How long does an Arkansas medical license take?

The board publishes no processing time; its packet says a permanent license takes multiple weeks, and files move in the order received as their verifications arrive. Board members review complete files that need no appearance every week, and an approved license issues the following Thursday, while a file that needs a board appearance waits for a meeting, held at least quarterly. The state and FBI background check alone takes 2 to 6 weeks, the board’s FAQ says. On the compact route, IMLCC’s Year 9 averages, from before Arkansas went live, were 38 days from application to a Letter of Qualification, then 22 days from qualification to issued licenses.

How much does an Arkansas medical license cost?

$229.36 in published fees for an MD and $224.36 for a DO, under a temporary fee reduction that runs through June 30, 2027: the $120 application, which is a $20 application fee plus a $100 assessment for the board’s own credentials verification service, the $39.36 state and FBI background check, and a $70 USMLE or $65 COMLEX-USA transcript. Without the reduction, the board’s rule sets the application at $500. Through the IMLC, compact fees are $820: $700 to the IMLCC plus $120 for Arkansas. An optional first FCVS profile brings the total to $554.36 while the reduction lasts, through June 30, 2027, and verifications from other sources can add their own fees.

Is Arkansas in the IMLC?

Yes, since October 12, 2026, when Arkansas went live in the compact: it now issues licenses through the compact and can be your state of principal license. Its compact law, Act 269 of 2025, took effect August 5, 2025, and the board’s compact rule on July 6, 2026, but the compact was not in operation in Arkansas until the October 12 launch, so a page that still calls it pending or delayed is out of date. Compact fees are $820: $700 to the IMLCC plus $120 for Arkansas. No Arkansas compact volume is published yet.

Can I get an Arkansas license by endorsement?

Yes, in effect: Arkansas calls it licensure by credentials, the board’s standard route for a physician licensed in another state whose requirements equal Arkansas’s, with no new exam, though the board decides each license at its discretion. You file the same paper application as any applicant, with everything verified at its source, a new state and FBI fingerprint check, and the same fees. Arkansas’s automatic licensing law for holders of out-of-state licenses does not cover physicians.

Can I practice in Arkansas before the board approves my license?

Only on a temporary permit, which is not guaranteed and is issued only once every part of your file is complete. The permit lasts until the end of the next regular board meeting and mostly helps applicants who must appear before the board, since complete files that need no appearance are reviewed weekly; a permit request for a complete file is decided weekly. It costs $3 under the temporary fee reduction through June 30, 2027, plus $3 for each extension.

Is FCVS required in Arkansas?

No. The board accepts an FCVS profile in place of your school, training, and exam verifications but does not require one, and training outside ACGME programs, such as training abroad, is still verified directly. A first profile costs $395 with USMLE transcripts included, which brings the MD total to $554.36 while the temporary fee reduction runs, through June 30, 2027, and FSMB says it typically processes a first profile in roughly 35 days. FCVS is not the board’s own Centralized Credentials Verification Service (CCVS), which every Arkansas licensee joins under state law and which the $100 assessment in the application fee helps pay for.

Do MDs and DOs apply differently in Arkansas?

Barely. One board licenses both on one application for one fee, and the IMLCC lists a single Arkansas fee; Arkansas abolished its separate osteopathic board in 1971. DOs send a $65 COMLEX-USA transcript from NBOME instead of FSMB’s $70 USMLE transcript, so their published fees come to $224.36 against $229.36 for an MD while the temporary fee reduction runs, through June 30, 2027.

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

Yes. Arkansas law requires a professional treating patients in Arkansas through telemedicine to be fully licensed in Arkansas, the board’s rule says the same, and there is no out-of-state telehealth registration. Narrow exceptions remain, such as episodic consultation from another state or occasional consultation with an Arkansas physician, but regular or contracted care for patients in Arkansas takes the license. By telemedicine, you may prescribe Schedule II to V controlled substances only after an in-person exam or within a consultation, referral, on-call, cross-coverage, or ongoing relationship.

