Louisiana Medical License

Getting a Louisiana medical license takes most physicians 60 to 90 days and costs $382 in application fees. You apply through the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners (LSBME) via the LaMED DashBoard, submit FCVS verification, notarized forms, and fingerprints. Below: exact fees, annual renewal rules, CME, and how to verify a license.

Key Takeaways

• Cost: $382 to apply, then $332 every year to renew. Reinstating a lapsed license starts at $632.
• Timeline: most complete applications clear in 60 to 90 days; start FCVS about 4 months before your target start date.
• Renewal is annual, due by the first day of your birth month, filed through the LaMED DashBoard.
• CME: 20 Category 1 hours per year, tracked in CE Broker, plus a one-time 3-hour CDS course before your first renewal.
• IMLC member: Yes. Louisiana issues expedited licenses through the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact.
• Verify any license free at online.lasbme.org: status, expiration date, and disciplinary history.

Louisiana has the cheapest application fee in its region at $382, but the annual $332 renewal makes it one of the pricier states to hold long term. Our team files physician applications in all 50 states, and the pattern we see here is consistent: applications stall on notarized paperwork and late FCVS starts, not on the Board.

How to Get a Louisiana Medical License: Step by Step

You apply online through the LaMED DashBoard, mail three notarized documents to the LSBME, complete an FCVS profile, pay the $382 fee, and finish a fingerprint background check. The Board reviews files in the order received, with no expedited queue.

1. Start your application in the LaMED DashBoard at online.lasbme.org. You can save a partial application, upload documents, pay fees, and track status in the same account.
2. Open an FCVS profile with the Federation of State Medical Boards. Louisiana requires FCVS for physician applicants, and it is usually the slowest step.
3. Mail the notarized paper documents to LSBME, 630 Camp Street, New Orleans, LA 70130 (see the checklist below).
4. Pay the $382 fee by Visa, MasterCard, or Discover. It is non-refundable.
5. Complete the background check. After the Board receives your application, you get instructions to submit fingerprints through Identogo for a Louisiana Department of Public Safety and FBI check. Physicians already holding an LSBME training permit skip this step.
6. Respond fast to your analyst. Files move in submission order, so a same-day reply to a document request is the only lever you control.

Checklist: the three notarized mail-in forms

• Oath or Affirmation: every “yes” answer needs a typed sworn affidavit in your own words.
• Third-Party Authorization: lets the LSBME pull records about you from outside sources.
• Statement of Legal Name: required whenever your current name differs from your birth certificate.

Watch out: if the background check turns up criminal history you did not disclose on the Oath, the LSBME requires a new Oath, a new affidavit explaining the omission, and a new processing fee equal to the full $382 licensure fee. Answer every question accurately the first time.

Louisiana Medical License Requirements

Louisiana requires a degree from a Board-approved medical school, passing scores on the USMLE or COMLEX-USA, postgraduate training, a criminal background check, and FCVS credential verification. Applicants must be at least 21, of good moral character, and legally authorized to work in the U.S.

The exam rules are specific. There is no attempt limit on Step 1 or Level 1, but the Board caps you at four attempts each on Steps 2 and 3 (or COMLEX Levels 2 and 3). And if your last medical competency exam was more than 10 years ago, you either hold a current ABMS or AOA board certification or you pass the SPEX (or COMVEX-USA for DOs).

Training requirements split by where you studied. Graduates of U.S. or Canadian schools need two years of accredited postgraduate training, or one completed year plus a Board-accepted commitment for a second. International medical graduates need a valid ECFMG certificate and three years of ACGME-approved residency in the same specialty, completed in the U.S. or Canada.

One recent change worth knowing: the LSBME no longer routinely issues temporary permits, reserving them for emergencies. Louisiana also created a Bridge Year Graduate Physician certificate, a one-year collaborative-practice option for medical graduates who have not yet entered residency. New graduates entering Louisiana training programs use PGY or GETP permits instead of this application.

How Much Does a Louisiana Medical License Cost?

A Louisiana medical license costs $382 at application and $332 per year to renew. Both totals include two statutory add-ons under La. R.S. 37:1281: a $25 physician health program fee and a $7 continuing education fee. FCVS, fingerprinting, and exam fees are billed separately.

Watch out: older guides still quote $400 to apply and $200 or $330 to renew. The current LSBME instructions list $382 for initial licensure, and the annual renewal totals $332 once the statutory $25 and $7 add-ons are included. Physicians age 70+ who surrender prescribing authority qualify for a half-price renewal.

How does Louisiana compare to neighboring states?

