How long does a Minnesota medical license take?

The board’s average was 34 days from application to credential in fiscal year 2026, a figure Minnesota Management and Budget reports for every credential the board issues, physicians and allied professions together; no physician-only time is published. The board asks you to allow about four weeks for initial processing of a new file, which ends in a mailed letter listing any missing documentation, and its background check program averages 7 business days from receiving your prints to delivering the report. 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 Minnesota medical license cost?

$500 in published fees for an MD and $495 for a DO applying by endorsement: the board’s $427 total for the application, first annual license and background check, a $70 USMLE or $65 COMLEX-USA transcript, and the $3 NPDB self-query. Through the IMLC, fees are $1,092: $700 to the IMLCC plus $392 for Minnesota. Verifications from your other boards and any local fingerprinting charge come on top, and so does the $1,400 SPEX if your licensing exam is more than ten years old and you hold no current specialty certification.

Is Minnesota in the IMLC?

Yes. Minnesota enacted the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact in 2015, 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 176 Letters of Qualification as a state of principal license and issued 616 licenses through the compact. Compact fees for Minnesota total $1,092, and a license issued through the compact renews through the IMLCC, $217 a year.

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

Not if you qualify for the board’s interstate telehealth registration: an unrestricted license in the state you practice from, no license ever revoked or restricted anywhere, and no Minnesota office, no patients seen in Minnesota, and no patient calls received in Minnesota. It costs $175 the first year and $75 each calendar year after, and you agree to be subject to Minnesota law, its courts, and the board. No registration is needed for emergencies, for telehealth given less than once a month or to fewer than ten patients a year, or for consultation with a Minnesota physician who keeps authority over the patient’s care. The board counted 831 registrants after its September 12, 2026 meeting.

Do MDs and DOs apply differently in Minnesota?

Barely. One board licenses both through the same application and the same $427 board total, and the IMLCC lists a single Minnesota fee. The differences are the exam and its transcript, USMLE from FSMB at $70 or COMLEX-USA from NBOME at $65, under the same three-attempt rule. After its September 12, 2026 meeting, the board counted 3,018 DOs among its 31,149 physician and surgeon licensees.

Does Minnesota require fingerprints or a jurisprudence exam?

Fingerprints yes, jurisprudence exam no. Every new license applicant completes a state and FBI check through the health licensing boards’ background check program, which sends its fingerprint packet only after the board has your application and fee; the check’s fee is part of the board’s $427. Prints can be taken in any state, a check run for another state cannot be reused, and the program averages 7 business days from receiving your prints to delivering the report, while prints the FBI cannot classify add 1 to 2 months. On the compact route, Minnesota requires no check of its own if your state of principal license required one within the last 12 months.

Is FCVS required in Minnesota?

No. The board accepts an FCVS profile, which supplies your exam scores, school and training verifications, ECFMG verification, and NPDB report, but does not require one, and license verifications still come from each board. A first profile costs $395 plus a $3.50 NPDB report, $825.50 in all for an MD with the board’s $427, or $529.50 with an existing profile at $99.

What if I passed my licensing exam more than ten years ago?

You need current specialty certification from an ABMS, AOA, RCPSC, or CFPC board, or a passing SPEX within three attempts, which costs $1,400 at FSMB. Certification also opens a fourth attempt at a USMLE step or COMLEX-USA level for a physician licensed in another state, and the IMLC requires it.

Can I practice in Minnesota while my application is pending?

Possibly, with a temporary permit of up to 90 days, which the board may issue to an endorsement applicant licensed in good standing in another state, territory, or Canadian province with no pending investigation or disciplinary action. It ends when the board decides your application, if that comes first, cannot be renewed, and the board’s request form lists no separate fee; if the license has not issued when the permit expires, you must stop practicing.

How often does a Minnesota medical license renew?

Every year, by the end of your birth month, for $192, and a first license lasts 6 to 17 months, depending on your birth month. CME is 75 Category 1 hours every three years with no mandatory topic, and current specialty certification, MOC, or OCC counts instead. A license issued through the compact renews through the IMLCC for $217 a year, and a telehealth registration costs $75 each calendar year.

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

Minnesota licenses MD and DO physicians through one board, the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice, by endorsement or through the IMLC, and can be your state of principal license. Physicians licensed elsewhere who qualify can instead register for telehealth-only care of Minnesota patients, for $175, then $75 a year. Applying directly costs $500 in published fees for an MD and $495 for a DO, the board’s $427 total included; compact fees total $1,092. The board publishes no physician processing time; it asks you to allow about four weeks for initial processing, which ends in a letter listing anything missing. The friction is fingerprints: Minnesota’s check starts only after your application and fee arrive, and a check run for another state cannot be reused.

Minnesota at a glance.

License: Physician and surgeon license (MD or DO), renewed every year
MD and DO: One board, one application and one fee schedule for both
IMLC: Member state, issuing licenses. Enacted 2015; Minnesota can be the SPL; $700 IMLCC fee plus $392 for Minnesota
FCVS: Accepted, not required
Uniform Application: Not used
Fingerprints: Required for a license: a new state and FBI check, from prints taken in any state
Jurisprudence exam: None
Interview: Not routine; some applicants may be asked to appear
Board fee: $427 for the application, first annual license and background check, nonrefundable
Renewal: Every year, by the end of your birth month: $192
CME: 75 Category 1 hours every three years; no mandatory topic

Which route fits.

MD and DO applicants file the same application with the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice, at the same fees, and the IMLC is a second way to a full Minnesota license. Physicians licensed elsewhere who will treat Minnesota patients only by telehealth can register with the board instead of licensing. Outside narrow exemptions, such as telehealth in an emergency or in consultation with a Minnesota physician who keeps authority over the patient’s care, treating a patient located in Minnesota takes a Minnesota license or that registration.

Licensure by endorsement.

Who it fits: Any MD or DO with a current license in another state or in Canada who passed USMLE, COMLEX-USA, or another exam Minnesota accepts, each step or level within three attempts, or four if you are licensed in another state and hold current specialty certification. If you passed your licensing exam more than ten years ago, you also need current specialty certification or a passing SPEX. A physician not currently licensed in another state or in Canada files the same application by examination.
The trade-off: The full file: each medical school and training program, your exam body, and every board that has issued you any license report to the board directly, alongside your NPDB self-query and a new state and FBI fingerprint check, for $500 (MD) or $495 (DO) in published fees. The board asks you to allow about four weeks for initial processing, which ends in a letter listing anything missing, and Minnesota law sets no deadline for its decision.

Licensing board: Minnesota Board of Medical Practice.

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 passing each licensing exam component within three attempts. Minnesota can also be your state of principal license, to add other member states.
The trade-off: It costs more: $700 to the IMLCC plus $392 for Minnesota, none of it refundable, $1,092 for a separate Minnesota license, against $500 (MD) or $495 (DO) to apply directly; adding Minnesota to a Letter of Qualification still within its 365 days costs $492. Minnesota requires no fingerprint check of its own if your state of principal license required one within the last 12 months, and the license renews through the IMLCC, $217 a year.

Interstate telehealth registration.

Who it fits: Physicians licensed without restriction in the state they practice from, who have never had a license revoked or restricted anywhere, and who will treat Minnesota patients only by telehealth, with no Minnesota office, no patients seen in Minnesota, and no patient calls received in Minnesota. It is a registration, not a license; the board lists it as telemedicine registration.
The trade-off: $175 the first year, the $100 application fee plus the $75 annual fee, then $75 each calendar year. You agree to be subject to Minnesota law, its courts, and the board, must report any restriction on a license immediately, and are held to the same standards as in-person care; the board confirms every license you have ever held. Seeing patients in person in Minnesota takes a Minnesota license, by endorsement or through the IMLC.

A temporary permit.

Who it fits: Endorsement applicants licensed in good standing in another state, territory, or Canadian province, with no pending investigation or disciplinary action anywhere, who need to start practicing in Minnesota before the license issues. The board may issue one on receipt of the application, the fee, and your request.
The trade-off: It lasts until the board decides your application or for 90 days, whichever comes first, cannot be renewed, and the board’s request form lists no separate fee; if the license has not issued when the permit expires, you must stop practicing. The board asks you to allow at least 10 business days for it to confirm receipt of a request.

What it costs.

MD license by endorsement
Board total: application, first annual license and background check	$427
USMLE transcript (FSMB)	$70
NPDB self-query	$3
All-in	$500
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

DO license by endorsement
Board total: application, first annual license and background check	$427
COMLEX-USA transcript (NBOME)	$65
NPDB self-query	$3
All-in	$495
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

MD or DO license through the IMLC
IMLCC fee	$700
Minnesota license fee, from the IMLCC fee table	$392
All-in	$1,092
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

Interstate telehealth registration
Initial application fee	$100
Annual registration fee, first year	$75
All-in	$175 the first year, then $75 a year
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

The $427 goes to the board with the application. The board publishes it as one total covering the application fee, the first annual license fee, and the criminal background check fee, says application fees are nonrefundable, and collects the background check fee itself; the state’s background check program takes no payment. Transcript fees go to FSMB or NBOME, and the self-query is the NPDB’s $3 annual subscription, which the board asks for when you do not use FCVS. On the IMLC route, the $700 and the $392 are paid through the IMLCC, which calls all fees non-refundable; adding Minnesota to a Letter of Qualification still within its 365 days costs a $100 handling fee plus the $392. The telehealth registration’s $175 is the $100 application fee plus the first $75 annual fee, paid to the board.

