How much does a state medical license actually cost, state by state?

Which state medical license is the most expensive?

California is the most expensive state for a single one-time fee, at $1,850 total: a $674 application fee and a separate $1,176 initial license fee due once the application is approved. Nevada ($1,425) and Texas ($1,358.48) show higher raw totals, but each bundles a first multi-year registration period into that figure rather than charging a single one-time fee; see each state's own note below for the breakdown.

Which state medical license is the least expensive?

Pennsylvania is the least expensive verified state, at $35 total for a graduate of an accredited medical school, per the Board of Medicine's own fee snapshot. A graduate of an unaccredited school pays $85 instead, and renewal is a separate $360 every two years. Missouri follows at $102, a figure set by a 2024 rulemaking that raised it from $82.

What does every state charge?

Forty-seven of the 51 US medical boards have a confirmed figure; the District of Columbia, Idaho, Nebraska and Utah do not and are marked accordingly. Click a column header to re-sort the table. Every state name links to the board's own fee page.

"See board" means no figure could be confirmed against a primary source this cycle. "N/A" means the board does not split the fee into two payments; the application fee shown is the full charge.

Why do figures for the same state disagree elsewhere?

Almost every board splits the license cost into two separate payments, and most published lists quote only one of them. An application fee is charged at submission and is non-refundable regardless of outcome. An initial license fee, where one exists, is due only once the board approves the application.

• Alabama: Total includes a required $65 background-check fee.
• Arizona: Issuance fee is prorated by birth month, so the real total is usually below $1,000.
• Arkansas: Reduced schedule under Act 114 of 2023, in effect through 30 June 2026; confirm the fee has not reverted higher before relying on it.
• California: Application fee includes a $49 fingerprint-processing charge.
• Colorado: Single fee, not split; excludes a separate roughly $49 fingerprint fee.
• Connecticut: Single fee, includes a $4.75 National Practitioner Data Bank query fee.
• District of Columbia: DC Health does not publish the current dollar figures on its public fee page; secondary sources disagreed by as much as $300, so no total is reported here.
• Florida: Figures are for standard licensure by examination or endorsement; other pathways differ.
• Georgia: A 3.15% surcharge applies to card payments.
• Hawaii: Licenses run on a two-year cycle and the Compliance Resolution Fund portion is prorated by issuance date, so the total varies.
• Idaho: Idaho moved to biennial licensure on 1 April 2026 and current sources disagree on the new initial-application figure; not reported until confirmed directly.
• Illinois: A temporary new-physician fee waiver ran through June 2024 and has since expired.
• Iowa: Total includes a $45 criminal background check fee.
• Kansas: Total includes a $47 background-check fee and a $3 National Practitioner Data Bank fee.
• Kentucky: A reduced $175 rate applies only to Kentucky graduates staying in-state for postgraduate training.
• Maryland: The license portion is prorated monthly from approval to expiration, so no single total applies to every applicant.
• Michigan: Covers a 3-year license term rather than a single year; a separate controlled-substance license runs about $259 more.
• Minnesota: Application figure combines a $200 processing fee and a $33.25 background-check fee; the license figure is the first-year registration fee.
• Mississippi: An extra $50 applies only if the application is submitted incomplete.
• Missouri: Single combined licensure fee set by regulation (20 CSR 2150-2.080); raised from $82 by a 2024 rulemaking, so some older secondary pages still show the prior amount.
• Montana: Single combined application and licence fee under ARM 24.156.409.
• Nebraska: DHHS does not publish a current dollar figure on this page. A $50 Patient Safety Fee some vendors still quote was set by statute to sunset 1 January 2026, with no extension confirmed, so no total is reported.
• Nevada: The registration portion is prorated; applying in the second half of the two-year cycle lowers it to $375, for a total near $1,050. A 2025 law may also reduce the fee for endorsement applicants.
• New Hampshire: The $28 is a mandatory Professional Health Program fee bundled into initial licensing; the licence cycle is biennial.
• New Jersey: The licence fee combines a one-time $225 endorsement fee with an annual $290 registration fee prorated across the two-year cycle, which is why it varies by issuance date.
• New Mexico: Single combined application and licensure fee; renewal is a separate, triennial fee.
• New York: New York licenses physicians through the State Education Department rather than a separate medical board; physicians register every 2 years, not the 3-year cycle most other NY professions use.
• North Carolina: Raised from $400 effective 1 October 2026 under the state budget (Session Law 2026-41). A separate $350 annual registration fee applies at renewal, not at initial application.
• North Dakota: Single combined fee as of August 2023. A separate $43 criminal background check fee, paid directly to the state Attorney General's office, is not included.
• Ohio: Single combined initial licence fee.
• Oklahoma: This is the allopathic (MD) board's fee. Oklahoma's separate osteopathic board charges more and does not apply here. A separate $200 annual reregistration fee applies at renewal only.
• Oregon: A board-approved fee increase of one-fifth has been adopted but delayed until at least March 2028, so this figure remains current.
• Pennsylvania: Initial Fee for a graduate of an accredited medical school, per the Board's own Physician & Surgeon Licensure Requirements Snapshot; a graduate of an unaccredited school pays $85 instead. Biennial renewal is a separate $360. Some third-party sites add a roughly $22 to $45.85 PATCH/FBI background-check fee on top; that charge is not stated on the Board's own snapshot page, so it is not included in the total above.
• Rhode Island: Combined fee per the Department of Health's own application packet; rises to $1,290 if a Controlled Substance Registration is bundled in. The packet carries no visible revision date.
• South Carolina: Single combined, non-refundable fee per the Board's current application form.
• South Dakota: Fee set by the Board's own administrative rule (ARSD 20:47:06:01) for the initial license, as a single combined charge.
• Tennessee: Single combined, non-refundable fee paid online via the state's LARS system.
• Texas: The $867 application fee (effective 1 Sep 2025) includes the jurisprudence exam. The registration fee is prorated 12 to 24 months by issuance date, so a 12-month proration runs roughly half of $491.48.
• Utah: DOPL's own fee schedule could not be confirmed this cycle; the one figure in circulation ($200) traces only to third-party licensing comparison sites, not to DOPL directly, so no total is reported.
• Vermont: Single combined, non-refundable fee; the application is not considered complete until it is paid. Renewal is a separate $525 fee.
• Virginia: Single non-refundable application fee, confirmed against both the Board's own fee page and 18VAC85-20-22. Biennial renewal ($337) is separate.
• Washington: The Commission's fee page also lists a $140 Washington Physicians Health Program surcharge; whether that applies at initial application or only at the 2-year renewal ($996) could not be confirmed this cycle, so it is not added to the total shown.
• West Virginia: Allopathic (MD) Board of Medicine figure, not the separate West Virginia Board of Osteopathic Medicine. Paid online after the Uniform Application.
• Wisconsin: Flat fee for an MD or DO physician, raised in an August 2025 fee adjustment; the same $120 amount also applies to the biennial renewal.
• Wyoming: A separate FCVS primary-source verification fee is paid directly to FCVS, not the Board, and is not included here.

Does the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact change these numbers?

No, the Compact adds a flat $700 Letter of Qualification fee on top of whichever state fee above you choose; it does not replace it. For a full breakdown of when the Compact is worth it, see the licensing and credentialing cost guide and the compact status tracker.

Juney Ham is the founder and CEO of Telesure, the marketplace that matches clinicians with independent licensing and credentialing specialists. Previously co-founder of Upside and CMO at Hired. Every regulatory figure on this page is taken from the issuing state board, compact commission or CMS and was verified on 7 November 2026. Fees and compact status change; confirm with the relevant board before relying on them.