How long does a Louisiana medical license take?

Anywhere from a few weeks to several months, the board says, depending on how quickly you supply what it asks for and on any problems that need closer attention. Its newsletters put the average from submission to license at 20 days or less, a figure for every profession the board licenses rather than physicians alone, and Louisiana law sets no deadline for the board to decide a general application. 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 a Louisiana medical license cost?

About $833 to $872 in published fees with a first FCVS profile: the board’s $382 fee, FCVS at $395 with your USMLE transcripts included, and a state and FBI fingerprint check the board puts at about $56 to $95. With an FCVS profile already on file, the total is about $537 to $576. Through the IMLC, fees total $1,082, and the telemedicine permit runs about $751 to $790 with a first FCVS profile. Verifications from your other boards come on top.

Is Louisiana in the IMLC?

Yes. Louisiana enacted the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact in 2020, its compact law took effect July 1, 2021, and Louisiana can be your state of principal license. In IMLCC’s Year 9, April 2025 to March 2026, the board approved 187 Letters of Qualification as a state of principal license and issued 699 licenses through the compact. Physicians licensed through the compact still owe the board its own documents within 90 days of issuance, and sworn answers again within 90 days of each renewal.

Is the IMLC or the full license cheaper for Louisiana?

In published fees, the full license: about $833 to $872 with a first FCVS profile, or about $537 to $576 with one already on file, against $1,082 through the compact. The compact can still make sense when you meet its terms and are adding other member states, since the IMLCC’s $700 covers one application and each state adds its own fee, and your state of principal license runs the background check and verifications. Adding Louisiana to a Letter of Qualification still within its 365 days costs $482, a $100 handling fee plus the $382.

Is FCVS required in Louisiana?

Yes, for every applicant: the board’s pages require an FCVS profile for the full license, for the telemedicine permit, and for physicians who make Louisiana their state of principal license, though its rules do not name FCVS. A first profile costs $395 and a subsequent one $99, USMLE transcripts included, and FSMB lists Louisiana as requiring a profile of all applicants. FSMB says it typically processes a first profile in roughly 35 days, and the board’s 2022 guidance says to submit to FCVS and the board at least 4 months before your planned start.

Do MDs and DOs apply differently in Louisiana?

Barely. One board licenses both through the same application and the same $382 fee, and the IMLCC lists a single Louisiana fee. DOs take COMLEX-USA rather than USMLE, with NBOME sending their scores; where a competence exam applies, it is COMVEX-USA rather than SPEX; AOA certification counts alongside ABMS; and a DO degree must have been conferred on or after June 1, 1971.

Do I need a Louisiana license to treat Louisiana patients by telemedicine?

Yes, a full Louisiana license or the board’s telemedicine permit, a limited license for physicians with an unrestricted license in another state who treat Louisiana patients only by telemedicine. The permit takes the full license’s file and costs about $751 to $790 with a first FCVS profile, renews every year at $200 if paid before it expires, and rules out a Louisiana office, meeting patients in Louisiana, and reading imaging or pathology, which takes a full license. The board counted 156 active telemedicine permits at the end of 2025.

Does Louisiana require fingerprints or a jurisprudence exam?

Fingerprints yes, jurisprudence exam no. Applicants for the full license and the telemedicine permit complete a state and FBI check through IdentoGO, by Livescan or on ink cards mailed in for scanning, and only after applying, since a check submitted first must be repeated. The board puts the cost at about $56 to $95 and the Livescan average at 3 days, and its FAQ says it does not accept fingerprints cleared by another state. On the compact route, your state of principal license runs the check. In place of an exam, new licensees complete the board’s online laws and rules course before their first renewal.

What if my licensing exams were more than 10 years ago?

You can still qualify as a physician licensed in another state, in one of three ways: ABMS or AOA board certification or recertification within the last 10 years; passing SPEX, $1,400, or COMVEX-USA for DOs; or current ABMS or AOA certification with four years of practice in that specialty just before applying, if you limit your Louisiana practice to it. Separately, if you were not mainly engaged in practice, medical education, or training for the four years before applying, the board designates an assessment or another competency evaluation.

