Massachusetts

At a Glance

Category	Details
IMLC Member	No
FCVS	Required
NP Independent Practice	Yes (2 yrs)
PA Independent Practice	No
Physician-Owned PC Allowed	Yes
Max NPs per Physician	No Limit
Max PAs per Physician	4

Licensure

Item	Cost
Initial License	$600
Renewal Fee	$600
Renewal Cycle	Biennial
Annualized Cost	$300
Controlled Substance Registration	Yes ($150 per biennial cycle)

Endorsement & Reciprocity

• Available: Yes
• Fees: Fee for certificate-acceptance (endorsement) pathway is set administratively, not fixed in statute.
• mass.gov (the Board of Registration in Medicine's own site, including www.mass.gov and the translate.goog proxy) returned HTTP 403 'Not allowed' to all programmatic fetch attempts (WebFetch and curl with browser user-agent), so this state's GROUP A coverage relies entirely on the Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L. c.112) via malegislature.gov, the official legislature site, which does not publish current dollar fee amounts (those are set administratively by the commissioner of administration, not in statute).

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APC Supervision

In-state requirement for supervising physicians: MD must be licensed/practicing in MA. Redily Available during the 18-month “mentorship” period.

Nurse Practitioners

NPs can practice independently after 2 yrs of supervised practice in Massachusetts.

• Maximum NPs per physician: No Limit (FPA)

Physician Assistants

PAs require physician supervision in Massachusetts.

• Maximum PAs per physician: 4

CME & Training Requirements

Requirement	Details
Total CME	50 hours
Category 1 Minimum	Contact board
Cycle	Biennial
Risk Management	10 hrs/cycle
Opioid / SUD	3 hrs/cycle
Ethics / Jurisprudence	2 hrs/cycle
End of Life	2 hrs one-time
Implicit Bias	2 hrs one-time
Other	3 hrs one-time
Child Abuse	Required one-time
Domestic Violence	Required one-time
Jurisprudence Exam	Not required

Fingerprint Requirements

Detail	Info
Required	No
FBI Check	Unknown
Method	Contact board
Out-of-State Options	Contact board

Malpractice Insurance

• Required for licensure/practice: Yes
• Applies to: Applies to any licensee rendering direct or indirect patient care in Massachusetts, at minimum $100,000 per claim / $300,000 annual aggregate; required at initial licensure too (243 CMR 2.02(1)(m)). Exempt: licensees not engaged in MA practice, those whose MA patient care is limited to federal/state/county/municipal facilities, limited-registration holders insured through designated programs, and Administrative licensees; Inactive-status licensees are also exempt from this requirement while inactive. A licensee may petition the Board to substitute a bond or other indemnity in lieu of insurance.
• Massachusetts is a clear 'required:true' state -- distinct from Louisiana/Maryland -- with the mandate codified directly in Board regulation (not merely a hospital-credentialing norm), and it is also a prerequisite baked into initial licensure itself (243 CMR 2.02(1)(m)).

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Giving Up a License

• Status after lapse: lapsed; unauthorized to practice, and continued practice is referred to Enforcement Division and law enforcement
• Lapse consequences: Continued practice after lapse is treated as unauthorized practice of medicine and referred both to the Board's Enforcement Division and to law enforcement; if the Board believes the lapsed licensee violated law/standards, it may investigate the lapsed-license renewal application as an open complaint and defer action up to 180 days.
• Voluntary surrender: Available — MASSACHUSETTS 'STICKY' RULE CONFIRMED: retirement (243 CMR 2.06(4)) is the non-disciplinary voluntary exit, but a physician is categorically barred from using it to escape scrutiny -- eligibility requires no open or reasonably anticipated Board complaint. The licensee must also submit a sworn statement disclosing any open/anticipated complaints and agree to keep patient records accessible; retirement only becomes effective once the Board confirms no open/anticipated complaint exists. Separately, 243 CMR 1.05(5) 'Resignation' is referenced as a distinct (disciplinary-context) mechanism that this retirement process does not apply when resignation applies -- i.e., a licensee already facing discipline cannot use the clean 'retirement' route at all.
• Reinstatement: From Retired to Active: physician completes a Reactivation from Retirement Application and demonstrates EHR proficiency. If out of practice under 2 years, the Board approves reactivation provided there are no outstanding complaints or unpaid fines. If out of clinical practice 2+ years and returning to direct/indirect patient care, the Board may require demonstration of current clinical competency. For an ordinary lapsed license: petition plus fee, satisfy accumulated CME (incl. EHR proficiency), and reinstate malpractice liability insurance.
• Exit in good standing: Available — Good-standing exit is not merely available but is the ONLY basis on which the Board's non-disciplinary Retired status may be granted -- the absence of any open/anticipated complaint is a hard eligibility gate, not a discretionary factor, which is the source of Massachusetts's reputation as a 'sticky' state for handing back a license while any matter is pending.