Does Arkansas require fingerprints or a jurisprudence exam?

Fingerprints yes, jurisprudence exam no. Every applicant completes a state and FBI fingerprint check, $39.36 by money order, on a card the board mails to your private address after your application arrives, and the board accepts no earlier check, however recent; its FAQ says results take 2 to 6 weeks. Instead of a law exam, you affirm in writing that you have read the Medical Practices Act and the board’s rules. On the compact route, your state of principal license runs the background check, and whether the board adds its own is not published.

Does Arkansas require CME?

Yes: 20 hours a year, counted from your birth month the year before, half of them Category 1 in your primary area of practice and including at least 1 hour on prescribing opioids and benzodiazepines, and the board audits at random each month. Controlled substance prescribers also complete at least 3 hours of board-approved prescribing education within their first two years of an Arkansas license. Renewal is every year by the end of your birth month, at $11 under the temporary fee reduction through June 30, 2027.

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

Arkansas licenses MD and DO physicians through one board, the Arkansas State Medical Board, by credentials or, since October 12, 2026, through the IMLC, and can be your state of principal license. Under a temporary fee reduction through June 30, 2027, published fees are $229.36 for an MD and $224.36 for a DO: the $120 application, including a $100 assessment for the board’s own credentials service, the $39.36 state and FBI background check, and a $70 USMLE or $65 COMLEX-USA transcript. Compact fees total $820. The board publishes no processing time; complete files that need no appearance are reviewed weekly. The friction is verification: the board says delays almost always come from long work histories and slow verifications.

Arkansas at a glance.

License: Unlimited license to practice medicine (MD) or osteopathy (DO), renewed every year
MD and DO: One board, one application, and one fee for both
IMLC: Member state, issuing licenses. Compact law in effect August 5, 2025, board rule July 6, 2026, live since October 12, 2026; Arkansas can be the SPL; $700 IMLCC fee plus $120 for Arkansas
FCVS: Accepted, not required; separate from the board’s own credentials verification service (CCVS)
Uniform Application: Not used; the board takes its own paper application
Fingerprints: Required: a state and FBI check, $39.36, on a card the board mails after your application arrives; no earlier check is accepted
Jurisprudence exam: None; you affirm in writing that you have read the Medical Practices Act and the board’s rules
Interview: Not routine; the board decides once your file is complete whether you must appear
Board fee: $120, a $20 application fee plus a $100 CCVS assessment, under a temporary reduction through June 30, 2027; the board’s rule sets $500
Renewal: Every year by the end of your birth month: $11 under the temporary reduction through June 30, 2027; the board’s rule sets $220
CME: 20 hours a year, half of them Category 1 in your primary area of practice, including 1 hour on prescribing opioids and benzodiazepines

Which route fits.

MDs and DOs file the same paper application with one board, the Arkansas State Medical Board, for the same license and the same fee, and since October 12, 2026, the IMLC has been a second way to a full Arkansas license. Arkansas has no out-of-state telehealth registration, and its automatic licensing law for holders of out-of-state licenses does not cover physicians. So outside narrow exceptions, such as an occasional consultation with an Arkansas physician from outside the state, treating a patient located in Arkansas, in person or by telemedicine, takes a full Arkansas license.

Licensure by credentials.

Who it fits: MDs and DOs licensed in another state whose requirements equal Arkansas’s: the board can license you on your credentials, at its discretion, with no new exam, if you passed one it accepts. It is the board’s standard route, and the route for physicians the compact excludes, such as those without specialty certification, which Arkansas does not require.
The trade-off: The full file, on paper, with everything since medical school verified at its source: your school, each training program, your exam record, every board that has licensed you, and the hospitals and employers of your last ten years, plus a new state and FBI fingerprint check, for $229.36 (MD) or $224.36 (DO) in published fees under a temporary reduction through June 30, 2027. Board members review complete files that need no appearance every week; a file that needs one waits for a board meeting, and a temporary permit, which is not guaranteed, can cover that wait once the file is complete.

