Licensure Resources
The alphabet soup of multi-state licensure, translated. Each entry links to the official source; current fees live in the planner, and per-section verification dates live on the data freshness page.
IMLC — Interstate Medical Licensure Compact
The IMLC is an agreement among most US states that lets a qualified physician buy full medical licenses in other member states through one streamlined application instead of applying to each board separately. It is run by the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission (IMLCC), a joint government agency of the member states. The licenses you receive are ordinary full licenses from each state board — the Compact just replaces the application paperwork. See the planner for current fees.
SPL — State of Principal License
Your SPL is the Compact member state you designate as your home base: you must hold a full, unrestricted license there, and it must be where you live, where at least a quarter of your practice happens, where your employer is located, or the state where you file federal income taxes. Without a qualifying SPL you cannot use the Compact at all — which is why the planner asks for your primary practice state.
LOQ — Letter of Qualification
The Letter of Qualification is the Compact's one-time vetting step: your SPL state board verifies you meet the IMLC's requirements and issues a letter that unlocks license purchases in any member state. It stays valid for additional purchases for a limited window, so physicians often buy several states in one batch. See the planner for current fees.
FCVS — Federation Credentials Verification Service
FCVS is a service run by the Federation of State Medical Boards that builds a permanent, verified portfolio of your core credentials — medical school, training, exam history — and sends certified copies to state boards. Some boards require an FCVS profile with every application; others simply accept it. Once your portfolio exists, sending it to additional boards is cheaper than the first build. See the planner for current fees.
License verification (board-to-board)
When you apply directly to a new state, that board usually wants proof of every license you already hold — sent board-to-board by each state where you are licensed, and most boards charge a fee to send it. The more licenses you hold, the more verifications each new application triggers, which is why costs cascade as your portfolio grows. Licenses obtained through the IMLC skip this step entirely.
FSMB — Federation of State Medical Boards
The FSMB is the national association of the state medical and osteopathic boards. It operates FCVS, publishes the state-by-state licensure requirement tables this site draws on, and co-sponsors the USMLE. It is not itself a licensing authority — your licenses always come from individual state boards.
CE Broker
CE Broker is a continuing-education tracking platform that several state boards use to collect proof of CME. In states where reporting is mandatory, your CME must be logged there for your renewal to count; elsewhere it is optional or unused. Where it matters, this site's state pages say so.
CSR — Controlled Substance Registration
Many states require a separate state-level registration on top of your medical license before you may prescribe controlled substances there — distinct from your federal DEA registration. It usually carries its own fee and renewal cycle, which is why the planner's annual maintenance figures include it where a state requires one.
ECFMG — for international medical graduates
The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates certifies the medical education of physicians who trained outside the US and Canada. If you are an IMG, boards verify your credentials through ECFMG, and FCVS applications add ECFMG verification steps with their own fees. See the planner for current fees.