How long does an Alabama medical license take?

Two to three months on average, the board says, without stating when that count starts or ends, in a sentence unchanged on its page since at least 2021. Its narrower figures: processing takes 2 to 3 weeks from submission before your online checklist updates, under a notice that system upgrades may cause delays, and the commission generally issues the license one week after the board’s certificate of qualification. A complete file waits for the board’s monthly meeting, Alabama law sets no deadline for either body to decide, and the board encourages applying six months before you plan to practice. On the compact route, IMLCC’s Year 9 averages were 38 days from application to a Letter of Qualification, then 22 days from qualification to issued licenses.

How much does an Alabama medical license cost?

$385 in published fees for an MD and $380 for a DO applying directly: the $175 application fee and $65 background check to the board, the commission’s $75 license fee, and a $70 USMLE or $65 COMLEX-USA transcript. FSMB adds a one-time $60 if this is your first Uniform Application, and the local charge for rolling fingerprint cards comes on top. Through the IMLC, fees are $775: $700 to the IMLCC plus $75 for Alabama. To prescribe controlled substances, add the $150 Alabama Controlled Substances Certificate, renewed every year, and the $888 DEA registration.

Is Alabama in the IMLC?

Yes. Alabama enacted the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact in 2015, issues licenses through it, and can be your state of principal license. That last service stopped in April 2023, when the FBI ordered the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to stop the background checks behind Alabama’s Letters of Qualification, the state’s auditors reported, and it has since resumed: the board issued 233 Letters of Qualification to other states in 2025. In IMLCC’s Year 9, April 2025 to March 2026, the board approved 193 Letters of Qualification and the commission issued 944 licenses through the compact.

Who issues an Alabama medical license?

The Medical Licensure Commission of Alabama: on a direct application, after the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners certifies you qualified, and through the IMLC, on a Letter of Qualification. Alabama law gives the commission the exclusive power to issue licenses and has it consider, without being bound by, the board’s recommendation; on a direct application, the commission generally issues the license a week after the board’s certificate of qualification. Both bodies handle MDs and DOs alike and share one website and staff, and the board collects both bodies’ fees. The board withdraws a certificate of qualification after six months unless you have applied to the commission and paid its $75 fee.

Do MDs and DOs apply differently in Alabama?

Barely. One application and one fee schedule cover both, the board says the commission makes no distinction between them, and the IMLCC lists a single Alabama fee. DOs send COMLEX-USA scores from NBOME, at $65, instead of USMLE scores from FSMB, at $70. The board’s published attempt and time limits are written for USMLE; an amended rule restricting COMLEX-USA attempts was certified in October 2026, and its terms are not yet published.

Do I need an Alabama license to treat Alabama patients by telehealth?

Yes, outside two narrow exceptions. Alabama law requires a full Alabama license for telehealth to a patient in Alabama, except care on an irregular or infrequent basis, meaning on fewer than 10 days or for fewer than 10 patients in a calendar year, and consultation with a physician licensed in Alabama, limited to 10 days a year. The special purpose license for practice across state lines took no new applications after May 26, 2022, and the board points telehealth physicians to a full license or a license through the IMLC.

Does Alabama require fingerprints or a jurisprudence exam?

Fingerprints yes, a jurisprudence exam no. Every direct applicant passes a state and FBI check from two fingerprint cards, which most local law enforcement agencies can roll, with a criminal history release signed before two witnesses or a notary; the board’s fee is $65, and the local charge for rolling the cards is not published. The nearest thing to an exam is the board’s free professional boundaries course, which every new licensee completes within 12 months of the license. On the compact route, your state of principal license runs the check.

Is FCVS or the Uniform Application required in Alabama?

The Uniform Application is required and FCVS is not. The board requires FSMB’s Uniform Application, whose one-time $60 charge applies only if it is your first, and accepts an FCVS profile in place of your school, training, and exam records without requiring one. A first FCVS profile costs $395, transcripts included, which brings the direct route to $710 in all for an MD.

Do I need verifications from every state that has licensed me?

No. The board’s checklist says state license verifications are not required for licensure, and FSMB gives that checklist as Alabama’s own Uniform Application instructions. The verifications Alabama does require come from your medical school and each postgraduate program, sent directly by them, plus your exam scores from FSMB or NBOME and, for international graduates, an ECFMG report.

Does Alabama issue a temporary license while I wait?

No. The board says Alabama does not offer a temporary license while a full application is pending. The one exception is the Military Special Service License, for physicians who are service members or military spouses relocated or stationed in Alabama under official orders: it expires 12 months after it issues, the holder must apply for the full license within those 12 months, and the board asks you to allow 10 days for it to issue.