Licensing board: Arkansas State Medical Board.

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 and each exam component passed within three attempts. Arkansas can also be your state of principal license, to add other member states, if you hold its full license and Arkansas is your primary residence, the site of at least 25% of your practice, or your employer’s location, or, failing those, your federal tax residence.
The trade-off: The route is new here: Arkansas’s compact law took effect August 5, 2025, and the board’s compact rule on July 6, 2026, but Arkansas went live in the compact only on October 12, 2026, and no Arkansas compact volume is published yet. Compact fees total $820, $700 to the IMLCC and $120 for Arkansas, none of it refundable, against $229.36 (MD) or $224.36 (DO) to apply directly under the temporary fee reduction through June 30, 2027; adding Arkansas to a Letter of Qualification still within its 365 days costs $220. Your state of principal license runs the background check, and the board has not published whether it adds its own for a compact applicant. A license issued through the compact renews through the IMLCC.

What it costs.

MD license by credentials
Application fee, temporarily reduced through June 30, 2027	$20
CCVS assessment, for the board’s own credentials verification service	$100
State and FBI criminal background check, the board’s fee	$39.36
USMLE transcript (FSMB)	$70
All-in	$229.36 while the reduction lasts
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

DO license by credentials
Application fee, temporarily reduced through June 30, 2027	$20
CCVS assessment, for the board’s own credentials verification service	$100
State and FBI criminal background check, the board’s fee	$39.36
COMLEX-USA transcript (NBOME)	$65
All-in	$224.36 while the reduction lasts
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

MD or DO license through the IMLC
IMLCC fee	$700
Arkansas license fee, from the IMLCC fee table	$120
All-in	$820 in compact fees
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

The application fee and the $100 CCVS assessment go to the board as one check or money order with the paper application, the same for an MD or a DO, and the board gives no refund on a withdrawn or abandoned application. The $20, like the $11 annual renewal, reflects a temporary 95% fee reduction under a 2023 state law, renewed each year since July 1, 2023 and now in effect through June 30, 2027, which the board says may or may not apply in future years; the board’s rule sets $500 to apply, CCVS assessment included, and $220 a year to renew. The CCVS is the board’s own credentials verification service, which every Arkansas licensee joins under state law; it is not FSMB’s FCVS. The $39.36 is the board’s fee for the state and FBI criminal background check, paid by money order, and the transcript fees go to FSMB or NBOME. On the IMLC route, the IMLCC lists $700 plus $120 for Arkansas, the same amount as the board’s current application fee, and calls all fees non-refundable; what it will list after June 30, 2027, when the reduction is set to end, is not published. Adding Arkansas to a Letter of Qualification still within its 365 days costs a $100 handling fee plus the $120.

Left out of every total: verifications from every board that has licensed you, which the board’s staff try to collect themselves, though you may have to request some, at each board’s own fee; any fees your school, training programs, hospitals, and employers charge for their verifications; notary, passport-style photo, fingerprinting, and courier charges, which are unpublished; translations of documents not in English; an optional FCVS profile in place of the school, training, and exam records, which brings the MD or DO total to $554.36 with a first profile ($395) or $258.36 with an existing one ($99) while the reduction lasts, through June 30, 2027, plus any COMLEX-USA transcript charge FCVS passes through for DOs; for international graduates, ECFMG’s $70 certification verification report, or through FCVS a one-time $75 plus $70 for each board designation; a temporary permit, $3 under the same reduction, plus $3 for each extension; and, for prescribers, the $888 DEA registration for three years, since Arkansas has no state controlled substance registration. On the IMLC route, your state of principal license runs the background check at its own fee, and whether the board adds a check of its own is not published.

Fees change; verified November 11, 2026.

How long it takes.

