How long does a California medical license take?

The Medical Board’s published average is 59 days from a paid MD application to its first review, then a 3-day quality review and issuance within 1 to 3 business days once the file is complete; the board advises applying at least six months before you need the license. The osteopathic board publishes no current processing time.

How much does a California medical license cost?

About $1,920 for an MD ($2,024 from January 1, 2027) and about $739 for a DO, counting the application, license, fingerprint, and transcript fees. Rolling fees, FCVS if you choose it, and verifications from other boards come on top.

Can I use the IMLC for a California license?

No. California has not enacted the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, so every California license is a direct application to the Medical Board (MD) or the osteopathic board (DO), even if you hold licenses through the compact elsewhere.

Do I need a California license to treat California patients by telehealth?

Yes. The Medical Board says physicians using telehealth to treat patients located in California must be licensed in California; the exceptions are narrow, such as consulting with a California-licensed physician who keeps authority over the patient’s care.

Can I hold a California license without living in California?

Yes. The Medical Board says physicians need not reside in California, and 28,378 of the 155,303 MD licenses in effect in fiscal year 2024 to 2025 carried an out-of-state address.

I’ve been licensed in another state for years. Does that help?

Yes, for MDs: four or more years of unrestricted licensure elsewhere, without discipline and with the required training or certification, qualifies you under a section that lifts the four-attempt Step 3 limit and the 36-month training check at first renewal. In fiscal year 2024 to 2025, 1,616 MD licenses issued on that basis.

Are fingerprints required for a California license?

Yes, for MDs and DOs. Out-of-state applicants submit hard cards, which the Medical Board says clear in about 6 to 8 weeks, or complete Live Scan in person inside California, which clears in about 3 to 7 days.

Is FCVS required in California?

No. Both boards accept an FCVS profile in place of several primary-source documents, but neither requires it.

Is there a jurisprudence exam or an interview?

No. Neither California board requires a jurisprudence exam or an interview.

What does staying licensed in California involve?

Renewal every two years ($1,206 for MDs, $455 for DOs), 50 CME hours per cycle, CURES registration and checks for controlled-substance prescribing, and a separate $888 DEA registration for California.

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

California licenses MD and DO physicians through two separate boards, and every license is a direct application: the state has not enacted the IMLC. MDs apply to the Medical Board of California and pay about $1,920 in board, fingerprint, and transcript fees, rising to about $2,024 on January 1, 2027. DOs apply to the Osteopathic Medical Board of California and pay about $739. The Medical Board’s published average is 59 days from a paid application to its first review, and it advises applying at least six months before you need the license; the osteopathic board publishes no current processing time. Out-of-state fingerprint cards alone take about 6 to 8 weeks to clear.

California at a glance.

License: Physician’s and Surgeon’s License (MD); Osteopathic Physician and Surgeon Certificate (DO)
MD and DO: Two boards: the Medical Board for MDs, the osteopathic board for DOs
IMLC: Not a member. No compact law and no compact bill in the 2023 to 2026 sessions
FCVS: Accepted by both boards, required by neither
Uniform Application: Not used
Fingerprints: Required: hard cards from out of state, or Live Scan in California
Jurisprudence exam: None
Interview: None
Board fee: MD $1,850 to the Medical Board; DO $625 to the osteopathic board
Renewal: Every two years: MD $1,206, DO $455
CME: 50 hours every two years

Which route fits.

California offers no compact route and no out-of-state telehealth registration. The Medical Board’s rule is plain: physicians who use telehealth to treat patients located in California must hold a California license, from the board that licenses their degree.

The MD license.

Who it fits: MDs who will treat patients located in California, in person or by telehealth. If you have held an unrestricted license elsewhere for at least four years, without discipline, and meet its training or certification test, you qualify under a section that waives the four-attempt Step 3 limit and the 36-month training check at first renewal; 1,616 MD licenses issued that way in fiscal year 2024 to 2025.
The trade-off: About $1,920 all-in, the larger of California’s two fee stacks, and a published average of 59 days from a paid application to the first review.

Licensing board: Medical Board of California.

The DO license.

Who it fits: DOs from COCA-accredited schools with AOA or ACGME training. A DO licensed in another state can apply by reciprocity, which sets no minimum years of licensure.
The trade-off: Lower fees, about $739, but the board wants a verification from every license you have ever held, active or expired, and it publishes no current processing time.

Licensing board: Osteopathic Medical Board of California.

The IMLC.

Who it fits: No one, for California. The state has not enacted the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, and IMLCC lists no California board.
The trade-off: Licenses issued through the compact elsewhere do not reach California, so a California license is a separate direct application alongside any compact states in your plan.

What it costs.

MD license, Medical Board of California
Application and processing fee	$625
Fingerprint processing, California DOJ and FBI	$49
Initial license fee	$1,151
Physician Corps loan repayment fee, required	$25
USMLE transcript (FSMB)	$70
All-in	$1,920 ($2,024 from January 1, 2027)
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

DO license, Osteopathic Medical Board of California
Application fee	$200
Initial license fee, including the $25 Physician Corps fee	$425
Fingerprint processing, paid to the California DOJ	$49
COMLEX-USA transcript (NBOME)	$65
All-in	$739
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

MD fees go to the Medical Board, which collects the fingerprint fee inside its $674 application payment and calls that payment nonrefundable. DO applicants pay the osteopathic board $625 and send the $49 fingerprint fee to the California DOJ. On January 1, 2027 the MD initial license fee rises from $1,151 to $1,255, under a 2023 law.

