In its 2013 Annual Business Meeting of the House of Delegates, the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) made a proposal which would eventually transform into what we now know as the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC). As of this year, nearly all of the U.S. states have joined the compact, and in just three years alone between April 2017 and May 2021, a total of 20,061 new Compact licenses have been issued. Thanks to the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC), it has never been easier for locum tenens physicians to expedite the process of obtaining new licensure and practice in multiple states.

Click here to take the IMLC quiz.

What is the IMLC? 

 

The application process begins by confirming your eligibility, first confirming that you meet various general eligibility requirements, including that you have passed each component of the USMLE, or equivalent, do not have any criminal history, and more.

Past the requirements pertaining to your education and background, in the easiest way to qualify, you’d have your State of Primary License (SPL) as your state of primary residence for federal income tax purposes. Alternatively the applicant can qualify if they have either a full, unrestricted license from a state that is already a member of the IMLC, or a full, unrestricted license from a state that is not yet a member of the IMLC which can serve as the State of Primary License (SPL).

Past the requirements pertaining to your education and background, in the easiest way to qualify, the applicant has either a full, unrestricted license from a state that is already a member of the IMLC, or a full, unrestricted license from a state that is not yet a member of the IMLC which can serve as your State of Primary License (SPL) for federal income tax purposes.

However, the SPL doesn’t necessarily have to be your state of residence. You can also qualify if any other secondary factors apply, including but not limited to if your employer is located in the SPL, or if 25% or more of your practice of medicine occurs in the SPL.

After taking our quiz to see if you meet any other requirements to qualify for the IMLC not discussed here, the next steps are to submit an application on the official IMLC website, and obtain a Letter of Qualification (LOQ) from your SPL. Currently, 31 states plus the territory of Guam and the District of Columbia can be declared as a physician’s SPL. The following qualifying states can issue Letters of Qualification to physicians who meet the eligibility requirements:

Arizona	Colorado	Delaware	District of Columbia
Georgia	Guam	Idaho	Illinois
Indiana	Iowa	Kansas	Kentucky
Louisiana	Maine	Maryland	Michigan
Minnesota	Mississippi	Montana	Nebraska
Nevada	New Hampshire	New Jersey	North Dakota
Ohio	Oklahoma	South Dakota	Tennessee
Texas	Utah	Washington	West Virginia
Wisconsin	Wyoming

Once the LOQ is issued, physicians can apply to any current Compact Member State and obtain multiple additional licenses at once. As it stands today, 39 member states, one territory, and the District of Columbia that have passed each component of legislation for participation in the IMLC:

*Alabama	Arizona	Colorado	*Connecticut
Delaware	District of Columbia	Georgia	Guam
Idaho	Illinois	Indiana	Iowa
Kansas	Kentucky	Louisiana	Maine
Maryland	Michigan	Minnesota	Mississippi
Montana	Nebraska	Nevada	New Hampshire
New Jersey	North Dakota	Ohio	Oklahoma
South Dakota	Tennessee	Texas	Utah
*Vermont	Washington	West Virginia	Wisconsin
Wyoming

*Please note that Alabama, Connecticut, and Vermont are not considered “States of Principle Licensure” meaning that you can not enter into the IMCL through these three states. Once you have entered the IMCL from another participating state, you are able to get a license issued for these three states through the compact.

There are five additional Compact States where the IMLC has passed, but implementation has not yet been successfully completed. These states are currently unable to issue licenses via the standard Interstate Medical Licensure Compact method, but that will change in the near future. These are Hawaii, Missouri, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.

Additionally, three states have introduced legislation to start the process: Massachusetts, North Carolina, and New York.

 

When you’re ready, Barton Associates’ licensing and credentialing teams are here and prepared to assist with every step of the quick and painless process of getting you licensed in multiple IMLC states simultaneously.

Take our quiz to determine whether you qualify for the IMLC method of licensure:

Navigate to our quiz here to determine your eligibility today!