Medicine

License Requirements

Physician Assistant

General Requirements

Any use of the title "registered physician assistant" within New York State requires licensure.

To be licensed as a registered physician assistant in New York State you must:

• be of good moral character;
• be at least 21 years of age;
• meet education requirements; and
• meet examination requirements.

You must submit an application for licensure and the other forms indicated, along with the appropriate fee, to the Office of the Professions at the address specified on each form. It is your responsibility to follow up with anyone you have asked to send us material.

The specific requirements for licensure are contained in Title 8, Article 131-B, Section 6541 of New York's Education Law and Part 60 of the Commissioner's Regulations. Copies of the relevant Sections of New York State Education Law and the Commissioner's Regulations are also available upon request from us at opforms@mail.nysed.gov or 518-474-3817 ext. 320.

You should also read the general licensing information applicable for all professions.

Fees

The fee for licensure is $115 ($70 Application Fee, $45 First Three-Year Registration Fee).

The fee for a limited permit is $105

Fees are subject to change. The fee due is the one in law when your application is received (unless fees are increased retroactively). You will be billed for the difference if fees have been increased.

• Do not send cash.
• Make your personal check or money order payable to the New York State Education Department. Your cancelled check is your receipt.
• Mail your application and fee to: NYS Education Department, Office of the Professions at the address at the end of the Application for Licensure (Form 1).

Partial Refunds

Individuals who withdraw their licensure application may be entitled to a partial refund.

• For the procedure to withdraw your application, contact the Physician Assistant Unit at opunit2@mail.nysed.gov or by calling 518-474-3817 ext. 260 or by fax at 518-402-2323.
• The State Education Department is not responsible for any fees paid to an outside testing or credentials verification agency.

If you withdraw your application, obtain a refund, and then decide to seek New York State licensure at a later date, you will be considered a new applicant, and you will be required to pay the licensure fee and meet the licensure requirements in place at the time you reapply.

Education Requirements

To meet the professional education requirement for licensure as a registered physician assistant, you must have completed high school or its equivalent and you must present satisfactory evidence of completion of a program for the training of physician assistants that is approved by the New York State Education Department as licensure qualifying or accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) or a program that is determined by the Department to be the substantial equivalent of a licensure qualifying or accredited program.

For a program for the training of physician assistants to be determined substantially equivalent to a licensure qualifying or accredited program, it must include:

• at least 32 semester hours of classroom work; and
• 40 weeks (1,600 clock hours) of supervised clinical training.

In addition to the professional education requirement, every applicant for registered physician assistant licensure or a limited permit must complete coursework or training appropriate to your practice regarding infection control and barrier precautions in accordance with Section 6505-b of the Education Law, including engineering and work practice controls, to prevent the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the hepatitis b virus (HBV) in the course of professional practice. Graduates from New York State licensure qualifying programs after September 1, 1993 are credited with having completed this coursework as part of their physician assistant program. All other applicants must submit an attestation of compliance with or exemption from the infection control coursework requirement (Form 1IC) within 90 days of your date of licensure. Form 1IC will be sent to you along with your license. See the list of approved providers of the infection control training. You may also obtain this information from opforms@mail.nysed.gov or by calling 518-474-3817 ext. 570. For a list of training providers approved by the Department of Health, you may contact:

New York State Department of Health
Bureau of Communicable Disease Control
P.O. Box 2051 - Empire State Plaza Station
Albany, NY 12220-0051
518-474-0925

Examination Requirements

You must pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE) that is administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). PANCE is a computer examination administered four times a year.

For more information regarding the examination, including sample questions, costs, dates, application forms, or to have scores transferred to the New York State Education Department, you may call NCCPA at 678-417-8100, visit their Web site at www.nccpa.net or write to:

National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants
12000 Findley Road
Suite 200
Duluth, GA 30097-1409.

Reasonable Testing Accommodations

For specific information about reasonable testing accommodations for the PANCE exam, contact NCCPA as described above.

Applicants Licensed in Another State

If you are or have been licensed/certified in another jurisdiction(s), you must request the licensing authority of the jurisdiction(s) to provide verification of your licensure/certification on Form 3 - Verification of Licensure/Certification in Another Jurisdiction. You must meet all requirements for licensure in New York State.

Limited Permit

A limited permit allows an individual who has satisfied all requirements for licensure as a registered physician assistant except the examination requirement to practice as a registered physician assistant under appropriate supervision while meeting the requirement. Appropriate supervision is the direct supervision of a currently registered New York State licensed physician.

A limited permit is valid for one year or until notification by the New York State Education Department of denial of your application for licensure. Your permit may be extended for one year. To request an extension of your limited permit you must submit a new Application For Limited Permit (Form 5) and a fee of $105. You may apply for a limited permit by submitting Form 5 and fee of $105 at the same time or anytime after you submit your Application for Licensure (Form 1), licensure fee of $115, and evidence of satisfactory education.