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Quirks & Gotchas

Fees

• Full License (initial & renewal):** $600
• Lapsed/reactivation:** $700 (not $600 — the lapse penalty is real)
• Limited License (residents/fellows):** $100/year
• Temporary License:** $250 (valid 9 months)
• Volunteer License:** $600 — same cost as full, but you cannot be compensated and can only practice at Board-approved sites
• Administrative License:** $600 — explicitly does NOT authorize diagnosing, treating, or prescribing controlled substances; purely for administrative/academic roles
• License verification:** $10 per event; copy of application: $5
• No fingerprint fee appears in the BORIM fee schedule — fingerprinting does not appear to be a BORIM requirement (unlike many other state boards)

Other Gotchas

• No reciprocity** — Massachusetts requires a full application from scratch regardless of how many other state licenses you hold
• FCVS profile is mandatory** — you must have an FSMB Federation Credentials Verification Service profile with primary source verification of all core credentials (education, postgrad training, exam scores). This takes time and money to assemble separately from the BORIM application itself
• No jurisprudence exam** — BORIM does not administer a separate Massachusetts medical law/jurisprudence exam (unlike pharmacy, dentistry, or psychology boards in the same state)
• 7-year, 4-attempt rule** — all three USMLE or COMLEX steps must be passed within 7 years and within 4 attempts each. Failing this disqualifies you regardless of otherwise strong credentials
• Active probation in another state = deferred application** — if you are currently on probation in any other state, Massachusetts will defer your application until that probation terminates. There is no expedited path
• Paper applications incur significantly longer processing times** — the Board explicitly flags this; electronic submission only is the practical standard
• Average processing time: ~4 weeks** (median under 3 weeks for electronic submissions)
• Wallet cards are emailed**, not mailed physically
• ECFMG certification required
• Off-site clinical rotations of 3+ months trigger a “substantial equivalency” waiver requirement — unless the school is on BORIM’s recognized list: St. George’s, SABA, Ross, AUC, and AUACM are the only named exceptions
• Must demonstrate substantially equivalent pre-med coursework (bio, chem, physics) at the same level as US schools
• First renewal falls on your first birthday after licensure — unless your license was issued within 90 days of that birthday, in which case it rolls to the following birthday. This creates an unexpectedly short or long first cycle depending on when you license.
• Renewals are strictly time-windowed: you can only renew during the designated renewal window after receiving email notification. You cannot renew early outside that window.
• No telemedicine-specific license** — if you practice telemedicine into Massachusetts, you need a standard full license. There is no lighter-touch pathway.
• Camp physicians must hold full licenses** — no temporary or limited license shortcut for summer camp work
• Limited licenses prohibit moonlighting** — residents/fellows on a limited license cannot practice outside their training program, period
• Lapsed licenses with 2+ years out of practice** may require competency demonstration before reinstatement

CME & Mandatory Training

• Opioid and pain management training**
• Electronic health records (EHR) proficiency** demonstration
• Child abuse and neglect** recognition and reporting training
• Domestic and sexual violence** education
• MassHealth enrollment** — physicians must enroll as MassHealth ordering/referring/prescribing providers
• Certification of legal compliance**
• CME credits per biennial renewal cycle — total in the table above** — no carryover of excess credits to the next cycle
• Mix of Category 1 (AMA-accredited sponsors) and Category 2 (self-study, lectures, peer review, publications, case conferences)
• Risk management** study is mandatory within the 50 credits: must cover malpractice prevention, patient safety, and loss prevention (may also include medical ethics, QA, or EHR instruction to satisfy this)
• Implicit Bias in Healthcare: a required CME component** for both initial licensure AND every renewal (Policy 2021-04, effective June 1, 2022). Free options exist (Stanford, Mass Medical Society); paid options are also available. No exemptions specified.
• Alzheimer’s Disease / Cognitive Impairment: 1.0 CME credit minimum** — one-time requirement, renewal only, applies to physicians serving adult populations. Exempts pediatric-only physicians. Crucially: prior training from medical school or residency can satisfy it — you do not need a new course.

Prescribing

• Both a DEA registration AND a Massachusetts Controlled Substance Registration (MCSR) number are required to prescribe controlled substances — the federal DEA alone is not sufficient

Application Requirements

• Board of Registration in Medicine - Schedule of Fees
• Physician Licensing Fees and Eligibility Requirements
• General Physician Licensing Questions
• Apply for my Physician Full License
• Renew my Physician Full License
• Renewal Requirement for Alzheimer’s Disease CME
• Continuing Medical Education on Implicit Bias in Healthcare
• BORIM CME Requirements (PDF)

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

Resources

• Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine
• 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.