Does Louisiana require a state controlled substance license?

Yes. Prescribing controlled substances in Louisiana takes a controlled dangerous substance (CDS) license from the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy as well as a DEA registration: $45 for a new practitioner license, renewed every year, which needs your Louisiana medical license first and is issued within 14 business days when nothing prevents it. The CDS license registers you automatically with the state’s Prescription Monitoring Program, which you check before first prescribing any opioid to a patient.

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

Louisiana licenses MD and DO physicians through one board, the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, directly or through the IMLC, and can be your state of principal license; telemedicine-only physicians can hold a narrower permit. A full license costs about $833 to $872 in published fees with a first FCVS profile: the board’s $382 fee, FCVS at $395, and fingerprints the board puts at about $56 to $95. The compact costs $1,082, $700 to the IMLCC plus $382 for Louisiana. The board says licensure takes anywhere from a few weeks to several months. The friction is the full file: the board requires an FCVS profile of every applicant and a verification from every board that has licensed you.

Louisiana at a glance.

License: Full, unrestricted physician license (MD or DO), renewed every year
MD and DO: One board, one application, and one $382 fee for both
IMLC: Member state, issuing licenses. Compact law in effect since July 1, 2021; Louisiana can be the SPL; $700 IMLCC fee plus $382 for Louisiana
FCVS: Required for the full license, the telemedicine permit, and Louisiana as your SPL
Uniform Application: Not used; the board takes its own online application
Fingerprints: Required: a state and FBI check through IdentoGO, by Livescan or mailed ink cards, after you apply
Jurisprudence exam: None; an online laws and rules course is due before your first renewal
Interview: Not routine; a question about your qualifications sends the file to the full board
Board fee: $382 for an MD or DO, paid by card and nonrefundable
Renewal: Every year on a birth-month cycle: $300 under the board’s rule, plus $25 and $7 set by statute
CME: 20 hours a year, plus a one-time laws and rules course and, for prescribers, a CDS course

Which route fits.

MD and DO applicants file the same application with the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, for the same $382 fee, and the IMLC is a second way to a full Louisiana license. Physicians who will treat Louisiana patients only by telemedicine can hold a narrower permit instead. Otherwise, treating a patient in Louisiana takes a Louisiana license outside narrow exceptions, such as a consultation with a Louisiana physician, and the board says it no longer routinely grants temporary permits.

The full license.

Who it fits: Any MD or DO, including physicians licensed in other states and those the compact excludes; licensure by reciprocity, for physicians licensed elsewhere, uses the same application and fee. Specialty certification is not required while your licensing exams fall within the last 10 years; with older exams you need ABMS or AOA certification or recertification within the last 10 years, SPEX or COMVEX-USA, or current certification, four years of practice in that specialty, and a Louisiana practice limited to it.
The trade-off: The full file for every applicant: an FCVS profile, a verification from every board that has licensed you, and a state and FBI fingerprint check that can start only after you apply. Published fees run about $833 to $872 with a first FCVS profile, or about $537 to $576 with an existing one, and the board says the process takes anywhere from a few weeks to several months.

Licensing board: Louisiana State 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 and each exam component passed within three attempts. Louisiana can also be your state of principal license, to add other member states, if you hold its full license and Louisiana is your primary residence, the site of at least 25 percent of your practice, your employer’s location, or your federal tax residence; the board then asks for an FCVS profile.
The trade-off: Fees total $1,082, $700 to the IMLCC and $382 for Louisiana, none of it refundable, against about $833 to $872 to apply directly with a first FCVS profile; your state of principal license runs the background check and verifications. Within 90 days of issuance, though, the board wants its own documents, including a list of every license you have held, each with a verification. Its rule also requires sworn answers about your health, arrests, exam failures, actions against your licenses or privileges, and lawsuits, with proof of citizenship or work authorization, within 90 days of each issuance and renewal, and treats missing them as unprofessional conduct.

