How to Apply for California Letter (PTAL)?

www.USMLE-Forums.com

Unlike all other states, California requires a special authorization in order for medical school
graduates whether US or IMGs to practice medicine or to be enrolled in residency programs.
The authorization to practice medicine is called California License.
The authorization to be enrolled in a residency program is called Postgraduate Training
Authorization Letter (PTAL) or commonly referred to as California Letter.

Before talking about the steps on how to get the California letter it's important to note down
the contact information of the Medical Board of California (MBC). This is going to be
needed throughout the process.

California Medical Board Contact information

Email:
webmaster@mbc.ca.gov which is unlike the info@ecfmg.org they usually respond promptly
and give you courtesy.

Mailing Address:
MEDICAL BOARD OF CALIFORNIA
LICENSING PROGRAM
2005 Evergreen Street, Suite 1200
Sacramento, CA 95815

Telephones:
800 6332322 or 916 263 2382

Fax:
916 2632487

Now let's walk through the application process step by step:

First Step is the online application:

Go to http://www.mbc.ca.gov/
Click on applicants tab and in the resulting new page scroll down and click on "continue"
You'll be taken to this page
http://www.mbc.ca.gov/applicant/additional_info.html

Click on "Online Licensing Application Payment" on the right upper corner

Then click on "Professional Licensing Log-in"

Which should take you to this page
https://elicense.dca.ca.gov/iLicense/iLicense

Of course you click on the first time users link

thereafter you choose a username and password, email, mailing address, SSN (optional),
and a credit card to be charged later on.
The total amount that you have to pay is $493 broken down into $442 (Application Fee) and
$51 (Finger Print Processing Fee).

The page that you'll see when you finish the online application looks like this:

You'll later receive an email confirmation from ilicense@dcs.ca.gov and they'll say in it the
following:

***************************
You have successfully registered with the State of California Online Professional Licensing
system.

You are registered as: FirstName LastName

Your User ID is: xxx

Please keep it for your records. You will need this User ID to login into the system or to
reset your password.
***************************
Thereafter you can go to
https://elicense.dca.ca.gov/iLicense/iLicense
Log in with your username and password
print out the online receipt because you'll need this for the next steps.

Alternatively, if you don't like to pay online you can send money order or certified check or
personal check and make it payable to "Medical Board of California" and enclose it with your
application papers.

Next Step is to do the Finger Printing:

You can go to http://www.mbc.ca.gov/applicant/live_scan.pdf

and print out live scan forms (three copies)

then you can locate a live scan center here

http://ag.ca.gov/fingerprints/publications/contact.htm

or you can choose to send them a finger printing card instead if you don't reside in
California or you won't be visiting California. But in this case you have to contact them in
order they mail you the finger printing cards.

Note that usually you will be charged $25 when you go to the fingerprinting center, this is
another charge to be added to the $51 that you paid already. So your total so far is
493+25= $518

Although you completed three copies but you will send only one copy to MBC to be attached
to L1A-L1E forms. The other two copies one will go to the FBI and DOJ and the other can be
kept with you.

The Next Step is to fill out and notarize forms L1A, L1B, L1C, L1D, and L1E:

These forms can be downloaded from this page

http://www.medbd.ca.gov/applicant/ap...ernational.pdf

L1A: just answer the questions; Mention any of the exam scores that you have taken so
far. It's better you mention at least one exam though it is not mandatory.
L1B: not needed for IMGs; definitely we did not do any ACGME accredited postgraduate
training so far and we don't have a state license yet. So leave questions 14 and 15 blank,
just sign at the bottom and put your date of birth.
L1C and L1D: Leave ABMS certifications if you are applying for the PTAL and answer all
questions 17-38. (this is only required for the California license not the PTAL.
L1E: This form you have to sign in front of the Notary Public who should put his seal and
signature in addition to yours.

Now Your are considered an applicant:

Once you send the notarized L1A-L1E along with the application fees (Online Receipt if you
paid online, money order or check if you are not) and the finger printing request document
then you are considered an applicant and you should receive a notice from the MBC within
90 days.

The letter looks like this

https://www2.mbc.ca.gov/WAAS/images/...ivedLetter.jpg

In which you can see that you now have application tracking system (ATS) number.
This number is very important because you will later on be able to follow your case by
entering it in this page
https://www2.mbc.ca.gov/WAAS/

Once you get a number you will be assigned an application analyst. They have people
assigned to the first letter of your last name. For example if your last name is James then
the person in charge with the "J" letter will be in charge of your case.

Most of these clerks are friendly, supportive, and helpful. They will respond to your emails
and telephone contacts promptly and professionally.

Once you know who's your assigned clerk, keep his/her contact info handy as you will
frequently need to be in contact with him/her for various issues and most importantly to
expedite your letter should the match season starts and you don't have it yet.

Although the complete list of required documents is more than what's mentioned so far but
the above steps are enough to get you into the process.

It's recommended that you complete the above steps early in April so that you enter their
system so that later on updating your case with exam scores and med school papers get
considerably shorter time to finish and you will be able to apply to California programs in
September.

Here's a screenshot of the latest required documents:

The Next Step is to fill out and send L2, L3A, L3B, L4 and L5:

L3A and L3B and L4: these forms have to be filled when you finish your residency and you
want to apply for a California license (to practice). It's not needed when you apply for PTAL.
L6: is needed if you have attended clinical training and clerkships outside your core primary
medical school training (a big example here is Caribbean medical schools where they usually
send their students for clerkships in US)

L2 Form should be completed and signed by your medical school

L5 Form should be completed and singed by you medical school

A very important point about L5 Form:

The most common reason of IMG rejection is the number of psychiatry hours during your
core medical curriculum, make sure to send them a total of at least 80 hours of psychiatry
rotations. If your medical school curriculum did not meet this requirement then you have to
top up your application with a certified psychiatry clerkship here in the US in order to get it
through.
Another big advice regarding from L5 is to try to find a colleague from your school who has
done it before and got accepted. This way you can adjust the number of hours in lieu with
what he/she has done, of course changing the dates as appropriate if does not match yours.

The Next Step is to send them your exam scores:

for exam scores go here

http://www.mbc.ca.gov/applicant/exam_scores.html

You need to have passed both Step 1 and Step 2 CK before your are granted a California
letter. However, my advice is that you can start the application above (L1A-L1E + Finger
Printing + Fees) before you have passed these exams. This will buy you sometime, so that
then you can just update them with your exam scores which should not take a long time. So
for example start the application in February then when your exam scores are ready in July
or August you can update them with the scores and your letter would be ready in
September or October otherwise if you start the application in July-August you may not get
the letter until February or March next year jeopardizing your potential match in a California
program

The Next Step is to send them your Medical School Transcript and Degree
(Diploma):

In their instructions they mention that your medical school should send to MBC directly (not
through you) certified copies of your transcript and degree. Certified copies means that the
photocopy should be stamped (true copy of original) and sealed with the college stamp and
signed by the authorized school official.

The previous paragraph is the ideal situation. However, if you are having difficulty with your
medical school sending the transcript and the degree (diploma) then the alternative is that
you yourself send them the original documents along with translated copies (if they were
not in English). In their official instructions they don't mention that but in reality they do
accept this method as I have experienced (and several friends of mine) such a scenario with
them.
What you can do if the letter is not yet out and you started applying for the match
in ERAS?

You can scan the receipt notice that you received and send to ECFMG for scanning. This is
considered equivalent to the original letter by most California programs. However, they'll
ask you to bring the final letter when you appear for the interview. At the time of the
interview you should have completed all the requirements.

For more information visit www.usmle-forums.com