Overview of the Licensure Process

The Texas Medical Board uses the License Inquiry System of Texas (LIST), an online communication system, to correspond with physician licensure applicants. LIST provides detailed explanations of any items required to process an individual’s physician licensure application, and provides a message center where applicants and Board staff can exchange messages. Messages are archived in LIST for later reference.

• You submit your application online.
• LIST generates a temporary username, as well as the initial list of items required to process your application. These items are given a “Begin” date and will be listed with a red “X” in the “Item Received” column on the far left. Your Application Status (listed in the top row) will be “In Screen”.
  
  Note: Items sent in prior to the submission of your online application will not appear with a green checkmark when the initial automated list of items is generated. Pre-Licensure staff will have to check those items in when your application is screened.
• Your application is screened to determine whether the required documents that were expected with your application have arrived.
• As items are received, Pre-Licensure staff will assign each item a green checkmark, and enter a “Received” date.
  
  Note: The content of the items is not reviewed for acceptability until the application is assigned to a Licensing Analyst. While your application status remains “In Screen,” staff is merely indicating that the requested item(s) have been received.
• When the last item required by Pre-Licensure staff has been checked in and given a “Received” date, your Application Status will change from “In Screen” to “In Licensure.”
• A Licensing Analyst will be assigned to your file; however, it may take several weeks before you are contacted with a new post in the message center. Once you are contacted, the length of time it will take to complete your application will depend on the acceptability of submitted items and the complexity of the application. Some factors that can increase complexity are “Yes” answers to questions on the Professionalism, Medical Liability section of the application.
• The Licensing Analyst assigned to review your file will examine all supporting documentation. In many cases more information or documentation is needed. A new item will be generated on the Application Requirements list, even if the item has previously been submitted. If the item has previously been submitted, the new item will have notes indicating why it failed to meet standards. New required items will have a new “Begin” date and will be listed with a red “X” in the “Item Received” column on the far left. Your Licensing Analyst will post a message to the message center informing you that the Application Requirements list has been updated.
• As items are received, your Licensing Analyst will assign each item a green checkmark, and enter a “Received” date.
  
  Note: Depending on the complexity of the item, the content of the item may or may not be reviewed for acceptability when it is entered as “Received.” Therefore, it is possible that the item will be determined to be unacceptable at a later date, and the same item will be added back to the Application Requirements list with notes. A message will be posted to the message center indicating that the Application Requirements have been updated.
• Sometimes more items will be required based on information obtained from the new documentation. Licensing Analysts will add these items to the Application Requirements list and post messages to the message center when any new items are required.

• Once all items have been received, and have been reviewed and approved by the appropriate members of Board staff, your application status will change to “Application Complete.” A message informing you of this status change will be posted to the message center. A temporary license will be issued if you requested one. Regular licenses are issued on the 1st and 15th of each month, or the working day immediately following if those days fall on a weekend or holiday. Please visit our website at www.tmb.state.tx.us on the working day following issuance to obtain your license number and perform the required initial registration of your license.

Due to the high volume of calls and mail received by the Board, we ask that you not call the board to confirm receipt of mailed items but check the list of items required in your LIST account.  Depending on the volume of incoming mail, it may be several days before an analyst is able to process your mailed items.  Your consideration of this request will assist us in decreasing our processing times.

We recommend using one of the private overnight delivery services that allow tracking to submit all required items. These services require delivery to a physical address and a phone number. Delivery by a private overnight service to our physical address usually allows you to obtain immediate online confirmation of delivery from the carrier.

Items mailed through the US Postal Service (regular, certified, express, or overnight), must be addressed to our mailing address, or they will be returned to the sender. A vendor signs for and delivers these items to our agency. Even if a tracking mechanism is used, the signature confirming receipt of items delivered to the mailing address will be that of a vendor employee, making confirmation of delivery to the TMB more difficult.