The telemedicine permit.

Who it fits: Physicians who will treat Louisiana patients only by telemedicine, with an unrestricted license in another state, the full license’s qualifications, including two years of ACGME-approved residency in one specialty in the US or Canada, and no current residency or other training program. The board may deny a permit after past discipline in another state, a pending investigation, or a privileges action.
The trade-off: No shortcut: the same file as the full license, FCVS and fingerprints included, for about $751 to $790 in published fees with a first FCVS profile, renewed every year for $200 if paid before it expires. You cannot open a Louisiana office, meet patients in Louisiana, or supervise or collaborate with Louisiana allied health providers by telemedicine, and reading imaging, pathology, and other diagnostic studies takes a full license.

What it costs.

MD or DO license, direct application
Board licensure fee, MD or DO	$382
FCVS profile, required, USMLE transcripts included	$395, or $99 for an existing profile
State and FBI fingerprint check through IdentoGO, board approximation	About $56 to $95
All-in	About $833 to $872, or about $537 to $576 with an existing FCVS profile
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

MD or DO license through the IMLC
IMLCC fee	$700
Louisiana license fee, from the IMLCC fee table	$382
All-in	$1,082
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

Telemedicine permit, MD or DO
Board permit fee	$300
FCVS profile, required, USMLE transcripts included	$395, or $99 for an existing profile
State and FBI fingerprint check through IdentoGO, board approximation	About $56 to $95
All-in	About $751 to $790, or about $455 to $494 with an existing FCVS profile
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

On the board’s own routes, the $382 and the $300 are paid to the board by credit or debit card, and the board refunds none of its fees. FCVS fees go to FSMB, and because the board does not use FSMB to query the NPDB, no $3.50 NPDB report is added. The fingerprint figures are the board’s own approximations for the state and FBI check through IdentoGO: about $95 by Livescan at a site outside Louisiana, about $56 to process ink cards you mail in, paid online, and about $60 by Livescan in Louisiana, so every total that includes them is approximate. On the IMLC route, the $700 and the $382 are paid through the IMLCC, which calls all fees non-refundable; adding Louisiana to a Letter of Qualification still within its 365 days costs a $100 handling fee plus the $382. The telemedicine permit renews every year at $200 if paid before it expires; after that, the $300 application fee is due again.

Left out of every total: verifications from every board that has licensed you, at each board’s own fee; a local law enforcement agency’s charge for rolling ink fingerprint cards, which the board does not publish; a certified birth certificate or other proof of citizenship or work authorization, name-change documents, and certified translations of any non-English documents, at their issuers’ fees; for DOs, NBOME’s $65 COMLEX-USA transcript, if the FCVS invoice includes it, which FSMB does not make clear; SPEX at $1,400 or COMVEX-USA, only on one of the paths for exams more than 10 years old or if the board designates an assessment after time out of practice; for international graduates, ECFMG’s one-time $75 medical education verification and its $70 certification status report for each board; and, for prescribers, the $45 Louisiana CDS license, renewed every year, and the $888 DEA registration for three years. On the IMLC route, your state of principal license runs the background check and verifications, at its fees, and the board’s post-licensure list of every license you have held calls for a verification of each, at each board’s fee.

Fees change; verified November 11, 2026.

How long it takes.

