Limited License Description and Requirements
A limited license is issued to physicians enrolled in post-graduate training programs in health care facilities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. All such training must be done in ACGME accredited programs, or in a subspecialty clinical training or fellowship program in a training facility that has an approved program in the parent specialty. A physician who holds or who has ever held a full Massachusetts license is not eligible for a limited license.
To request an application for a limited license, please contact the health care facility where the post-graduate training will occur. A limited license application must be signed by the program director of the post-graduate training program prior to submission to the Board of Registration in Medicine.
Processing time for an initial limited license is approximately six to eight weeks after requisite materials from all sources have been received by the Board of Registration in Medicine. Some applications may require a longer processing time. An applicant may not engage in direct or indirect patient care until the Board has issued a limited license. After an initial limited license is issued by the Board, the relevant post-graduate training program will receive from the Board a certificate verifying the physician's limited license number. That license number will be retained for the duration of the physician's tenure in that particular training program.
A physician with a limited license is prohibited from "moonlighting" under any circumstances.
Requirements for a limited license for graduates of U.S. or Canadian medical schools are listed below:
Pre-medical Education: completion of two years of a pre-medical course of study in a college or university.
Medical Education: not less than three and one-half years of study in a legally chartered medical school having the power to grant degrees in medicine.
Requirements for a limited license for graduates of international medical schools are listed below:
Pre-Medical Education: completion of a minimum of two or more academic years, of not less than thirty-two weeks in each academic year, of a pre-medical education at a legally chartered college or university which must include courses in biology, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry and physics, or their equivalent as determined by the Board.
Medical Education: (a) completion and attendance of four academic years of instruction of not less than thirty-two weeks in each academic year at a medical school which education is substantially equivalent to that of graduates of U.S. medical schools; and (b) completion of medical school clinical training which is substantially equivalent to the minimum standards required of U.S. medical school graduates, and done under the direct control of the medical school dean and under onsite supervision and evaluation by the faculty of the medical school in which the applicant was enrolled. Limited license applicants who cannot meet (b) must submit a request for a waiver of this requirement.
A notarized copy of the medical school diploma and a notarized copy of the English translation, if applicable.
Medical school transcripts with evaluations received directly from the medical school.
A notarized copy of a valid as of the date of licensure ECFMG certificate.
An ECFMG status report form received directly from ECFMG verifying completion of USMLE Steps 1 and 2, or NBME Parts I and II, or FLEX Components 1 and 2.
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