Medical licence in Puerto Rico: what Act 46-2026 changed

It is the authorisation to practise as a physician-surgeon or osteopath in Puerto Rico, issued by the Medical Licensing and Discipline Board, attached to the Department of Health. Act 46-2026 did not create the licence: it adjusted the requirements, and the biggest adjustment is for someone already practising in the United States.

Anyone seeking to practise as a physician-surgeon or osteopath in Puerto Rico. The shortened document route is for those holding a current licence in a federal or state jurisdiction of the United States. The free provisional licence is for someone lawfully practising in a State or jurisdiction who comes to give free and voluntary services.

• For the regular licence: having passed the USMLE in all its parts, or another equivalent exam recognised by most United States state examining boards, or the combination of USMLE Part I and Part 2 CK with the Board’s Third Part State Exam, or any other combination the Board approves by regulation.Verified against the official source
• Satisfactorily completing at least one year of progressive postgraduate medical training at an institution recognised, accredited or validated by the Board or by a private non-profit accrediting body approved by the Board, in the United States, Canada or Puerto Rico.Verified against the official source
• For someone already holding a current licence in a US federal or state jurisdiction seeking a permanent Puerto Rico licence: pay the corresponding fee and provide a Good Standing certification, an FCVS certification, a criminal background check, and any other document the Board deems necessary to validate the veracity of what was delivered.Verified against the official source
• For the volunteer-service provisional licence: lawfully practising medicine in a State or jurisdiction, with the purpose of giving medical help or services free of charge and voluntarily for a period no longer than one year.Verified against the official source

• Good Standing certification.
• Federation Credential Verification Services (FCVS) certification.
• Criminal history, better known as a background check.
• Any other document the Board deems necessary to validate the veracity of the certifications delivered. Those four lines are the list the law writes for the route of physicians already licensed in the US; they are not the complete requirement list of Act 139-2008, which we did not read.

1. 1

   Step 1: If you already practise in the United States, the list is short

   Article 22 uses that word: for physicians holding a current licence in a federal or state jurisdiction of the United States who wish to obtain a permanent licence to practise medicine in Puerto Rico, besides paying the corresponding fee, they “will only be required” to provide a Good Standing certification, an FCVS certification, a criminal background check, and any other document the Board deems necessary to validate the veracity of the certifications delivered. The Board reserves the right to investigate your credentials before granting the licence, and you consent to that investigation.

2. 2

   Step 2: Know the exam combinations the Board accepts

   Three routes, all in the text. One: the USMLE in all its parts. Two: another equivalent recognised by most United States state examining boards for licensing their physicians. Three: the combination of USMLE Part I and Part 2 CK (Clinical Knowledge) with passing the Third Part of the State Exam offered by the Board, whose content must be equivalent to USMLE Step 3. The article also leaves open any other combination the Board approves by regulation.

3. 3

   Step 3: Count on the postgraduate training year

   Article 21 requires satisfactorily completing at least one year of progressive postgraduate medical training at an institution recognised, accredited or validated by the Board or by a private non-profit accrediting body approved by the Board, in the United States of America, Canada or Puerto Rico.

4. 4

   Step 4: If you come to serve for free, the provisional licence costs nothing

   Article 22(c) provides that the Board may grant a provisional licence to any physician who lawfully practises medicine in a State or jurisdiction, for the purpose of giving medical help or services free of charge and voluntarily in Puerto Rico for a period no longer than one year from its granting. And it adds: this licence will be granted without payment of any fee. It is the only line this law prices, and the price is zero.

5. 5

   Step 5: Documents can now arrive electronically

   Article 8 added to the Board the duty to establish mechanisms allowing documents required for obtaining licences or recertification to be sent and received by electronic means, from institutions, universities and entities authorised to offer continuing education courses. It was one of the law’s stated purposes.

6. 6

   Step 6: Expect regulations: the Board has ninety days

   Section 11 provides that the Board will conform any regulation or rule to this law within a term no longer than ninety days from its approval. Several pieces of the law expressly defer to the regulation: certifications for specialised procedures, penalties in informal investigative processes, and the requirements to be accepted to the basic-sciences revalida exam.

Before the Medical Licensing and Discipline Board, attached to the Department of Health. The law publishes no address, portal or form.

• Taking this guide as the complete requirement list: it describes what Act 46-2026 amended, not all of Act 139-2008.
• Believing the four-document short route applies to anyone: it is for those already holding a current licence in a US federal or state jurisdiction.
• Thinking the free provisional licence allows paid work: the text limits it to giving medical help or services free of charge and voluntarily, for no more than a year.
• Assuming only the full USMLE is accepted: the Board also accepts the combination of Part I and Part 2 CK with its Third Part State Exam.
• Taking the regulation for granted: several pieces of this law defer to it, and the Board had ninety days to bring it up to date.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Salud de Puerto Rico

  Salud

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov