How long does an Indiana medical license take?

The Indiana Professional Licensing Agency’s posted averages for 2024 were 5.03 days for MD licenses and 4.94 for DO licenses, counted from a completed application. Completing the file takes longer: the board asks you to allow 4 to 6 weeks for staff’s first review, says the time to a license depends on how fast your schools, programs, exam bodies, and other boards send their records, and advises applying at least 120 days before any deadline. 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 Indiana medical license cost?

$361.20 in published fees for an MD and $356.20 for a DO applying directly: the $250 application fee, $38.20 for the fingerprint background check, a $70 USMLE or $65 COMLEX transcript, and the $3 NPDB self-query. Through the IMLC, fees are $950: $700 to the IMLCC plus $250 for Indiana. If you will prescribe controlled substances in Indiana, the $60 state registration brings the direct totals to $421.20 for an MD and $416.20 for a DO, and verifications from other boards and the charge for rolling fingerprint cards come on top.

Is Indiana in the IMLC?

Yes. Indiana enacted the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact in 2022, issues licenses through it, and can be your state of principal license. In IMLCC’s Year 9, April 2025 to March 2026, the board approved 276 Letters of Qualification and issued 963 licenses through the compact.

Can I get an Indiana license by reciprocity?

No. Since July 1, 2026, Indiana law has barred the board from issuing physician licenses under the state’s reciprocity law for health care professionals, so a physician licensed in another state applies by endorsement, for the $250 application fee, or through the IMLC.

Do MDs and DOs apply differently in Indiana?

Barely. One board licenses both through the same application and the same $250 fee, and the IMLCC lists a single Indiana fee. The differences are the exam, USMLE for MDs and COMLEX-USA for DOs, each with its own attempt and time limits, and the transcript: $70 from FSMB or $65 from NBOME.

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

Yes. Indiana ended its telehealth certificates for out-of-state practitioners on July 1, 2024, and its telehealth law treats a physician outside Indiana who establishes a relationship with, or decides on a prescription for, a patient located in Indiana as providing care in Indiana. Narrow exceptions remain, such as a consultation an Indiana physician calls you in for, a second opinion to an Indiana licensee, and follow-up care for a patient you first treated while the patient was outside Indiana. Prescribing controlled substances by telehealth also takes Indiana’s controlled substance registration, which requires an Indiana practice address.

Does Indiana require fingerprints or a jurisprudence exam?

Fingerprints yes, jurisprudence exam no. Every applicant for an initial license submits to a state and FBI background check, $38.20, from prints taken after the application is submitted; the board disregards a check dated before the application, and you pay the fee again. From out of state you have a card rolled locally and mailed to the state’s vendor, and results take about 7 to 10 days. On the compact route, your state of principal license runs the check.

Is FCVS required in Indiana?

No. The board accepts an FCVS profile to meet its full-license requirements but does not require one and says it does not endorse it. A first profile costs $395 plus a $3.50 NPDB report and takes the place of the USMLE transcript and the self-query, $686.70 in all for an MD.

Does Indiana require CME?

No. Indiana law bars a licensing board from requiring continuing education unless a statute authorizes it, and none does for physicians; the two hours on opioid prescribing once required for the controlled substance registration ended on July 1, 2025. Renewal is every two years, by October 31 of odd-numbered years, for $200.

Can I practice in Indiana while my application is pending?

Possibly, with a temporary permit of up to 90 days, which the board may issue with your application if you hold a valid license in another state or in Canada. It costs $100 more, nonrefundable, ends when the license issues if that comes first, and does not qualify you for the controlled substance registration, so you cannot prescribe controlled substances on it.

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

Indiana licenses MD and DO physicians through one board, the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana, by endorsement or through the IMLC, and can be your state of principal license. Applying directly, an MD pays $361.20 in published fees and a DO $356.20: the $250 application fee, a $38.20 fingerprint background check, a $70 USMLE or $65 COMLEX transcript, and a $3 NPDB self-query. Compact fees total $950. Indiana’s licensing agency posted 2024 averages of 5.03 days (MD) and 4.94 days (DO) from a completed application to the license; the board asks you to allow 4 to 6 weeks for its first review. The friction is prescribing from out of state: Indiana’s controlled substance registration requires an Indiana practice address.