WeeklyBoard review of a complete file that needs no appearanceThe board’s packet says board members review such files every week and, if they have no questions, approve the application, with the license issued the following Thursday; its FAQ says licenses are granted weekly to applicants who need not appear. A review cadence, not a processing time.Board-published
2 to 6 weeksState and FBI background check resultsThe board’s FAQ says the criminal background check takes 2 to 6 weeks for the state and FBI results, an undated figure in its FAQ since at least 2019; it covers the check alone, and the board mails the fingerprint card only after your application arrives.Board-published
120 daysLife of a current work-history verificationThe board’s packet says verifications of your current work history must be redone every 120 days while the file is pending, so a file that waits collects them again.Board-published
At least quarterlyBoard meeting, for a file that needs an appearanceThe board’s rule has it meet at least quarterly to examine applicants, and a file that needs a personal appearance waits for the next scheduled meeting. A temporary permit request for a complete file is decided weekly, and the permit expires at the end of the next regular meeting.Board-published
38 daysIMLC application to Letter of QualificationIMLCC’s Year 9 average across the compact, April 2025 to March 2026, before Arkansas went live; 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

The board publishes no processing time. Its packet says a permanent license takes multiple weeks and asks you not to make commitments or relocate before it is granted; files move in the order received and as their verifications arrive, and the board does not move one applicant ahead of another. An application not complete after 12 months, or with no contact from you for 6 months, is classed as abandoned. No board guarantees a date.

What the file involves.

An Arkansas file by credentials moves between 12 core parties and holds 16 core document types, the same counts for an MD or a DO, whose COMLEX-USA record comes from NBOME instead of FSMB. The board verifies everything since you started medical school at its source, though it checks hospital and work history only for the last ten years; the application still lists your full history since graduation and explains every gap of 30 days or more. The documents include the application, signed before a notary with a recent passport-style photo, three signed releases and statements, your CV, the fingerprint packet, and the verifications. Each extra training program, board, hospital, and employer adds a party, and an FCVS profile brings the school, training, and exam records instead, leaving 10 core parties. On the IMLC route, Arkansas’s part involves 3 parties: the IMLCC, your state of principal license, and the board.

The Arkansas State Medical BoardIts staff check the file and try to collect your license verifications, board members review it weekly or at a meeting, and your license enrolls you in the board’s credentials verification service.
Your medical schoolVerifies your medical education and sends an official transcript.
Each postgraduate training programVerifies your training, through its program director.
FSMB, or NBOME for DOsSends your USMLE record, or your COMLEX-USA record for DOs.
Every board that has licensed youVerifies every license you have held, even temporary licenses and training permits; the board’s staff try to collect these themselves.
Each hospital or surgery center from the last ten yearsVerifies the privileges it granted you, including moonlighting, locum tenens, and telemedicine work.
Each practice, clinic, or contract firm from the last ten yearsVerifies your patient-care employment; a locum, contract, or telemedicine company can send one list of assignments with a good-standing letter instead.
Your current malpractice insurersVerify your professional liability coverage; a copy of your certificate can stand in.
Your ABMS member boardConfirms your specialty certification, which the board checks itself.
The Arkansas State Police and the FBIRun the state and federal criminal history checks on your fingerprints.
A fingerprinting agency where you liveTakes your prints on the card the board mails you.
A notary publicWitnesses your signature on the application and seals your photo.

Postgraduate training: At least one year of internship or residency in an accredited US program for US and Canadian graduates, MD or DO. International graduates need three years of accredited US training as an intern, resident, or fellow; or three years of training abroad with every USMLE step, ECFMG certification, and a year of accredited US fellowship or ABMS certification; or one US year while enrolled in an accredited Arkansas program.
Exams: USMLE, COMLEX-USA, or an older exam the board accepts, such as FLEX, NBME, or the Medical Council of Canada’s exam, with each step passed in no more than 3 attempts, the compact’s limit too; a fourth attempt is allowed only in narrow cases. The board’s rule sets no time limit for the sequence, and state board exams taken after 1975 do not count.
International graduates: A standard ECFMG certificate and Steps 1, 2, and 3 of the USMLE, plus English fluency shown in a personal interview.
Board certification: Not required for an Arkansas license, and state law bars the board from requiring maintenance of certification. The IMLC requires specialty certification.