Louisiana has the lowest application fee in the region. The $382 fee compares to $867 in Texas, $550 in Mississippi, and $500 in Arkansas. Long-term costs flip the picture: at $332 renewed annually, Louisiana works out to about $332 per year, versus roughly $246 in Texas ($491 every two years) and $300 in Mississippi. See the full 50-state comparison in our hardest and easiest states ranking.

How Long Does Louisiana Licensing Take?

Plan on 60 to 90 days from the day the LSBME receives a complete application, with complex files running longer. The Board processes applications strictly in the order received and does not prioritize any candidate, so incomplete paperwork is the main source of delay.

From the applications we process, FCVS timing is the single biggest variable in that window. Slow responses from medical schools and training programs hold up primary-source verification long before the Board ever sees your file.

Pro tip: open your FCVS profile at least 4 months before your anticipated start date, and give a support staffer access to track its status. Order fingerprints and state license verifications in parallel, not in sequence.

Physician assistants have one genuine shortcut: a PA who meets every requirement except the exam can ask the NCCPA to send a score report straight to the LSBME, which lets the Board finish the file faster. Our PA licensing team handles that sequencing routinely. Physicians have no equivalent option and must complete every requirement before applying.

Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners (LSBME) and the LaMED DashBoard

The Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners licenses MDs, DOs, PAs, and a dozen allied health professions from its New Orleans office. Reach it at (504) 568-6820, and handle almost every transaction through its online portal, the LaMED DashBoard.

What can you do in the LaMED DashBoard?

The LaMED DashBoard is the LSBME’s portal for starting a new application, finishing a saved one, renewing a license, updating contact information, and printing payment receipts or wallet cards. Registration requires a working email address, and renewals must go through it. Only physicians in training (PGY, GETP, and fellowship permit holders) renew outside the portal.

The Board’s own numbers show a growing licensee base: physicians and surgeons went from 18,382 active licenses in 2022 to 18,587 in 2023, physician assistants from 1,710 to 1,810, and total active licensees across all professions from 35,420 to 37,244, with telemedicine permit holders steady at 118 (LSBME annual figures, most recent published).

How to Verify a Louisiana Medical License (LSBME Lookup)

To verify a Louisiana medical license, use the free LSBME lookup at online.lasbme.org/#/verifylicense. Search by name or license number to check any MD, DO, or PA. The record returns license status, credential type, number, expiration date, practice address, and disciplinary history.

The same tool confirms Louisiana DEA and CDS registrations tied to a practitioner, which makes it the fastest way to validate prescribing authority alongside the medical board license. Employers running credentialing should still pair the state search with an NPI lookup to confirm federal identifiers match the state record.

How do you find Louisiana doctors who lost their license?

The LSBME publishes its disciplinary actions online, searchable by name and date. Suspensions, revocations, probations, and consent orders appear there, and each individual lookup record flags any disciplinary history. There is no separate paid report: the public search covers it.

Other Louisiana health licenses live on different portals. Pharmacists are verified through the Board of Pharmacy’s eLicense system, and nurses through the Louisiana State Board of Nursing or Nursys.

Louisiana Medical License Renewal and CME

Louisiana medical licenses renew every year, due by the first day of your birth month, for $332 through the LaMED DashBoard. You need 20 Category 1 CME hours per year, recorded in CE Broker before you renew. The renewal window opens 56 days before expiration.

Louisiana renews every year on your birth month, not every two or three years. Budget for it like a subscription, not an anniversary.

Under LAC 46:XLV.415 and 417, the license expires on the first day of your birth month unless you file a complete renewal, and a timely filing keeps the license in force while the Board processes it. Miss the date and the picture changes fast: expired under one year, you can still renew online with a late fee; expired more than one year, you file a full reinstatement application at $632, $932, or $1,232 depending on the gap, plus 20 CME hours for each unrenewed year. Many physicians hand this calendar to an auto-renewal service precisely because the annual cycle leaves no slack.

What are Louisiana’s CME requirements, and what is CE Broker?

Physicians (including Compact licensees) need 20 hours of AMA Category 1 or Board-approved CME each year, measured birth month to birth month. PAs instead maintain current NCCPA certification. Louisiana’s twist is enforcement: every licensee must track credits in CE Broker, the state’s electronic CME tracker, and the system blocks your renewal if the transcript is short. A basic CE Broker account is free.

First-time renewers get a break and a catch. New licensees skip the 20-hour annual requirement at their first renewal, but must complete two one-time courses before it: a free Laws and Rules for Louisiana Physicians course on CE Broker, and the 3-hour CDS-CME described below if they prescribe controlled substances.