Indiana at a glance.

License: Unlimited license to practice medicine (MD) or osteopathic medicine (DO), renewed every two years
MD and DO: One board and one application for both, at the same fees
IMLC: Member state, issuing licenses. Indiana can be the SPL; $700 IMLCC fee plus $250 for Indiana
FCVS: Accepted, not required
Uniform Application: Used, not required, per the board’s own instructions
Fingerprints: Required: an Indiana State Police and FBI check, from prints taken after you apply
Jurisprudence exam: None
Interview: Not routine; the board may call you to appear, as it does for waiver requests
Board fee: $250 application fee, nonrefundable
Renewal: Every two years, by October 31 of odd-numbered years: $200
CME: None required

Which route fits.

MD and DO applicants file the same application with the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana, staffed by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency (IPLA), at the same fees, and the IMLC is a second way to a full Indiana license. Since July 1, 2026, Indiana law has barred the board from licensing physicians under the state’s reciprocity law for health care professionals. Indiana has no out-of-state telehealth registration either: it ended its telehealth certificates for out-of-state practitioners on July 1, 2024, so outside narrow exemptions, such as a consultation an Indiana physician calls you in for, treating a patient located in Indiana takes an Indiana license.

Licensure by endorsement.

Who it fits: Any MD or DO licensed in another state or in Canada who passed an exam Indiana accepts: USMLE, COMLEX-USA, or the older NBME, NBOME, or FLEX exams. That includes physicians the compact excludes, such as those without specialty certification, which Indiana does not require. A physician not yet licensed anywhere files the same application by examination, for the same $250.
The trade-off: Every source reports to the board directly: each medical school and training program, FSMB or NBOME, and every state or province that has licensed you in any health profession, alongside your NPDB self-query and a state and FBI fingerprint check, for $361.20 (MD) or $356.20 (DO) in published fees. The board asks you to allow 4 to 6 weeks for staff’s first review, and a file that needs a waiver, such as for exam attempts, waits for a board meeting.

Licensing board: Medical Licensing Board of Indiana.

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. Indiana can also be your state of principal license, to add other member states.
The trade-off: It costs more: $700 to the IMLCC plus $250 for Indiana, none of it refundable, $950 for a separate Indiana license, against $361.20 (MD) or $356.20 (DO) to apply directly; adding Indiana to a Letter of Qualification still within its 365 days costs $350. The license renews through the IMLCC, not the board, and prescribing controlled substances still takes Indiana’s own registration, at an Indiana practice address.

A temporary permit.

Who it fits: Physicians who hold a valid license in another state or in Canada, have applied by endorsement, and need to start practicing in Indiana before the license issues. The board may grant the permit with the application.
The trade-off: $100 more, nonrefundable, for a permit that lasts up to 90 days and ends when the license issues, if that comes first; the board can extend it on a written request made before it expires when the file is still incomplete. It does not qualify you for Indiana’s controlled substance registration, so you cannot prescribe controlled substances on it.

What it costs.

MD license, direct application
Application fee	$250
State and FBI background check, fingerprints	$38.20
USMLE transcript (FSMB)	$70
NPDB self-query	$3
All-in	$361.20
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

DO license, direct application
Application fee	$250
State and FBI background check, fingerprints	$38.20
COMLEX-USA transcript (NBOME)	$65
NPDB self-query	$3
All-in	$356.20
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

MD or DO license through the IMLC
IMLCC application fee	$700
Indiana license fee, from the IMLCC fee table	$250
All-in	$950
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

The $250 goes to IPLA with the application; the board calls all its fees nonrefundable, and online card payments add a processing fee IPLA does not publish. The $38.20 background check fee, which IPLA says is split among the state’s general fund, the FBI, and the fingerprint vendor, is paid through the vendor. Transcript fees go to FSMB or NBOME, and the self-query is the NPDB’s $3 annual subscription, which Indiana’s rule requires of every applicant. On the IMLC route, the IMLCC calls every fee non-refundable, and adding Indiana to a Letter of Qualification still within its 365 days costs $350, a $100 handling fee plus the $250.