We run the Arkansas file.

We do

Check your IMLC eligibility and weigh it against licensure by credentials before any fee is paid, since the board refunds nothing on a withdrawn application.
Prepare the Arkansas application, with your full history since medical school and an explanation for every gap of 30 days or more, and check every answer against the board’s current rules before it goes in.
Request and chase every verification at its source, from your school, each training program, your exam body, and the hospitals and employers of your last ten years, through FCVS where you use it.
Request any license verification the board’s staff cannot collect, and refresh verifications of your current work before they pass 120 days.
Act as your designated secondary contact, the one person besides you whom the board copies on its correspondence about your file, and answer every request until the license issues.
Prepare a temporary permit request if your complete file must wait for a board meeting.

You do

Share your credentials and license history once, in our secure portal.
Approve your application answers and sign the application before a notary, with a recent passport-style photo; the board accepts no stamped or proxy signature.
Name us in writing, with your application, as your secondary contact.
Have your fingerprints taken on the card the board mails you once your application arrives.
Appear before the board if it asks.

Get My Licensing Plan

Staying licensed.

Renewal cycle: Every year by the last day of your birth month, with no grace period: $11 under the temporary fee reduction through June 30, 2027, against $220 a year in the board’s rule. A license not renewed in time expires automatically, and reinstating it adds a $50 late fee. After your first license, you can request a two-year registration instead, paying two years’ fees with proof of CME for both years. A license issued through the compact runs on Arkansas’s cycle and renews through the IMLCC.
CME: 20 hours a year, counted from your birth month the year before through your current birth month, half of them Category 1 in your primary area of practice, including at least 1 hour on prescribing opioids and benzodiazepines. You attest to your hours under penalty of perjury at each renewal, the board audits at random each month, and you keep records for at least 3 years; the same hours apply to a license issued through the compact. If you prescribe Schedule II to V controlled substances, you also complete at least 3 hours of board-approved prescribing education within your first two years of an Arkansas license.
State controlled-substance registration: None. Arkansas issues no state controlled substance registration: your Arkansas medical license is the state authority a DEA registration for Arkansas needs.
Prescription monitoring: Check the Arkansas Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, run by the Department of Health, every time you prescribe a Schedule II or III opioid and the first time you prescribe a benzodiazepine to a patient, and document each check in the patient’s record. The board’s rule exempts controlled substances administered around surgery, in a health care facility, or in an emergency, care for hospice, palliative care, and nursing home patients, and times the program cannot be reached; oncologists check at an initial malignant diagnosis and every three months during treatment. The board can discipline a physician who purposely skips a required check.
DEA registration: $888 for three years, with a separate registration for Arkansas.
Controlled substances by telemedicine: By telemedicine, you may not prescribe a Schedule II to V controlled substance unless you have examined the patient in person or a relationship exists through a consultation or referral, on-call or cross-coverage, or an ongoing personal or professional relationship.
Pain prescriptions: The board’s rule counts as excessive an initial controlled substance prescription for acute pain written for more than 7 days without detailed, documented medical justification, and opioids for chronic pain at 50 or more morphine milligram equivalents a day unless you document what the rule lists.
Credentials profile: At each renewal, review your profile with the board’s credentials verification service and return any changes with a current CV. Credentialing information the board requests is due within 30 days, or your license can be suspended after a board hearing.
Reporting duties: Report a malpractice claim or lawsuit to the board within 10 days of notice, and a change of address, or a practice relocation or closing with where your patient records will be kept, within 30 days.

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?

Texas One board licenses MDs and DOs, by direct application or through the IMLC.
Tennessee Separate boards for MDs and DOs, each licensing directly or through the IMLC, plus locum tenens licenses for physicians living outside Tennessee and a telemedicine license for DOs.
California Two boards and no IMLC route: every California license is a direct application.
Florida Separate boards for MDs and DOs, both issuing licenses through the IMLC, plus a telehealth registration with no state fee.
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