Postgraduate Training License

A United States, Canadian, and international graduate from a Board-approved medical school who has not already completed 36 months of accredited training, does not hold a physician’s and surgeon’s license, passed all required examinations, and is accepted in an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited postgraduate training program in California must obtain a Postgraduate Training License (PTL) within 180 days of enrollment.

The postgraduate training license may be valid for up to 39 months if the resident is enrolled in an ACGME-accredited residency program in California. This allows the resident to complete the 36 months of required training for licensure and grants the resident 90 days to obtain the physician’s and surgeon’s license while they continue their training. If the physician’s and surgeon’s license is not issued by the end of the 90-day grace period, all clinical services in California must cease.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) recently decided to discontinue Step 2 CS.

To meet the minimum examination requirement for a PTL, you must have taken and passed Steps 1 and 2CK of the USMLE or all parts of the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC).

To transition from a PTL to a physician’s and surgeon’s license, you must have taken and passed all steps of the USMLE.

Note: If you have previously submitted official scores verifying passage of all parts of the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC) examination, no further action is required.

On Monday, March 30, 2020, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-39-20, giving the Director of the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) the authority to waive professional licensing requirements for the healing arts boards under DCA during the COVID-19 State of Emergency.

DCA Waiver DCA-20-100 extends the deadline to March 31, 2021, for all residents who were initially enrolled in an approved postgraduate training program in California between June 1, 2020, and July 31, 2020, and who are required to obtain a PTL from the Medical Board of California (Board) within 180 days of their enrollment to practice medicine pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 2064.5, subdivisions (a) and (e).

Furthermore, DCA-20-93 extends the deadline to March 31, 2021, for all residents who were enrolled in an approved postgraduate training program in California on January 1, 2020, and who were required to obtain a PTL by June 30, 2020, to practice medicine pursuant to Business and Professions Code (BPC) section 2064.5, subdivisions (e) and (f).

All PTL applicants must comply with any and all other requirements necessary to be considered for a PTL, including completing and submitting the required application forms and supporting documents to the Board.

If the resident fails to obtain a PTL on or before March 31, 2021, or the Board denies the application, the resident must cease all clinical training in California.

In addition, DCA-20-94 extends the deadline to March 31, 2021, for all for medical residents who completed at least 36 months of approved postgraduate training outside of California, were enrolled in an approved postgraduate training program in California on July 1, 2020, and who are required to obtain a physician's and surgeon's license from the Board within 90 days to continue the practice of medicine, pursuant to Business Code section 2065, subdivision (h).

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License Requirements

To be eligible for a training license in California, you must have received all of your medical school education and graduated from a medical school recognized by the Board.

You must disclose an SSN, ITIN, or FEIN prior to the issuance of a license.

As an applicant, you personally are responsible for all information disclosed on your application including any responses that may have been completed on your behalf by others. An application may be denied based upon omission, falsification or misrepresentation of any item or response on the application or any attachment. The Medical Board of California considers violations of an ethical nature to be a serious breach of professional conduct.

Direct Online Certification Submission (DOCS)

The Direct Online Certification Submission (DOCS) service is a secure, fast, and reliable online document delivery system that allows medical schools and postgraduate training programs to submit certain primary-source licensing documents to the Board. DOCS will accept verification forms, official transcripts, certified diplomas, letters of explanation, and more.

Apply Online

Submit Application Online

You may answer the application questions and pay the application fee online using our BreEZe online services system. If you do not have an SSN or ITIN, you will be required to submit your application and fees by mail. To complete the application process, the following items will need to be submitted to the Board. Contact the appropriate program or organization to proceed with items you are not responsible for submitting.

You must submit:

The certification/examination organization must submit:

The medical school(s) attended must submit:

The training program(s) must submit:

The state or Canadian province licensing authority must submit:

  • Licensing verification from each state or Canadian province, if applicable

Note: Verification of temporary, training, or provisional license(s) is not required.

Apply by Mail

You may submit your application and application fees directly to the Board by mailing them both to: Medical Board of California, 2005 Evergreen Street, Sacramento, CA 95815. Please make check or money order payable to the Medical Board of California. To complete the application process the following items will need to be submitted to the Board. Contact the appropriate program or organization to proceed with items you are not responsible for submitting.

You must submit:

The certification/examination organization must submit:

The medical school(s) attended must submit:

The training program(s) must submit, if applicable:

The state or Canadian province licensing authority must submit:

  • Licensing verification from each state or Canadian province, if applicable

Note: Verification of temporary, training, or provisional license(s) is not required.

Other Forms and Information