Getting a Pennsylvania Medical License: Requirements, Costs, and Timeline
The State Board of Medicine licenses MDs, and the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine licenses DOs. All applications go through the PALS portal at pals.pa.gov. Pennsylvania participates in the IMLC as an issuing state, but cannot serve as a state of principal licensure.
Full transcript
Overview
Getting your Pennsylvania medical license? Here's exactly what you need to know so you can focus on practicing, not paperwork. Pennsylvania splits physician licensing between two boards under the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs.
Who issues your license
The State Board of Medicine licenses MDs, and the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine licenses DOs. All applications go through the PALS portal at pals.pa.gov. Pennsylvania participates in the IMLC as an issuing state, but cannot serve as a state of principal licensure.
Eligibility requirements
You'll need a degree from an accredited medical school and at least one to two years of ACGME accredited postgraduate training for US graduates, with additional years for international medical graduates.
How to apply
PA uses its own application through the PALS portal, not the FSMB uniform application. Act Thirty-One, child abuse recognition and reporting training, two hours, is required at every biennial renewal, not just initial licensure. Applications go through PALS at pals.pa.gov. Pennsylvania uses its own application, not the FSMB uniform application.
How long it takes
MD and DO renewal cycles are different. MDs expire December thirty-first of even-numbered years. DOs expire October thirty-first of even-numbered years. If you have an eligible SPL in another compact state, the IMLC pathway can get you a Pennsylvania license in four to six weeks. Application fees are surprisingly low: thirty-five dollars for US MD graduates, eighty-five dollars for international MD graduates, and two hundred and five dollars for DOs. Background check adds about fifty-nine dollars. Biennial renewal is three hundred and sixty dollars for MDs and four hundred and fifty dollars for DOs. Most licenses take two to four months from submission. If you have an eligible SPL in another compact state, the IMLC pathway typically issues a Pennsylvania license in four to six weeks. Pennsylvania cannot serve as the SPL. The compact must be entered through another state. The delays we see most often: submitting the FSMB uniform application when Pennsylvania requires PALS, confusing the MD and DO biennial renewal dates, they expire in different months of even-numbered years, and missing the Act Thirty-One child abuse training at renewal. It's required at every renewal cycle, not just once.
How we help
White Glove handles your Pennsylvania application from start to issued license. Call eight one five two one four nine four six five or book a free consultation today.
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