APMLE Part III: Dates, Fees and the States That Must Authorize You First

APMLE Part III is the clinical exam of the American Podiatric Medical Licensing Examination, formerly known as PMLexis. Parts I and II are taken in podiatric medical school. Part III is the one tied to a license, and it is the one that most often sets the calendar for a resident or a podiatrist applying in a new state, because it is offered only on a handful of dates and some states must sign off before you can register.

When is Part III offered?

The APMLE costs and schedule page lists two Part III administrations for 2027:

• May 13, 2027. Registration runs from November 11, 2026 to April 22, 2027, and scheduling opens March 12, 2027.
• December 1 to 3, 2027. Registration runs from April 23 to November 10, 2027, and scheduling opens October 1, 2027.

The National Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners (NBPME) also added an extra administration on September 2, 2026, announced on July 31, 2026 with a registration deadline of August 19, 2026. Extra sittings like that are announced on short notice, so registration windows are worth checking more than once.

The schedule carries a warning in bold: "State Board Deadlines Differ (Check with the State Board)." A state that has to approve you will have its own cutoff ahead of the NBPME deadline, and a board that meets monthly may need your file weeks earlier still.

How does registration and scheduling work?

You register in the APMLE portal with an account you create using a personal email address; the portal asks candidates not to use a school address and not to open more than one account. Your dean and, where applicable, your state board must approve the application before payment is processed. About 60 days before the exam, Meazure Learning emails a Notice to Schedule (NTS), and you use the link in it to pick a test center, date and time. Seats are limited, and the APMLE site warns that a seat may not be available within 50 miles if you wait. An appointment lasts up to five hours, four of them testing.

What does Part III cost if plans change?

As of October 2026 the fee for Part III, like Parts I and II, is $925, paid to Meazure Learning by card. The other charges on the costs page are:

• Rescheduling to another test center for the same exam date: $50
• Transferring to another exam window: $100, plus a $50 cancellation of the existing appointment
• Cancellation: $50
• Score recheck: $100

According to the APMLE FAQ, a refund is possible only if you cancel more than 28 days before your exam date. The registration fee is forfeited if you do not show up, arrive without proper identification, or arrive more than 30 minutes late and are refused. Your ID must be government-issued, current, carry a photo and signature, and match the name on your registration exactly.

Which states must authorize you before you register?

To sit Part III you must have passed Parts I and II, including both the Part II written exam and the Part II CSPE where your class year required it. You must also "receive authorization from the state board participating in the Part III program that will issue the license." The APMLE FAQ then narrows this: "The three states that require approval from their board or from their 3rd-party vendor are MA, FL, and IL. If you are not applying in one of these three states, an approval by the board is not required."

Florida

Florida's board page describes the sequence. You file the "Podiatric Physician Application for Licensure and Examination" with its fees. Once the board deems it complete, the board office issues a letter of examination eligibility; you then apply with the APMLE and receive authorization from the Department. The license issues after the board receives passing results and you have completed one year of residency. Florida also caps attempts: three, then two more after board-prescribed remediation, and none after the fifth (Fla. Stat. 461.006(2)(b)). See APMLE attempt limits by state.

Illinois

Illinois uses PM Lexis (Part III) as the written clinical competency exam in its licensing rule (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1360.40). The IDFPR application packet sends exam candidates to its testing vendor, Continental Testing Services, to register online, pay the Illinois examination fee and submit supporting documents, including the NBPME Part III registration form, by the vendor's deadline. For a podiatrist already licensed elsewhere, Illinois endorsement also rests on Part III; it is not an extra exam on top of it. More in Illinois endorsement.

Massachusetts

The APMLE FAQ lists Massachusetts among the three states that must approve candidates. The board's own approval steps were not confirmed on a primary source, so ask the board for its current process and deadline before the registration window opens.

Does every state require Part III?

Most do, but there are exceptions worth knowing before you plan around a sitting:

• Minnesota requires passing NBPME Parts I and II, plus an in-person appearance before the board (Minn. Stat. 153.16).
• Arkansas lets applicants take the Arkansas Licensing Exam "in lieu of" Part III, according to its board's licensing page; the board secretary sets the dates and deadlines.
• Kentucky accepts either its board examination or NBPME proof of passing all APMLE parts within the past ten years (KRS 311.420).
• Texas lets applicants who were licensed in another state before January 1992 request an exemption from Part III, according to TDLR's application page.
• South Dakota may waive Part III for graduates before January 1, 2001 with five continuous years of licensed practice in another state (SDCL 36-8-8).
• Tennessee waives it for reciprocity applicants whose last NBPME score is more than five years old and who practiced three years on an unencumbered license elsewhere (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1155-02-.04).

How should a resident time Part III?

Work backward from the date you need a full license. If your target state is Florida, Illinois or Massachusetts, the state's approval comes first, so the application to that board may need to go in months before the registration deadline. Florida's own page says residents must pass Part III and complete at least one year of residency before a license issues. After you pass, you send your scores to each board through Meazure Learning's Connect portal; NBPME says scores go out within two to three days of a request. See timing your first full license for the rest of the sequence.

What can be handed off, and what cannot?

You register in your own APMLE account, pay the $925 directly, and sit the exam yourself. The state side is paperwork that can be prepared for you: the Florida licensure and examination application, the Illinois packet and vendor checklist, the residency verification and the calendar of board and NBPME deadlines. A Full State Podiatry License Application ($899 per state) covers that work, and the state license index shows what each board requires.