Getting a Washington Medical License: Requirements, Costs, and Timeline
A commission, not a board, under the Department of Health. DOs are licensed separately by the Washington Board of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery. Washington is a fully participating IMLC state. The WMC publishes a sixteen to twenty-week processing target for new MD applications, among the longest in the country.
Full transcript
Overview
Getting your Washington medical license? Here's exactly what you need to know so you can focus on practicing, not paperwork. Washington licenses MD physicians through the Washington Medical Commission.
Who issues your license
A commission, not a board, under the Department of Health. DOs are licensed separately by the Washington Board of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery. Washington is a fully participating IMLC state. The WMC publishes a sixteen to twenty-week processing target for new MD applications, among the longest in the country.
Eligibility requirements
You'll need a degree from an accredited medical school and at least two years of ACGME-accredited postgraduate training for US and Canadian graduates. Three years for international medical graduates. A six-hour suicide prevention training from the Department of Health's approved model list is required before licensure. Generic suicide prevention CME does not satisfy this. It must be from the DOH-approved list.
How to apply
Applications go through the FSMB uniform application routed to the WMC. The WMC identifies the FBI fingerprint step as the single longest step in the application process. One additional note: IMLC-issued Washington licenses must be renewed through the IMLC portal at first renewal, not through WMC's online services portal.
What it costs
Budget approximately seven hundred and one dollars. About five hundred and eleven dollars for the base WMC application fee, one hundred and forty for the mandatory Washington Physician Health Program surcharge, and roughly fifty dollars for FBI fingerprinting. Annual renewal is approximately six hundred and ninety-one dollars, due on your birthday each year.
How long it takes
The WMC publishes a sixteen to twenty-week processing target for new MD applications. The IMLC pathway typically issues a Washington license in four to six weeks. Apply at least five to six months in advance for the standard path. IMLC is dramatically faster if you have an eligible SPL.
Where applications stall
The delays we see most often: the FBI fingerprint step sitting in the queue. WMC flags it as the longest single step in the process. The six-hour suicide prevention training not coming from the DOH approved model list, a common source that seems equivalent but doesn't qualify. And IMLC licensees renewing through the WMC portal instead of the IMLC website. WhiteGlove handles your Washington application from start to issued license.
How we help
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