Alabama physician license: fees, timeline, requirements, and common delays

Alabama licenses MD and DO physicians through two bodies on one website: the Board of Medical Examiners certifies you qualified, and the Medical Licensure Commission issues the license, directly or through the IMLC; Alabama can be your state of principal license. Applying directly, an MD pays $385 in published fees and a DO $380: the $175 application fee, a $65 background check, the $75 license fee, and a $70 USMLE or $65 COMLEX transcript, plus $60 to FSMB for a first Uniform Application. Compact fees total $775. The board’s stated average time to obtain a license, unchanged since at least 2021, is two to three months. The friction is two meeting calendars: most files wait for the board’s monthly meeting, then the commission’s.

Alabama at a glance.

License: Full license to practice medicine or osteopathy (MD or DO), issued by the Medical Licensure Commission and renewed every year
MD and DO: One application and fee schedule for both; the board certifies, the commission licenses
IMLC: Member state, issuing licenses. Alabama can be the SPL; $700 IMLCC fee plus $75 for Alabama
FCVS: Accepted, not required
Uniform Application: Required; FSMB’s one-time $60 applies only to your first Uniform Application
Fingerprints: Required: state and FBI checks from two fingerprint cards, with a witnessed or notarized release
Jurisprudence exam: None
Interview: Not routine; the board may ask you to meet its Credentials Committee
Board fee: $175 application fee and $65 background check, then the commission’s $75 license fee, all nonrefundable
Renewal: Every year by December 31, $300; every license expires that day, whenever it was issued
CME: 25 credits a year if you live in Alabama or practice there more than 10 days a year; first year exempt

Which route fits.

MDs and DOs file one application at the same fees, and every direct application passes through two bodies that share one website and staff: the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners reviews the application and issues a certificate of qualification, and the Medical Licensure Commission of Alabama issues the license. The IMLC is the other way to a full Alabama license, issued by the commission. Alabama has no out-of-state telehealth registration, since its special purpose license for practice across state lines took no new applications after May 26, 2022, and the board says it issues no temporary license while a full application is pending, outside a 12-month license for physicians who are service members or military spouses under orders in Alabama. So outside narrow exceptions, treating a patient in Alabama, in person or by telehealth, takes a full Alabama license.

Direct application.

Who it fits: Any MD or DO who meets Alabama’s exam and training rules, with USMLE, COMLEX-USA, or another exam it accepts, including physicians the compact excludes, such as those without specialty certification, which Alabama does not require.
The trade-off: Published fees of $385 (MD) or $380 (DO), plus FSMB’s one-time $60 if this is your first Uniform Application. The file is light on verifications and heavy on paper: the board asks for none from the other boards that have licensed you, but your school and each training program certify you on the board’s own forms, and fingerprints go in on cards with a witnessed or notarized release. A complete file waits for the board’s monthly meeting, and the commission generally issues the license one week after the board’s certificate of qualification.

Licensing board: Alabama Board of Medical Examiners.

The IMLC.

Who it fits: Physicians whose state of principal license is another member state and who meet the compact’s terms, which include specialty certification. Alabama can also be your state of principal license, to add other member states: that service stopped in April 2023, when an FBI order halted the background checks behind it, and has since resumed, with 233 Letters of Qualification issued to other states in 2025.
The trade-off: It costs more: $700 to the IMLCC plus $75 for Alabama, $775, none of it refundable, against $385 (MD) or $380 (DO) to apply directly; adding Alabama to a Letter of Qualification still within its 365 days costs $175. Your state of principal license runs the background check, and the Alabama license renews every year through the IMLCC rather than the board, for the commission’s $300 plus IMLCC’s $25.

What it costs.

MD license, direct application
Board application fee	$175
Criminal background check, fingerprint cards	$65
Commission’s license issuance fee, due after the certificate of qualification	$75
USMLE transcript (FSMB)	$70
All-in	$385
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

DO license, direct application
Board application fee	$175
Criminal background check, fingerprint cards	$65
Commission’s license issuance fee, due after the certificate of qualification	$75
COMLEX-USA transcript (NBOME)	$65
All-in	$380
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

MD or DO license through the IMLC
IMLCC fee	$700
Alabama license fee, from the IMLCC fee table	$75
All-in	$775
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

The $175 application fee and the $65 background check go to the Board of Medical Examiners with the application. The $75 license issuance fee is the Medical Licensure Commission’s, collected by the board after it issues your certificate of qualification, and the board calls all its fees nonrefundable. Transcript fees go to FSMB or NBOME. The Uniform Application the board requires carries FSMB’s one-time $60 charge only for a first-time user, so a physician who has filed one before pays nothing more to use it for Alabama. On the IMLC route, the $700 and the $75 are paid through the IMLCC, which calls all compact fees non-refundable, and adding Alabama to a Letter of Qualification still within its 365 days costs a $100 handling fee plus the $75.

