Kentucky physician licensing.

The board’s FAQ estimates approximately 60 to 90 days for the application process, an undated estimate rather than an average, and every regular license needs the full board’s approval at one of its quarterly meetings, in March, June, September, and December. A file goes to a meeting only if it is complete, except for the background check, by the board’s deadline before it, and Kentucky law sets no deadline for the decision. A temporary permit typically issues within 24 to 48 hours of eligibility. 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.

$752.75 in published fees with a first FCVS profile, which the board requires: the $300 regular license fee, FCVS at $395 with its $3.50 NPDB report, the $3 NPDB self-query, and the board’s $51.25 fee for the FBI criminal background check. With an FCVS profile already on file, the total is $456.75. Through the IMLC, fees are $1,000: $700 to the IMLCC plus $300 for Kentucky. The written endorsement from your original licensing state comes on top, at that board’s fee.

Yes. Kentucky enacted the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact in 2019, the board has taken part since September 21, 2020, and Kentucky can be your state of principal license. In IMLCC’s Year 9, April 2025 to March 2026, the board approved 127 Letters of Qualification and issued 722 licenses through the compact. Compact fees come to $1,000: $700 to the IMLCC plus $300 for Kentucky.

Yes, it is the standard route for a physician licensed in another state: your original licensing state endorses you in writing as licensed in good standing, and you must have met Kentucky’s regular-license requirements as if you had first applied here, with no further testing or training. It leads to the same regular license, for the same $300, so it still takes the FCVS profile, the fingerprint check, and the full board’s approval at a quarterly meeting.

Yes, on a temporary permit, which the board’s FAQ says is typically issued within 24 to 48 hours of eligibility. You are eligible once your application is complete except for the criminal background check, if you need to start work in Kentucky before the board’s next meeting; a file the board presents individually as a special licensure item does not qualify. The permit is unrestricted, lasts up to six months, and cannot be renewed, and the board says it has no separate fee, since the $300 license fee covers it.

Yes, for every regular license: the board has required an FCVS profile since March 1, 2005, though no Kentucky statute or rule names it. A first profile costs $395 and a subsequent one $99, USMLE transcripts included, plus a $3.50 NPDB report on each profile sent to this board. FSMB says it typically processes a first profile in roughly 35 days and a subsequent one in roughly 20 days or less, and the board’s policy is not to ask FCVS to expedite one.

Barely. One board licenses both through the same regular license and the same $300 fee, and the IMLCC lists a single Kentucky fee. DOs take COMLEX-USA rather than USMLE, with NBOME sending their scores, and may train in AOA programs rather than ACGME ones.

Yes. Kentucky has no out-of-state telehealth registration, its law requires a license or permit from the board to practice medicine in the state, and the board’s published opinion is that a physician who treats or prescribes for a patient located in Kentucky must hold a Kentucky license. Narrow exemptions remain, such as a nonresident physician licensed at home who is called in occasionally to consult with a Kentucky physician.

Fingerprints yes, jurisprudence exam no. Every applicant for a first Kentucky license completes a Kentucky State Police and FBI fingerprint check, and the board does not accept a check sent to another state or entity, so you need new prints; its published fee is $51.25. The license waits for both results, though the board can approve a file, and a temporary permit can issue, before they arrive. On the compact route, your state of principal license runs the check.

Yes: 60 hours every three years, and the current cycle ends December 31, 2026, so a physician first licensed in 2026 owes 20 hours by then. Controlled substance prescribers complete at least 4.5 board-approved hours on KASPER, pain management, or addiction disorders each cycle, some specialties owe one-time courses, and the board audits at random and grants no waivers. Renewal is every year by March 1, for $150.