Left out of every total: verifications from every state or province that has licensed you, at each board’s own fee; your medical school transcript and training verifications, at each institution’s own charge, unpublished; from out of state, the local charge for rolling your fingerprint card and the postage to mail it, neither published; certified translations of documents not in English; an optional FCVS profile, $395 plus a $3.50 NPDB report, which takes the place of the USMLE transcript and the self-query, $686.70 in all for an MD; FSMB’s one-time $60 fee if you file through the Uniform Application; the $100 temporary permit, if you want one; and a board-ordered evaluation or the SPEX exam, only if the board requires one. Prescribers add Indiana’s $60 controlled substance registration and the $888 DEA registration. On the IMLC route, your state of principal license runs the fingerprints and verifications, at its fees.

Fees change; verified November 11, 2026.

How long it takes.

4 to 6 weeksStaff’s first review of a new applicationThe board asks you to allow 4 to 6 weeks from receipt of documentation for this review, after which staff email an itemized list of what the file still needs; it is not the time to a license.Board-published
5.03 days (MD), 4.94 days (DO)Average wait from a completed application, 2024The latest yearly average IPLA has posted under state law, for MD and DO licenses issued in 2024 after a completed application was submitted, including any board review or appearance; the time spent completing a file is not counted.Board-published
About 7 to 10 daysBackground check results, prints taken out of stateIPLA says the federal check typically takes 72 to 96 hours after fingerprinting and out-of-state applicants about 7 to 10 days, and the license does not issue on the results alone.Board-published
11 meetings a yearBoard review, for files that need itThe board meets monthly except November, and files with positive answers, education questions, or waiver requests wait for a meeting; the state’s FAQ says that review time varies with the meeting schedule.Board-published
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

Indiana law sets no deadline for the board to decide a physician application. IPLA must send a notice of missing items every 14 days until the file is complete, and an application not completed within a year of filing is abandoned, though the board can extend it 30 days at a time. The board advises applying at least 120 days before any licensure deadline and says no fee buys a faster review. No board guarantees a date.

What the file involves.

A typical Indiana file by endorsement moves between 7 parties, more with each extra school, training program, exam body, and licensing board, and 8 core document types: the application, your medical school transcript and a copy of your diploma, your exam history report, documentation of each postgraduate program, a verification from every licensing board, the NPDB self-query, and the fingerprint background check. Each source reports to the board directly, and an optional FCVS profile can bring your school, training, and exam records and the NPDB report instead. Indiana’s rule also lists a recent passport-type photograph, which the board’s checklist omits. On the IMLC route, Indiana’s part involves 3: the IMLCC, your state of principal license, and IPLA.

Each medical school you attendedSends an official transcript showing your degree directly to the board.
Each postgraduate training programConfirms your specialty and exact training dates through its program director, for every program, completed or not.
FSMB or NBOMESends your official USMLE or COMLEX-USA exam history directly to the board, or within an FCVS profile.
Every board that has licensed youEach state or Canadian province that has issued you any health care license verifies it directly to the board.
The National Practitioner Data BankReports on you through your self-query, dated no earlier than your application, or through FCVS.
The state’s fingerprint vendor, the Indiana State Police, and the FBIRun the state and national criminal history check from prints taken after you apply, on a card rolled by a local agency if you are out of state, and send the results only to IPLA.
IPLA, for the Medical Licensing Board of IndianaStaff review the file and issue the license, and the board itself takes files that call for a personal appearance or a waiver.