Left out of every total: verifications from every board that has issued you any license, at each board’s own fee, which most states charge; any processing fees your schools and training programs charge, unpublished; a fingerprinting facility’s own charge, unpublished, though the background check program’s St. Paul office takes prints with no added fee; notary fees and any translations; an optional FCVS profile, $395 plus a $3.50 NPDB report, which takes the place of the USMLE transcript and the self-query, $825.50 in all for an MD, or $529.50 with an existing profile at $99; for international graduates, ECFMG’s $70 certification verification report; the $1,400 SPEX, only if your licensing exam is more than ten years old and you hold no current specialty certification; and another background check fee the board may charge if a second set of prints is rejected. Prescribers add the $888 DEA registration. On the IMLC route, your state of principal license runs the fingerprints and verifications at its own fees, and if its check is more than 12 months old, Minnesota’s check applies, at a fee the board does not publish.

Fees change; verified November 11, 2026.

How long it takes.

About 4 weeksBoard processing of a new file’s initial materialsThe board asks you to allow approximately four weeks, once the application and fee are in, for it to process your initial materials, and then mails a letter identifying any missing documentation; it is not the time to a license.Board-published
34 daysAverage time to issue a credential, every professionMinnesota Management and Budget reports the board’s fiscal year 2026 average from receipt of an initial application to issuance, for every credential the board issues, physicians and its seven allied professions together, with 80.1% issued within 60 days; no physician-only figure is published.Board-published
7 business daysBackground check, prints received to reportThe Criminal Background Check Program’s average from receiving your prints and forms to delivering the report to the board; it is not unusual to take up to two weeks, prints the FBI cannot classify add 1 to 2 months, and the program says rejections occur in about 3% of board applicants.Board-published
31 daysBackground check, fingerprint packet to reportThe same program’s average across all completed checks, from emailing you its fingerprint packet, which it sends only after the board has your application and fees, to delivering the report.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

Minnesota law sets no deadline for the board to decide a physician application. Background check results stay valid for one year from the board’s receipt, the board may destroy an incomplete application after six months of inactivity, and it tells applicants not to commit to starting practice in Minnesota before the license issues. No board guarantees a date.

What the file involves.

A typical Minnesota file by endorsement moves between 8 parties, more with each extra school, training program, and licensing board, and 15 core document types, among them the application with its 12 attestation questions, a notarized affidavit with your photograph, an account of your malpractice history, a list of every facility where you have held privileges in the last 10 years, and verifications from each school, program, and board. Each source reports to the board directly; an optional FCVS profile can carry your school, training, and exam records and the NPDB report instead, though license verifications still come from each board. Minnesota’s rules also list a certificate of good moral character signed by two physicians licensed in the US or Canada, which the board’s current application does not ask for. On the IMLC route, Minnesota’s part involves 3 parties: the IMLCC, your state of principal license, and the board; a telehealth registration also involves 3: the board, every board that has licensed you, and a notary.

Each medical school you attendedCompletes the board’s medical school verification and sends it directly to the board, even if you did not graduate.
Each postgraduate training programVerifies your training directly to the board, whether or not the program was accredited or completed, research programs included.
FSMB or NBOMESends your USMLE or COMLEX-USA scores directly to the board; older exams come from NBME, the Medical Council of Canada, or a state board.
Every board that has licensed youEach US or Canadian board that has issued you any license, training and locum tenens licenses and temporary permits included, verifies it directly, even if it is no longer current.
The National Practitioner Data BankReports on you through your certified self-query, or through FCVS.
A fingerprinting facility, the background check program, the BCA, and the FBIYour prints, taken in any state, go to the health licensing boards’ Criminal Background Check Program, which transmits them to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension; the BCA runs the state check and forwards them to the FBI, and the program delivers the report to the board.
A notary publicNotarizes your affidavit and release, beside your photograph as a true likeness.
The Minnesota Board of Medical PracticeReviews the file and issues the license; it may require some applicants to appear, and can hold a final interview by teleconference at your request.