A few weeks to several monthsThe licensing process, board estimateThe board’s licensure page says the process takes anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on how quickly you supply what it asks for and on any problems that need closer attention, without saying when the count starts; its telemedicine page gives the same range for the permit.Board-published
20 days or lessSubmission to license, every profession the board licensesThe board’s January 2026 newsletter put the average time to initial licensure at 20 days or less, and its July 2026 newsletter at 20 days from submission for most of its practitioner groups; neither gives a figure for physicians alone.Board-published
3 days on averageCriminal background check, by LivescanThe board’s average for a Livescan at an IdentoGO site, which it says can take months in rare cases; for mailed cards, its instructions say results reach the board within 7 days of the cards arriving for processing.Board-published
60 daysState police deadline for criminal history resultsLouisiana law requires the state police to report the results of its search to the board within 60 days of receiving the request.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

Louisiana law sets no deadline for the board to decide a general application. If you do not respond to the board or pursue your application for six months, it becomes void, with no refund. The background check can start only after the board has your application and payment. State law does require a written decision within 30 calendar days on an application from a qualifying service member, or a military spouse or dependent, licensed in another state. No board guarantees a date.

What the file involves.

A Louisiana file on the full-license route moves between 7 parties for an MD and 8 for a DO, whose COMLEX-USA scores come from NBOME, and 8 core document types: the board’s online application, a sworn statement answering 17 yes-or-no questions, a release letting the board gather information from third parties, a record of your name as it appears on your documents, your FCVS profile, your fingerprints with a signed release, a certified birth certificate or other proof of citizenship or work authorization, and verifications of every license you have held. Each extra training program and each extra board that has licensed you adds a party, and international graduates add ECFMG. The telemedicine permit involves the same 7 parties. On the IMLC route, Louisiana’s part involves 3 parties to issuance: the IMLCC, your state of principal license, and the board, which then wants its own documents within 90 days.

FSMB, through FCVSAssembles your FCVS profile, verifying your education, training, and exams at the source, USMLE transcripts included.
Your medical schoolVerifies your medical education, through FCVS.
Each postgraduate training programVerifies your training, through FCVS.
Every board that has licensed youVerifies each license directly to the board, some for a processing fee.
IdentoGOTakes your fingerprints by Livescan at its sites, or scans ink cards you mail in.
The Louisiana State Police and the FBIRun the state and national criminal history checks; the state police send the results to the board.
The Louisiana State Board of Medical ExaminersEvaluates your credentials, work history, and malpractice and disciplinary history, refers any question about your qualifications to the full board, and issues the license.
NBOME, for DOsSends your COMLEX-USA scores.

Postgraduate training: Two years of training in the US or Canada, accredited by the ACGME, AOA, or RCPS, for graduates of US and Canadian schools, in one specialty or leading to board eligibility or a third postgraduate year; one year with a commitment for the second also qualifies, if the second is finished before the first renewal. International graduates need three years, or two from a school recognized by the WFME and found comparable by the NCFMEA, plus ECFMG certification, which the board may waive for ABMS-certified physicians, and English proficiency. The board’s page, unlike the rule, puts every international graduate at three years.
Exams: USMLE Steps 1 to 3, all three levels of COMLEX-USA, or an accepted older combination such as FLEX or NBME, each passed with a score of at least 75 and, with exceptions for recent residency graduates, within a 10-year span; Canada’s LMCC does not count. Failing Step 2 or Step 3, or COMLEX-USA Level 2 or 3, more than three times ends your eligibility, while Step 1 has no limit.
Exams more than 10 years old: If you are licensed in another state and your licensing exams fall outside the last 10 years, you need an ABMS or AOA certification or recertification exam passed within 10 years, SPEX or COMVEX-USA, or current ABMS or AOA certification with four years of practice in that specialty just before applying and a Louisiana practice limited to it.
Time out of practice: You must have been mainly engaged in practice, medical education, or training for the four years before applying; otherwise the board designates an assessment exam or another competency evaluation, monitoring, or supervision.
Board certification: Not required for the full license while your exams are recent; it is one way to qualify with older exams, and the IMLC requires current specialty certification, or time-unlimited certification, from an ABMS or AOA board.

We run the Louisiana file.