Left out of every total: FSMB’s one-time $60 Uniform Application charge, paid only with a physician’s first Uniform Application; the local charge for rolling your fingerprint cards and any notary fee for the criminal history release, neither published; any translations; a specialty board’s verification fee, only if the board asks for one; for international graduates, ECFMG’s $70 certification status report; an optional FCVS profile, $395 with transcripts included, which brings the MD total to $710; SPEX, $1,400, or COMVEX, only if a reentry agreement requires one; and, if you prescribe controlled substances, the $150 Alabama Controlled Substances Certificate each year and the $888 DEA registration. On the IMLC route, fingerprints and verifications run through your state of principal license, at its fees.

Fees change; verified November 11, 2026.

How long it takes.

2 to 3 monthsBoard average to obtain a licenseThe board’s published average time for obtaining a license, with no start or end point stated; the sentence has stood unchanged on its MD and DO page since at least 2021.Board-published
2 to 3 weeksProcessing until your online checklist updatesThe board’s estimate from submission of the application until the online checklist for your file is updated, posted under a notice that system upgrades may delay processing; it is not the time to a license.Board-published
Generally 1 weekCertificate of qualification to licenseThe board says the Medical Licensure Commission generally issues the license one week after the board issues the certificate of qualification; the commission considers it at its next meeting and issues no license number until the $75 fee is paid.Board-published
6 monthsTime to complete an applicationAlabama law has the board withdraw an application not completed within six months of its receipt of the initial signed application, or 12 months when an exam must still be passed, and a new application means a new fee.Statutory deadline
38 daysIMLC application to Letter of QualificationIMLCC’s Year 9 average across the compact, April 2025 to March 2026; 55% received the letter in 30 days or less.IMLCC average
22 daysIMLC qualification to licenses issuedIMLCC’s Year 9 average for the next stage, from qualification to the requested state licenses; 47% received them in 7 days or less. The two stages are separate averages, not a total.IMLCC average

Alabama law sets no deadline for the board or the commission to decide an application. A complete file goes to the board’s monthly meeting, where its Credentials Committee recommends the month’s applicants, and then to the commission’s next meeting, which in 2026 came 6 to 13 days later. The board withdraws a certificate of qualification after six months unless you have applied to the commission and paid its fee, and the board encourages applying six months before you plan to practice in Alabama. No board guarantees a date.

What the file involves.

A direct Alabama file moves between 7 core parties for an MD and 8 for a DO, whose COMLEX-USA scores come from NBOME; international graduates add ECFMG. It holds 8 core document types: the Uniform Application, the board’s own application, which you complete yourself in one sitting, a criminal history release signed before two witnesses or a notary, two fingerprint cards, a declaration of citizenship or lawful presence with a supporting document, your medical school’s certification, one from each postgraduate program, and your exam transcript. The board asks for no verification from the other boards that have licensed you, and an optional FCVS profile can carry the school, training, and exam records instead. On the IMLC route, Alabama’s part involves 3 parties: the IMLCC, your state of principal license, and the commission.

Your medical schoolCertifies your degree on the board’s own form, sent by the school; a copy of your diploma is not accepted.
Each postgraduate training programCertifies the training you completed, for every accredited program you attended; a copy of a certificate is not accepted.
FSMBRuns the Uniform Application the board requires and sends your USMLE transcript directly to the board.
NBOME, for DOsSends your COMLEX-USA scores directly to the board.
ECFMG, for international graduatesSends a report on your certification directly to the board.
A fingerprinting agencyTakes your prints on two cards; most local law enforcement agencies can, and Alabama law also accepts an individual trained in fingerprinting.
The Alabama State Bureau of Investigation and the FBIRun the state and national criminal history checks on the cards the board submits.
The Alabama Board of Medical ExaminersReviews the file, takes it up at a monthly meeting on its Credentials Committee’s recommendation, and issues certificates of qualification to qualified applicants.
The Medical Licensure Commission of AlabamaConsiders qualified applicants at its next meeting and issues the license, assigning no license number before the $75 fee is paid.

