​Osteopathic Physician & Surgeon

Pennsylvania Licensure Requirements

Fully licensed physicians who practice in all areas of medicine. Emphasizing a whole-person approach to treatment and care, Osteopathic Physicians (DO) are trained to listen and partner with their patients to help them get healthy and stay well.

Degree Requirement:  

Doctorate Degree (D.O.)
An applicant must hold a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and graduated from an approved osteopathic medical college.

Examination Requirement: 

2 Examinations
An applicant must receive passing scores on Parts I, II, and III of the COMLEX-USA examination with results received from the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners.  An applicant must also receive a passing score on a practical Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy (OMT) examination in osteopathic diagnosis by one of the following methods:

• Passing the COMLEX Level-2PE/Clinical Skills Examination administered by the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners
• Successfully completed an Osteopathic Board Certification examination that included a practical OMT component.
• Successfully completed a practical OMT examination as a requirement for another state license
• Passing the Pennsylvania OMT examination administered by Pearson VUE.

Experience: 

Complete Internship
Applicant must successfully complete an approved internship. The State Board will work cooperatively with the

American Osteopathic Association (AOA) under standards established by the Committee on Post-Doctoral Training of the AOA to evaluate and approve internship programs prerequisite to unrestricted licensure in Pennsylvania.

Continuing Education: 

3 Hours (for initial licensure) 

100 Hours (for renewal of license)

100 hours of continuing education required for licensure renewal. Of those 100 hours, 2 hours must be Board-approved continuing education in child abuse recognition and reporting. 

Section 9.1(a) of ABC-MAP* requires that all prescribers or dispensers, as defined in Section 3 of ABC-MAP, applying for licensure/approval complete at least 4 hours of Board-approved education consisting of 2 hours in pain management or the identification of addiction and 2 hours in the practices of prescribing or dispensing of opioids. Applicants seeking licensure/approval on or after July 1, 2017, must document, within one year from issuance of the licensure/approval, that they completed this education either as part of an initial education program, a stand-alone course from a Board-approved course provider, or a continuing education course from an approved continuing education provider.

The 4 hours of Board-approved education needs to be completed only once. 

Initial Licensing Fee: 

$185.00

Licensure Renewal Fee: 

$420.00
Biennial renewal of license.

Licensure by Act 41:

Act 41 allows for portability of out-of-state professional licensees coming to work in Pennsylvania. Act 41 does this by granting all boards and commissions within the Commonwealth the authority to endorse licensees from other states, territories or jurisdictions (with substantially equivalent licensing requirements) who are active, in good standing and without discipline against their license or criminal conviction.