met exactly and the full 1.00 credit counts, while participation rounds to 0.75. Which rule applies is your accredited provider’s decision, not the software’s.
What this calculator does not do
- It does not accredit anything. Only accredited CME providers may designate AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.
- It does not remove breaks for you. Enter educational minutes only: the AMA measures “formal interaction time between faculty and the physician audience”.
- It does not handle concurrent sessions. Where sessions run in parallel, the AMA counts the time once.
- It is not a rule for other credit systems. CPD and CE schemes set their own rules; check them with the body that awards the credit.
At a real conference
Typing minutes in works for one attendee. For a conference, WebMobi measures each attendee’s time in each session from session check-ins — merging scans from different phones and counting a visit without a scan out until the session ends — and applies the minimum-attendance rule you choose. See CME credit and certificate software.
Frequently asked questions
Is 0.25 credit the same as 15 minutes?
Yes, under the AMA rule of one credit per 60 minutes. Credit is designated and claimed in 0.25-credit increments, rounded to the nearest quarter hour.
Should breaks be included in session length?
No. Enter only educational time. The AMA measures formal interaction time between faculty and the physician audience.
Does my data leave the browser?
No. The calculator runs entirely on this page and sends nothing anywhere.
Sources
- American Medical Association — The AMA Physician’s Recognition Award and credit system (2017 revision) — Who may designate AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™; the live-activity credit rule; what credit documentation must show.
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