Postgraduate training: One year in an ACGME, AOA, RCPSC, or CFPC program for graduates of LCME- or COCA-accredited schools; graduates of other schools need two years and ECFMG certification. Twelve months in a program are not enough on their own: the year counts when you met the program’s criteria for promotion to the next level or for completion.
Exam attempts and time limits: On USMLE: Step 3 passed in no more than 3 attempts, Steps 1 to 3 passed within 7 years of the first Step you passed, counted by calendar year, and no more than 10 attempts at the three Steps combined. Current ABMS or AOA board certification lifts the 7-year window but not the 10 attempts, and the board may approve one more Step 3 attempt after further education, experience, or training. The board’s published limits are written for USMLE; an amended rule restricting COMLEX-USA attempts was certified in October 2026, and its terms are not yet published.
Time out of practice: If you have been out of clinical practice for two years or more, you may qualify by entering a reentry agreement with the board, which can require SPEX or COMVEX, an assessment, mentored practice, or more training, and brings a restricted certificate of qualification. Since January 10, 2026, only direct patient care in the US or Canada counts as active practice.
Board certification: Not required for an Alabama license. Current certification lifts the USMLE 7-year window, and the IMLC requires it.

We run the Alabama file.

We do

Check your IMLC eligibility and weigh it against the direct application before any fee is paid, since Alabama refunds none.
Assemble every answer and date the board’s application asks for, so you can complete it in the one sitting the board requires.
Request and chase the certifications from your medical school and each training program, and your exam scores from FSMB or NBOME, until each reaches the board.
Coordinate your fingerprint cards and criminal history release, and track the background check until the board has the results.
Watch the board’s and the commission’s meeting dates, flag the $75 license fee when your certificate of qualification issues, and follow the file until the license issues.

You do

Share your credentials and license history once, in our secure portal.
Complete the board’s online application yourself, in one sitting, as the board requires.
Sign the criminal history release before two witnesses or a notary, and have your fingerprints rolled on the board’s cards.
Meet the board’s Credentials Committee if it asks.

Get My Licensing Plan

Staying licensed.

Renewal cycle: Every year: every Alabama license expires on December 31, whenever it was issued, and renewal opens October 1 for $300. Renewal from January 1 to 31 adds a $100 late fee, and an unrenewed license stays active until midnight on January 31; after that it becomes inactive, and reinstatement costs up to $850. A license issued through the compact renews through the IMLCC, for the commission’s $300 plus IMLCC’s $25 service fee.
CME: 25 AMA PRA Category 1 or AOA Category 1-A credits, or equivalent, each calendar year if you live in Alabama or practice there, in any form, telehealth included, for more than 10 days a year; the calendar year of your first Alabama license is exempt. Every new licensee, wherever they live, also completes the board’s free professional boundaries course, worth 2 credits, within 12 months of the license, even after taking it for another state. Holders of the Alabama Controlled Substances Certificate need 2 credits in controlled substance prescribing every two years, even in an otherwise exempt year. Records are kept for three years, and the board audits a random sample every year.
State controlled-substance registration: Required to prescribe, dispense, or distribute any controlled substance in Alabama: the Alabama Controlled Substances Certificate (ACSC), issued by the Board of Medical Examiners for $150 a year, initial or renewal, and renewed by December 31. It needs your Alabama license first and comes before an Alabama DEA registration, and each renewal needs a current Alabama DEA registration and registration with the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. The $150 includes the $10 a year that Alabama law adds for the PDMP.
Prescription monitoring: ACSC holders register with Alabama’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, run by the Alabama Department of Public Health, which gives access only to practitioners licensed in Alabama. Alabama law sets no duty to check it but lets the licensing boards impose one, and board rules do: for a patient prescribed more than 30 morphine milligram equivalents (MME) or 3 lorazepam milligram equivalents (LME) a day, review the PDMP history at least twice a year, and for any prescription over 90 MME or 5 LME a day, query it on the day you write it, with exemptions for nursing home, hospice, active malignant pain, and intra-operative care.
DEA registration: $888 for three years, with a separate registration for Alabama, after your Alabama Controlled Substances Certificate.
Controlled substances by telehealth: Outside an inpatient setting, Alabama law sets three conditions for prescribing a controlled substance after a telehealth visit: the visit includes synchronous audio or audio-visual communication on HIPAA-compliant equipment, you have had at least one in-person encounter with the patient in the preceding 12 months, and you established a legitimate medical purpose within those 12 months.
Reporting duties: Tell the commission of an address change within 15 days, and report any malpractice judgment or settlement from the year before to the board during the first 30 days of each year. Alabama law also requires filing your license with the probate judge of the county where you locate, within 10 days of locating there, a duty the board’s pages do not mention.

Renewals, CME tracking, and DEA registrations are managed where included in your plan: physician licensing at NP Licensing.

Frequently asked questions

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Also licensing in these states?

Florida Separate boards for MDs and DOs, both issuing licenses through the IMLC, plus a telehealth registration with no state fee.
Georgia One board licenses MDs and DOs, directly or through the IMLC, and direct applications now require FCVS and fingerprints.
California Two boards and no IMLC route: every California license is a direct application.
Texas One board licenses MDs and DOs, by direct application or through the IMLC.
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