Louisiana and the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC)

Louisiana is a member of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, and the LSBME processes Compact applications directly (504-568-6820, ext. 2890 or 2610). Qualifying physicians can use the IMLC’s expedited pathway to add a Louisiana license or use Louisiana as their State of Principal Licensure.

To qualify, you hold an unrestricted license in a member state that is your SPL, meaning you live there, run at least 25% of your practice there, are employed there, or file federal taxes from there. You also need an accredited medical degree, an ACGME- or AOA-approved residency, current or lifetime ABMS/AOA board certification, a clean disciplinary and criminal record, and you passed every USMLE or COMLEX step in three attempts or fewer. That last rule is stricter than Louisiana’s own four-attempt cap, so some physicians who qualify for a standard Louisiana license cannot use the Compact.

By the numbers: the IMLC issued 20,804 licenses between April 2024 and March 2025, and 24% of U.S. physicians now hold licenses in more than one state, per the FSMB’s 2024 census. The Compact charges its own $700 application fee on top of each state’s license fee.

Louisiana Telemedicine Permit

An out-of-state physician without a Louisiana license needs a telemedicine permit to treat patients located in the state: $300 to apply, $200 to renew annually, under LAC 46:XLV.408. It requires an unrestricted license in another state and Board approval.

The permit is deliberately limited. Holders cannot open a Louisiana office, see patients in person, or take patient calls originating in the state, and a valid physician-patient relationship must exist before treatment. Interpreting diagnostic studies for Louisiana patients, including radiology, pathology, and echocardiograms, requires a full license, not the permit. The statutory basis sits in La. R.S. 37:1271: “no person shall practice medicine as defined in this Part until the person possesses a duly recorded license” or a qualifying permit or certificate.

Louisiana CDS License

Prescribing controlled substances in Louisiana takes three layers: your medical license, a state Controlled Dangerous Substances (CDS) license, and federal DEA registration. The CDS application asks for copies of your Louisiana license, DEA certificate, ID, Social Security card, birth certificate or passport, and diploma.

Louisiana also ties an education requirement to prescribing. Under Act 76 of 2017 and the Board’s Rule §4005, every prescriber completes 3 hours of Board pre-approved CDS-CME covering all four mandated topics: CDS prescribing best practices, drug diversion, addiction treatment, and chronic pain management. It is a once-in-a-lifetime requirement, due before your first renewal, and the Board’s approved course is free through its Medical Interactive portal with automatic CE Broker upload. Residents must take it too; exemptions exist only for practitioners who prescribed no CDS at all in the prior year.

Frequently Asked Questions

This article provides general guidance only. Physician licensing requirements change frequently and vary by state. Always verify current requirements with the official Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners at lsbme.la.gov before submitting your application. Last fact-checked: July 18, 2026.

Written by Medicallicensing Team · Reviewed by David Ivaniuk, CEO Medicallicensing · Last updated: July 18, 2026 · Last fact-checked: July 18, 2026

About the reviewer

David Ivaniuk is the CEO of Medicallicensing, a licensing services company that has helped physicians, PAs, nurses, and other healthcare professionals navigate state licensing, DEA registration, and payer enrollment across all 50 U.S. states.

References

1. Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners. “Application & Instructions for Initial Licensure – Physicians.” Retrieved July 18, 2026. Link.
2. Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners. “Renewals.” Retrieved July 18, 2026. Link.
3. Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners. “Annual Continuing Education Requirements by Practitioner Group” (rev. July 1, 2026). Retrieved July 18, 2026. Link.
4. Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners. “Board Approved CME Courses for CDS Requirements.” Retrieved July 18, 2026. Link.
5. Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners. “Application & Instructions for Reinstatement – Physicians.” Retrieved July 18, 2026. Link.
6. Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners. “Application & Instructions for Initial Licensure – Telemedicine.” Retrieved July 18, 2026. Link.
7. Louisiana State Legislature. La. R.S. 37:1271, “License to practice medicine required.” Retrieved July 18, 2026. Link.
8. Louisiana Revised Statutes § 37:1281, “Fees and costs.” Retrieved July 18, 2026. Link.
9. La. Admin. Code tit. 46, §§ XLV-415, XLV-417 (annual renewal, birth-month expiration). Retrieved July 18, 2026. Link.
10. Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission. “State Contacts” (Louisiana, MD & DO). Retrieved July 18, 2026. Link.
11. Young A. et al. “FSMB Census of Licensed Physicians in the United States, 2024.” Journal of Medical Regulation, 111(2). Retrieved July 18, 2026. Link.
12. Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure, fee and renewal pages; Texas Medical Board fee pages (neighbor-state comparison). Retrieved July 18, 2026. Link.