Georgia

At a Glance

Category	Details
IMLC Member	Yes
FCVS	Accepted
NP Independent Practice	No
PA Independent Practice	No
Physician-Owned PC Allowed	No
Max NPs per Physician	8
Max PAs per Physician	4

Licensure

Item	Cost
Initial License	$500
Renewal Fee	$230
Renewal Cycle	Biennial
Annualized Cost	$115
Controlled Substance Registration	No

Endorsement & Reciprocity

Not yet researched — whether this state offers license-by-endorsement or reciprocity, and its prerequisites, is being verified.

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APC Supervision

In-state requirement for supervising physicians: Strict: MD must be in-state or within 50 miles. Principle place in practice. GA narrowing in on telehealth.

Nurse Practitioners

NPs require physician supervision in Georgia.

• Maximum NPs per physician: 8

Physician Assistants

PAs require physician supervision in Georgia.

• Maximum PAs per physician: 4

Additional Notes

Can supervise 4 PAs; collaborate with 8 NPs.

CME & Training Requirements

Requirement	Details
Total CME	40 hours
Category 1 Minimum	Contact board
Cycle	Biennial
Opioid / SUD	3 hrs one-time
Domestic Violence	2 hrs one-time
Jurisprudence Exam	Required

Fingerprint Requirements

Detail	Info
Required	Yes
FBI Check	Yes
Method	Contact board
Out-of-State Options	Contact board

Malpractice Insurance

• Applies to: Georgia law does not mandate malpractice coverage for physicians; instead the Patient Right to Know Act gives patients the right to ask whether a physician carries it, and requires disclosure of that status to the Georgia Composite Medical Board via the Physician Profile.
• No mandate for malpractice insurance was located in Title 43, Chapter 34 (Medical Practice Act); the only statutory touchpoint found is the disclosure duty in the Patient Right to Know Act (O.C.G.A. 43-34A-5), and no patient compensation fund statute was located for Georgia physicians.

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Giving Up a License

• Status after lapse: Not renewed by expiration date -> practitioner may not practice; late renewal permitted for a 3-month grace period, after which the Board administratively revokes the license for failure to renew.
• Lapse consequences: A medical licensee may not practice after the expiration date; administrative revocation for failure to renew removes all rights/privileges to practice, is reported to the public and other state boards as such, and is explicitly NOT a disciplinary revocation.
• Reinstatement: A minimum of two years must pass from the date of revocation (including revocation for failure to renew) before the Board will consider a reinstatement application; applicant must show maintained current knowledge/skill/proficiency and fitness to practice.

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Quirks & Gotchas

Application Requirements

• Two-stage application: Stage 1 completed by applicant in online gateway; Stage 2 documents submitted directly by third parties via the NextRequest portal (gcmb.nextrequest.com) - you cannot submit these yourself.
• Notarized Affidavit of Applicant with a color passport photo (not just any photo - color, passport format).
• NPDB Self-Query is mandatory if you have ever held any prior license anywhere.
• CV/Resume with every employment gap explicitly explained - unexplained gaps are a red flag.
• Malpractice Questionnaire required with complete case details for any prior incident.
• 3 physician reference forms submitted by the references directly from institutional email addresses (personal email not accepted).
• Official license verifications from every state you have ever been licensed in - all of them, not just current.
• ECFMG certification required for foreign graduates.
• Applications lapse and may be closed if not completed within 360 days.

Jurisprudence Exam

• The GCMB website does not publicly list a standalone Georgia jurisprudence exam as a separate requirement for full physician licensure (unlike some states). No specific jurisprudence exam page or requirement was found. This is notably absent compared to many other state boards - worth confirming directly by phone at (404) 656-3913 before assuming it is not required.

Fees

• Initial application: $500
• Renewal (biennial): $230
• Late renewal: $455 (double the standard fee)
• Credit/debit card processing fee: 3.15% on every transaction, non-refundable - no checks or money orders accepted, so you cannot avoid this surcharge.
• Reinstatement (lapsed/revoked): $500
• Reinstatement (inactive): $300
• Upgrading telemedicine or administrative license to full: $200 each
• FBI fingerprint/background check: separate fee paid to the fingerprint vendor (amount not published on the site, typically $40-75 depending on vendor).
• NPDB Self-Query: $4 (NPDB charges this directly, not GCMB).

Fingerprints & Background Check

• FBI-compliant fingerprint/biometric background check is required for all applicants.
• GCMB updated its fingerprint guidance in May 2026 - use only the current instructions.
• Must register in the new licensing gateway before starting the fingerprint process.
• The system is entirely electronic; do not mail anything.

CME & Mandatory Training

• 40 AMA Category 1 (or equivalent) CME hours biennially - standard on the surface.
• CME documentation does NOT accompany the renewal submission, but must be retained afterward - the board audits a percentage of renewals randomly, and you will need to produce records on demand.
• License renews biennially by the last day of your birth month (not a calendar year cycle - easy to miscalculate if you are used to other states).
• Controlled substance prescribing CME (hours in the table above) - required if you hold a DEA certificate. This is a one-time requirement, not recurring per cycle.
• Professional boundaries and physician sexual misconduct training - one-time, but a new renewal question now specifically asks whether you have completed this.
• Pain management physicians not board-certified in pain: 20 additional CME hours in pain management/palliative medicine per renewal cycle.

Timeline

• Applications expire if not completed within 360 days - the clock starts at Stage 1 submission.
• Institutional and Administrative license applications require Board meeting approval, which occurs on the first Thursday of each month only. Missing a meeting cycle adds roughly 4 weeks.
• PDMP registration required within 30 days of initial licensure if you hold a DEA registration.
• Cannot practice after license expiration date - no grace period.

8. Supervision Requirements (In-State / 50-Mile Rule)

• The 50-mile supervision rule is specific to the Institutional License (not the full license). Institutional licenses require a named supervising physician at the institution who is responsible for oversight.
• The GCMB website does not publish a specific “within 50 miles” geographic rule on the public-facing pages. This may be embedded in the institutional license agreement documents or board rules. Confirm directly with GCMB for the exact geographic supervision standard before relying on an institutional arrangement.
• Telemedicine license holders: DEA considers Georgia telemedicine licenses restricted, which can affect prescribing authority. If you need DEA authorization, a full license is strongly recommended over a telemedicine-only license.

Other Gotchas

• Portal is completely new - old gateway credentials no longer work. Everyone must re-register at gateway.medicalboard.georgia.gov before starting any application.
• Entirely paperless - do not mail forms or checks. Anything mailed will not be processed.
• Non-U.S. citizens must re-verify lawful presence at every renewal cycle, not just at initial licensure.
• Kentucky is the only state where applicants can forward the license verification themselves; all other states must send directly to GCMB.
• Administrative license holders who have been out of clinical practice for more than 30 months are not required to demonstrate recent clinical activity to maintain that license - but upgrading to full licensure will trigger scrutiny of the gap.
• US medical school graduates need at least 1 year of ACGME-accredited training; international medical graduates need at least 3 years - this is a hard cutoff, not a case-by-case evaluation.
• The board’s contact method for application questions is via the NextRequest portal sorted by applicant last name’s first letter - not a direct email or phone call for application status.

Researched from state board websites and regulatory sources. Verify with the board directly before applying.

Resources

• Georgia Composite Medical Board
• FSMB State Licensure Directory
• Interstate Medical Licensure Compact

Sources

Data compiled from state medical board websites, FSMB, and regulatory filings.

Have a correction or update? Let us know.