Postgraduate training: One year of accredited graduate clinical training, in an ACGME, AOA, RCPSC, or CFPC program, for US and Canadian graduates and international graduates alike; international graduates also need ECFMG certification, and only certain extraordinary-ability immigrants are excused from the year. The IMLC requires ACGME or AOA training.
Exam attempts and time limits: Each USMLE step or COMLEX-USA level passed within three attempts, and Step or Level 3 within five years of Step or Level 2 or before the end of residency. A physician licensed in another state with current specialty certification qualifies with up to four attempts at any of the three. There is no overall time limit for all three.
The ten-year rule: If you passed your licensing exam more than ten years ago, you need current ABMS, AOA, RCPSC, or CFPC specialty certification, or a passing SPEX within three attempts, $1,400 at FSMB.
Board certification: Not required for a Minnesota license, but it stands in for the SPEX under the ten-year rule, allows the fourth exam attempt, and counts in place of CME. The IMLC requires it.
Time out of practice: No statute or rule sets a limit, but the board’s overview of the licensure process says physicians not in active practice during the last two years may be required to pass a competency evaluation, retraining program, or continuing competency exam.

We run the Minnesota file.

We do

Check your IMLC eligibility and weigh it against endorsement, and against the telehealth registration if you will treat Minnesota patients only by telehealth, before any fee is paid.
Prepare the Minnesota application, including your privileges and malpractice history, and check every answer against the board’s current requirements before it goes in.
Request and chase every verification: each school and training program, your exam scores, and every board that has issued you any license, training licenses and temporary permits included.
Watch for the background check program’s fingerprint packet, which follows the application and fee, and track your prints until the report reaches the board.
Answer the board’s deficiency letter and every later 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, sign the attestations, and sign your affidavit before a notary.
Order your NPDB self-query when we ask, unless an FCVS profile carries the report.
Have your fingerprints taken, in any state, once the background check program sends its packet.
Appear before the board if it asks.

Get My Licensing Plan

Staying licensed.

Renewal cycle: Every year, by the end of your birth month: $192, with a $60 late fee, and the board emails renewal notices about 45 days ahead. A first license runs to the end of your birth month, or to the next year’s if that is less than six months away, so it lasts 6 to 17 months; Minnesota law requires the full fee at every renewal, and the board publishes no prorated first-renewal amount. A license left unrenewed for two annual cycles cannot be restored, and you apply again. Licenses issued through the compact renew through the IMLCC, $217 a year: the board’s $192 plus a $25 IMLCC fee. A telehealth registration renews each calendar year for $75.
CME: 75 hours every three years of Category 1 credit of the AMA Physician’s Recognition Award, from ACCME-accredited sponsors, with AOA, RCPSC, and reciprocal equivalents accepted; a new licensee’s first three-year cycle starts in the birth month after licensure. Current ABMS, AOA, RCPSC, or CFPC certification, MOC, or OCC counts instead. No topic is mandatory: the two hours on prescribing opioids and controlled substances once required of prescribers expired January 1, 2023. Residents and fellows in full-time accredited training are exempt, and you attest at the renewal that ends each cycle and keep records in case of an audit.
State controlled-substance registration: None. Minnesota has no separate state controlled-substance registration for physicians, and DEA lists it among the states that require no second controlled-substance license.
Prescription monitoring: Register and keep an account with the Minnesota Prescription Monitoring Program, run by the Board of Pharmacy, if you practice in Minnesota, may prescribe controlled substances, and hold a DEA registration; the board’s online renewal links to the registration. Since January 1, 2021, you or a delegate must check a patient’s data before an initial prescription for a Schedule II to IV opiate, and at least every three months for patients on an opiate for chronic pain or in medically assisted treatment for opioid addiction, with nine exceptions, such as palliative, hospice, or cancer care, a supply of five days or less with no refill, inpatients, and emergencies.
DEA registration: $888 for three years, with a separate registration for Minnesota.
E-prescribing: Required of every prescriber since January 1, 2011: Minnesota law has all prescribers establish, maintain, and use an electronic prescription drug program, except for transactions other law or federal law prohibits, and an electronic controlled-substance prescription must also meet federal rules.
Opioid limits: An opiate prescription for acute pain may not exceed a seven-day supply for an adult or a five-day supply for a minor under 18, unless your professional clinical judgment calls for more.
Nonopioid directives: Comply with a patient’s nonopioid directive, which bars administering an opioid to the patient or offering a prescription for one, with narrow exceptions: a medically necessary opioid in an emergency when the patient’s record cannot practically be checked, and treatment for a substance use disorder.

Renewals, CME tracking, and DEA registrations are managed where included in your plan: physician licensing at NP Licensing.

Frequently asked questions

Ready to add Minnesota?

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

Step 1 of 6: Service

Also licensing in these states?

Wisconsin One board licenses MDs and DOs, by initial application or through the IMLC, with no separate endorsement route, and Wisconsin can be your state of principal license.
Iowa One board licenses MDs and DOs, directly or through the IMLC, and since July 1, 2026, Iowa law has set deadlines for the board’s final decision on a license application.
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
All physician state guides