banner background

Postgraduate Training Licensees

A Postgraduate Training License (PTL) is issued to residents who are enrolled in a California ACGME-accredited postgraduate training program. The resident may engage in the practice of medicine only in connection with their duties as a resident in the approved training program, including its affiliated sites, or under those conditions as are approved in writing by the director of their program.

 Apply Early! - License Application Processing Times

Postgraduate Training Licensees

A Postgraduate Training License is issued to an individual who has graduated from an approved medical school, passed all required examinations, has not received either a minimum of 12-months credit (for U.S. or Canadian medical school graduates) or 24-months credit (for international medical school graduates) of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited postgraduate training if completed in the United States and its territories, or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) and/or The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC)-accredited postgraduate training if completed in Canada, and is enrolled in a Board-approved California residency program.

 COVID19 Response - United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE)

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.