Postgraduate training: One year of training in an ACGME, AOA, or RCPSC program in the US or Canada for graduates of US and Canadian schools. International graduates need ECFMG certification and two years of accredited US or Canadian training, though the board may waive the second; without accredited US or Canadian training, the board points them to its International Trained Physician license instead, a limited license for practice at a facility in an underserved area.
Exam attempts and time limits: MDs: no more than 3 attempts at any USMLE step, and every step passed within 10 years of first passing Step 1 or Step 2. DOs: no more than 5 attempts at any COMLEX-USA level under Indiana’s rule, though NBOME itself now allows 4, and every level passed in order within 7 years of first taking Level 1. Past a limit you can still apply and request a waiver, which the board weighs case by case at a personal appearance; its waiver requirements include a commitment of 3 or more years in an underserved area, with your employer appearing alongside you.
Time out of practice: Indiana sets no fixed limit, but two years or more without practice or maintained competency can bring a provisional license under a board-approved reentry program, and the board may require the SPEX exam of endorsement applicants some years past their initial exams.
Board certification: Not required for an Indiana license. The IMLC requires it.

We run the Indiana file.

We do

Check your IMLC eligibility and weigh it against endorsement before any fee is paid.
Prepare the Indiana application and check every answer against the board’s current rules before it goes in.
Request and chase every verification: each school and training program, your exam history, and every board that has licensed you, through FCVS where you use it.
Time your fingerprints and NPDB self-query to follow the application, since either one dated before it must be redone, and track the background check until it reaches IPLA.
Add Indiana’s controlled substance registration if you prescribe from an Indiana practice address, since IPLA requires it before an Indiana DEA registration.
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.
Order your NPDB self-query when we ask.
Have your fingerprints taken after the application is in, on a card rolled near you if you are out of state.
Appear before the board if it asks.

Get My Licensing Plan

Staying licensed.

Renewal cycle: Every two years: every Indiana physician license expires on October 31 of odd-numbered years, next in 2027, and one issued within 90 days of that date runs through the following cycle. Renewal costs $200, or $100 for an inactive license, plus $50 if late, and IPLA sends notice about 90 days ahead; reinstating a license expired more than 3 years costs $450. A license issued through the compact renews through the IMLCC, which adds its $25 fee to the state’s renewal fee.
CME: None. Indiana law bars a licensing board from requiring continuing education unless a statute authorizes it, and no statute requires it of physicians; the two hours on opioid prescribing once required for the controlled substance registration ended on July 1, 2025. Licenses issued through the compact carry no CME requirement either, since the compact applies each member state’s own.
State controlled-substance registration: Yes: an Indiana controlled substance registration, $60 to apply and $60 to renew, which expires and renews with your physician license. It issues only to a holder of an active Indiana license, at an Indiana practice address that should match your DEA registration, and IPLA rejects an out-of-state address. Indiana’s telehealth law requires the registration for prescribing controlled substances by telehealth, so prescribing them to Indiana patients from out of state takes an Indiana practice address. Each location where you store, administer, or dispense controlled substances needs its own registration, though an office where you only prescribe does not. It is not available on a temporary permit; licenses issued through the compact qualify.
Prescription monitoring: Register with INSPECT, Indiana’s prescription monitoring program, run by the Board of Pharmacy, if you prescribe or administer controlled substances. Check the patient’s INSPECT record before prescribing an opioid or a benzodiazepine, with exceptions such as hospice, though for a patient under a pain management contract a check once every 90 days is enough. Board rules add an INSPECT report at the start of an opioid treatment plan past set thresholds and at least yearly after.
DEA registration: $888 for three years, with a separate registration for Indiana, after your Indiana controlled substance registration.
E-prescribing: Required for controlled substance prescriptions issued after December 31, 2021, which go electronically from prescriber to pharmacy, with exceptions such as technology failures, prescriptions to be filled outside Indiana, and Board of Pharmacy waivers.
Opioid limits: The first opioid prescription you write for an adult patient may not exceed a 7-day supply, and no opioid prescription for a minor may, with exceptions such as cancer, palliative care, medication-assisted treatment, and documented professional judgment.
Reporting duties: Report each practice address to the board within 20 days of starting there and any change of address within 20 days, and report malpractice settlements and judgments on your next renewal.

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?

Illinois One agency licenses MDs and DOs, by endorsement or through the IMLC.
Ohio One board licenses MDs and DOs, by traditional application, by reciprocity, or through the IMLC, and Ohio can be your state of principal license.
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.
Physician licensing at NP Licensing
How the IMLC works
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