Left out of both totals: the local fingerprint rolling or Live Scan fee, which neither board publishes; verifications from every board that has licensed a DO, priced by those boards; FCVS, optional at both boards ($395); and ECFMG’s $70 status report for international graduates. A pending osteopathic board rule would raise the DO application fee from $200 to $400.

Fees change; verified October 25, 2026.

How long it takes.

59 daysMedical Board, first review of an MD applicationThe board’s published average from receipt of both the application and its fees to the initial review.Board-published
3 days, then 1 to 3 business daysMedical Board, quality review and issuanceThe board’s quality-assurance review of a complete file, then license issuance after that review.Board-published
About 2 weeksMedical Board, documents sent after the first reviewThe board’s published time to review each document received after the initial review.Board-published
About 6 to 8 weeksFingerprint cards from out of stateThe Medical Board’s published clearance time for hard cards; Live Scan inside California clears in about 3 to 7 days.Board-published

The osteopathic board posts no processing time of its own and asks applicants to allow 30 business days before asking about status. The Medical Board says the biggest factor in how long a file takes is how fast the required items arrive, and it advises applying at least six months before you need the license. No board guarantees a date.

What the file involves.

An MD file moves between 7 parties besides you and 8 core document types. A DO file moves between 8 parties and 9 document types, because the osteopathic board wants a verification from every license you have held, active or expired. Both boards run your fingerprints through the California DOJ and the FBI.

Each medical school you attendedCertifies your medical education and sends an official transcript.
Each training program you attendedCertifies your postgraduate training, whether or not you completed the program.
FSMB or NBOMESends your USMLE or COMLEX-USA transcript to the board.
A fingerprint roller or Live Scan operatorTakes your prints, on hard cards outside California or by Live Scan inside it.
The California DOJRuns the state background check.
The FBIRuns the federal background check.
Every board that has licensed you (DO files)Verifies each license you have held, active or expired, directly to the osteopathic board.
Your California boardReviews the complete file and issues the license.

Postgraduate training, MD: 12 months of ACGME, RCPSC, or CFPC training for US and Canadian graduates, 24 months for international graduates, to be licensed; then 36 months by the first renewal, unless you qualify under the four-year rule.
Postgraduate training, DO: A 12-month AOA or ACGME first year with at least four months of general medicine, per the osteopathic board. State law also requires 36 months by the first renewal, a rule the board’s forms waive for DOs licensed elsewhere.
Exam limits, MD: USMLE Step 3 passed within four attempts unless you qualify under the four-year rule, and USMLE scores older than 10 years need SPEX unless you are actively practicing in another state or province.
Exams, DO: COMLEX-USA Levels 1 to 3. The osteopathic board no longer accepts SPEX.
Gaps in your history: The Medical Board wants your activities since medical school accounted for, with no gap longer than three months.

We run the California file.

We do

Confirm which basis your MD file qualifies under, including the four-year rule, before anything is filed.
Prepare the application for the right board and check every answer against its current requirements.
Request and chase every verification: your schools, each training program, your exam transcripts, and, for DOs, every board that has licensed you.
Handle fingerprint logistics for out-of-state hard cards.
Answer every board request and follow the file until the license issues.

You do

Share your credentials and license history once, in our secure portal.
Approve your application answers and sign the attestations.
Complete your fingerprints, the one step that has to be you in person.

Get My Licensing Plan

Staying licensed.

Renewal cycle: Every two years, expiring at the end of the month the license was issued; a first MD license issued since January 1, 2025 runs 26 months. Renewal is $1,206 for MDs ($1,310 for licenses expiring from January 1, 2027) and $455 for DOs, each including a $30 CURES fee.
CME: 50 hours every two years at both boards, plus, for most physicians, a one-time 12-hour course in pain management and end-of-life care, due within four years of licensure or by the second renewal. DOs also need 20 of their 50 hours in AOA Category 1 and a course on Schedule II addiction risks every cycle.
State controlled-substance registration: None. California has no separate state controlled-substance registration; your license and DEA registration carry prescribing authority.
Prescription monitoring: Register for CURES once you hold a DEA registration, and check a patient’s CURES report before first prescribing a Schedule II, III, or IV drug and at least every six months while it continues.
DEA registration: $888 for three years, with a separate registration for California.
E-prescribing: Required for prescriptions, with limited exceptions.

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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Your licenses, your deadline. We come back with the California plan.

Step 1 of 6: Service

Also licensing in these states?

Arizona Separate boards for MDs and DOs, both issuing licenses directly or through the IMLC, plus an out-of-state telehealth registration.
Texas One board licenses MDs and DOs, by direct application or through the IMLC.
Florida Separate boards for MDs and DOs, both issuing licenses through the IMLC, plus a telehealth registration with no state fee.
New York One license for MDs and DOs, filed directly: New York is not in the IMLC.
Physician licensing at NP Licensing
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