We do

Check your IMLC eligibility and weigh the compact, the full license, and, for telemedicine-only practice, the telemedicine permit before any fee is paid, since the board refunds none of its fees.
Start or update your FCVS profile and chase every school, training, and exam verification until the profile reaches the board.
Prepare the Louisiana application and check every answer against the board’s current requirements before it goes in.
Request the verification from every board that has licensed you, and time your fingerprint check to follow the application, since the board cannot use a check submitted before you apply.
On the compact route, assemble the documents and sworn answers the board wants within 90 days of issuance, and the answers it wants again after each renewal.
Answer every board request well inside the six months after which the board voids an inactive application, 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.
Have your fingerprints taken, by Livescan at an IdentoGO site or on ink cards rolled by a local law enforcement agency.
Complete the board’s laws and rules course, and the CDS prescribing course if you prescribe, before your first renewal.

Get My Licensing Plan

Staying licensed.

Renewal cycle: Every year. The board’s rule has a license expire on the first day of your birth month, and the board lets you renew up to 56 days before your expiration date. Its pages print no renewal total: the rule sets a $300 renewal fee, and state law adds annual fees of $25 and $7. A license expired for less than a year renews online with a late fee; after that you reinstate, for $632, $932, or $1,232 depending on how long the license has lapsed. Licenses issued through the compact renew through the IMLCC, and the board’s rule wants its sworn answers again within 90 days of each renewal.
CME: 20 hours a year of board-approved Category 1 CME, which the board’s tracking system must show before you can renew, with records kept for 4 years. Before your first renewal, every new licensee completes the board’s online laws and rules course, at least 2 hours long and worth 3 hours of credit, and a prescriber with a Louisiana CDS license completes 3 hours of board-approved CME on controlled substance prescribing, once; the board offers a free 3-hour course that meets it. State law adds topic hours: physicians practicing emergency medicine take a 1-hour sickle cell disease course, then a refresher at least every three years, though the board’s continuing education pages do not yet list the course; and from January 1, 2026, physicians in listed specialties, among them family and internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, and obstetrics and gynecology, need 1 hour on nutrition and metabolic health every four years, though the board has not yet adopted the rules that set its content.
State controlled-substance registration: Required. Prescribing controlled substances in Louisiana takes a controlled dangerous substance (CDS) license from the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy, separate from your medical license and your DEA registration. A new practitioner license costs $45, needs a copy of your Louisiana medical license, and is issued within 14 business days when nothing prevents it; it expires each year on the date it was first issued, and one not renewed within 30 days after expiry is terminated.
Prescription monitoring: Registration with Louisiana’s Prescription Monitoring Program is automatic when the Board of Pharmacy issues or renews your CDS license. Check the patient’s record in the program, yourself or through a delegate, before first prescribing any opioid, and at least every 90 days while treatment continues past 90 days, with exceptions such as hospice or terminal illness, cancer-related pain, hospital patients, and a single supply of seven days or less. The board enforces the duty: a first missed check brings a notice, and later ones are treated as complaints against your license.
DEA registration: $888 for three years, with a separate registration for Louisiana, after your Louisiana CDS license.
Controlled substances by telemedicine: Prescribing a controlled substance by telemedicine takes at least one in-person visit with the patient within the past year under the board’s rule, with a narrow exception for full Louisiana licensees treating a patient in a licensed facility that holds a DEA registration. A 2026 law bars the board from prohibiting synchronous telehealth for obesity and weight management care, but it leaves in place the state law that requires an in-person history or physical examination before any controlled substance is prescribed, outside the cases a law or rule allows.
Telemedicine disclosures: Give each telemedicine patient your name, your Louisiana license number, and how follow-up and emergency care, records, and privacy are handled, and note in the record that the visit was by telemedicine.
Opioid prescription limits: A first opioid prescription for an adult’s acute condition, and any opioid prescription for a minor, is limited to a seven-day supply unless you document why more is needed, and you discuss the risks with the patient before prescribing an opioid.
E-prescribing: Permitted, not required. Louisiana law allows electronic controlled-substance prescriptions under the federal rules and sets no mandate.

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.
Mississippi One board licenses MDs and DOs, by credentials or through the IMLC, and Mississippi can be your state of principal license.
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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