Podiatry License by Endorsement: The States and Their Year Counts

"Endorsement" is the usual name for licensing a podiatrist who already holds a license in another state. Boards also call it reciprocity, comity or, in California, licensure by credentialing. What it means in practice is that the new state accepts the national exams you already passed and verifies your existing licenses instead of examining you again. What it does not mean is that the license transfers: each state issues its own license, with its own conditions, renewal cycle and scope. The state license index has the verified record for each state; here is how the routes compare.

Which states endorse without a minimum number of years?

These states look at whether your current license came from a state with substantially equivalent standards, rather than how long you have held it:

• California issues a certificate by credentialing to a podiatrist licensed in another state who passed Part III, completed a CPME-approved postgraduate program, has no discipline from any podiatric licensing authority and has an FPMB disciplinary databank report sent to the board (Bus. & Prof. Code 2488).
• Iowa's universal recognition law licenses a person in good standing in another state with a similar scope, sets no minimum years and has no Iowa residence requirement for podiatrists (Iowa Code 272C.12).
• Nevada offers an expedited license by endorsement to a podiatrist with a valid, unrestricted license who has never been disciplined, investigated or held liable for malpractice, and the board must act within 45 days of a complete file or 10 days after the fingerprint report, whichever is later (NRS 635.066, 635.0665).
• Kansas may license without examination an applicant from any state or country with substantially equal requirements (K.S.A. 65-2003(b)), and Oregon may license without a written exam but can require an oral exam by board members (ORS 677.830).
• Maine, the District of Columbia, South Dakota, Michigan and Kentucky also endorse on an equivalence test; Kentucky does so at the board's discretion (KRS 311.475), and Michigan may require an interview (MCL 333.16186).
• Louisiana licenses by reciprocity a podiatrist with a current, unrestricted license elsewhere, with Part III or a specialty board exam passed within ten years.

Where is the requirement one or two years?

• Wyoming: at least one year of licensure in a state the board deems equivalent, that grants Wyoming like privileges and whose clinical exam you passed (W.S. 33-9-111).
• Utah: at least one year of practice under a license with a similar scope, in good standing (Utah Code 58-1-302).
• Missouri: licensed at least one year in another state; the board must waive exam, education and experience requirements within six months of the application, though it may require its own law exam (RSMo 324.009).
• Colorado: one year of licensure with a substantially similar scope, or substantially equivalent credentials, proved under penalty of perjury (C.R.S. 12-20-202(3)).
• Washington: since January 1, 2026, the board waives education, training, experience and exam requirements for applicants credentialed in a substantially equivalent state for two years immediately before applying, with no lapse over 90 days (RCW 18.130.077; WAC 246-922-055).
• New Jersey: practice for at least two of the five years before applying, in a state with substantially equivalent requirements; a nonresident without a New Jersey office names an in-state agent (N.J.A.C. 13:35-3.2).
• Virginia: active practice two of the last five years, plus current ABFAS or ABPM certification and a current National Practitioner Data Bank report (18VAC85-20-141). Uncertified podiatrists use the standard route.
• Florida: the MOBILE Act requires boards to license by endorsement applicants who practiced at least two of the four years before applying and have had no discipline in the last five (Fla. Stat. 456.0145). The podiatry board's licensing page lists only the exam route, so how it applies this is unconfirmed.
• North Dakota: two years of active practice in a state that grants North Dakota like privileges, plus five years of malpractice history, and the board's page says every applicant appears in person at a board meeting (N.D.C.C. 43-05-14).

Do any states want three to five years?

• New Mexico: three consecutive years of active practice for expedited reciprocity, which issues a one-year provisional license. The rule lists Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, New Jersey, Montana, North Carolina and North Dakota among jurisdictions whose licensees do not qualify (16.10.18 NMAC).
• Vermont: endorsement after no more than three years of practice in good standing anywhere in the U.S., with two years of postgraduate training for U.S. and Canadian graduates (26 V.S.A. 372).
• Connecticut: four years of practice with a clean license elsewhere, with no transcripts, training verification or exam, according to the Department of Public Health; the fee is $565.
• North Carolina: five years of practice immediately before applying, at least three of them "in a state that grants similar reciprocity to North Carolina podiatrists" (G.S. 90-202.7).
• Massachusetts: five years of continuous practice, a license earned by exam in a state that grants Massachusetts podiatrists the same privilege, and an intent to reside and practice in Massachusetts (M.G.L. c.112, 16).
• Arizona: comity needs five of the last seven years in practice plus every Arizona requirement, including a 36-month residency (A.R.S. 32-827).
• Delaware: no minimum when the other state's standards are substantially similar, but five years of practice after licensure when they are not (24 Del. C. 510).

Where does endorsement still involve an exam or appearance?

• Minnesota: every initial requirement, including an in-person appearance before the board on laws, rules and ethics (Minn. Stat. 153.16).
• Tennessee: reciprocity applicants meet every requirement for a new license, including the open-book jurisprudence exam (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1155-02-.04, .08).
• Montana: a personal appearance before the board, which the board may waive (MCA 37-6-302).
• Illinois: endorsement requires Parts I and II, one year of approved postgraduate training and the written clinical competency exam in Rule 1360.40, which is PM Lexis (Part III), so a podiatrist who passed Part III meets it. The board may ask for an oral interview. See Illinois endorsement.

Which states offer no endorsement at all?

• New York: "Endorsement, often referred to as reciprocity, is not available in New York for the profession of podiatry." Licensed podiatrists file the full application with Parts I to III and one year of residency. See New York's full application.
• Georgia: the board's checklists offer licensure by examination and reinstatement only.
• Texas: no endorsement. A podiatrist licensed in a substantially equivalent state can get a provisional license with a Texas sponsor, and the jurisprudence exam is required (Occ. Code 202.260; 16 TAC 130.43). See the Texas provisional license.
• Rhode Island: "There shall be no reciprocity" for podiatrists from other states or countries (R.I. Gen. Laws 5-29-9).
• Oklahoma: the statute allows reciprocity, but a board rule says it shall not be granted, so out-of-state podiatrists take Part III, a jurisprudence exam and an oral exam (OAC 545:15-1-4).
• Wisconsin: initial licensure and military reciprocity only; every applicant passes APMLE Parts I to III and an open-book Wisconsin law exam. The three-year practice clause in Wis. Stat. 448.63(2) waives only the approved-school requirement.
• Maryland: no endorsement route in the podiatry title; every applicant passes the NBPME exam and the board's written exam on Maryland law (Health Occ. 16-302, 16-304).

What does every endorsement file need?

The details differ, but nearly every board asks for the same core set:

1. The application, signed by you, often sworn or notarized.
2. APMLE scores sent through Meazure Learning's Connect portal. See where scores come from now.
3. Verification of every license you hold or have held, sent by each board.
4. Residency verification from CPME or your program. See CPME residency verification.
5. An FPMB Disciplinary Action report where the board asks for one, and fingerprints where required.

Two checks belong before you file: whether your residency meets the state's length rule, and whether the state's scope covers what you do. A license by endorsement in Texas or Washington, for example, is a foot-only license under those statutes. The scope-by-state hub shows the differences.

Who does what on an endorsement application?

You sign every page that calls for your oath or notarization, appear where a board requires it and pay board fees directly. Everything else can be prepared and tracked for you, and we can file the completed, signed application where the board accepts it. Podiatrist License by Endorsement is $799 per state. States with no endorsement need a full application at $899 per state, and the Group Package covers three licenses for $2,099 per podiatrist.