California Radiologic Technologist Licensing Guide

California Radiology License Overview

California licenses radiology as more than a single credential. Alongside the general radiologic technologist license, it also recognizes:

• Base licenses: Radiation Therapist (Therapeutic CRT); Nuclear Medicine Technologist (Certified Technologist, Nuclear Medicine / CTNM)
• Add-on authorizations: Mammography (Mammographic Certified Radiologic Technologist); Fluoroscopy Permit (Radiologic Technologist Fluoroscopy Permit / RTF)
• Limited-permit tier: Limited Permit X-ray Technician (XT)

A few other modalities are not licensed by the state at all, rather than carrying their own California license. The specialty section below covers each.

A license you hold in another state does not transfer automatically, so you apply to California's licensing board before your first assignment there.

California Radiology License Requirements

The baseline below is the general California radiologic technologist license. The specialty section covers the modalities that differ from it.

• National certification: confirm with the board which ARRT credential California accepts, and whether it must stay current.
• Credential required: ARRT(R) radiography certification, or diploma from a CDPH-RHB-approved California radiologic technology school.
• Scope of the base license: Diagnostic radiography (including operating CT scanners) on humans for medical diagnosis.
• Verification: ARRT or direct board verification.

California Radiology License Fees and Credentials

California issues more than one radiology credential, so fees vary by what you actually do. The table below is one row per state-recognized credential.

There is no state fee line for MRI Technologist, Sonographer / Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound, and Medical Physicist, because California does not license those modalities.

$112 per category (CDPH-RHB). The fluoroscopy permit is a separate $112, and many facilities require it.

California Radiology License Renewal and CE

• Renewal cycle: every 2 years.
• Continuing education: California requires 24 hours per 2-year cycle for the general license.
• Radiation Therapist (Therapeutic CRT) CE: 24 CE credits per 2-year cycle, 4 of them in digital radiography (required for all CRTs).
• Nuclear Medicine Technologist (Certified Technologist, Nuclear Medicine / CTNM) CE: At least 5 clock hours of CE per authorized scope; 5-year renewal cycle (vs. the CRT's 2-year / 24-hour cycle).
• Mammography (Mammographic Certified Radiologic Technologist) CE: Renewed on the CRT 2-year / 24-CE cycle.
• Fluoroscopy Permit (Radiologic Technologist Fluoroscopy Permit / RTF) CE: 24 CE credits per 2-year cycle, of which 4 must be in fluoroscopy clinical radiation safety.
• Limited Permit X-ray Technician (XT) CE: 2-year renewal cycle, per-category.

How to Get a California Radiology License

In outline, applying takes four steps:

1. Confirm the credential California requires for the work you will do (the requirements above and the specialty section below).
2. Complete a board-approved program if the state requires one for your credential.
3. Apply to California Department of Public Health through the application portal.
4. Arrange the verification the board asks for: ARRT or direct board verification.

Common slip-ups travelers hit here: applicant submits ARRT verification without explicitly confirming current/active ARRT certification status; California requires proof of active certification, not lapsed or expired credentials.

California Radiology License Processing Time

Board processing time is how long the board takes once it has a complete application. In California: About 30 days. Treat this as a planning number rather than a promise.

Recommended lead time before your start date is the total runway, and it runs longer than the board's processing window. Start the application as early as you can, because your ARRT verification has to reach the board before it can act.

If you need more than one credential here, for example a base license plus an add-on authorization, they may process as separate items rather than in one pass. Do not assume you can layer the second credential on at the last minute.

California's lack of temporary licensing and sequential board review cycles create hard start-date constraints. Any delay in verification or application processing directly delays assignment start; there is no workaround.

California Radiology Specialty Rules

Below is one subsection per credential that differs from the general California license, then roll-up lines for everything else.

CT Technologist

Divergence: specialty difference. Computed tomography performed under the base Diagnostic CRT.

• Credential: Active Diagnostic CRT (ARRT(R)); ARRT post-primary CT(CT) commonly required by employers but not by the state

MRI Technologist

Divergence: no state credential. Magnetic resonance imaging; no ionizing radiation, so outside the CDPH Radiologic Health Branch's authority.

• Credential: No California credential; employers typically require ARRT(MR) certification

How it differs from the general license: California issues no MRI credential. MRI uses no ionizing radiation and therefore falls outside the Radiologic Technology Act administered by the CDPH Radiologic Health Branch; MRI competency is established through national certification (ARRT(MR)) and verified by the hiring facility, not by the state.

Radiation Therapist (Therapeutic CRT)

Divergence: separate license. Therapeutic application of radiation under medical direction.

• Fee: $112 application, $104 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: ARRT(T) radiation therapy certification, or a CDPH-RHB-approved therapeutic radiologic technology program
• CE: 24 CE credits per 2-year cycle, 4 of them in digital radiography (required for all CRTs)

How it differs from the general license: Radiation therapy is its own CRT category (Therapeutic CRT / CRT-T) rather than an extension of the diagnostic radiographer license, qualified via the ARRT(T) therapy pathway instead of ARRT(R).

Nuclear Medicine Technologist (Certified Technologist, Nuclear Medicine / CTNM)

Divergence: separate license. Nuclear medicine technology procedures, including diagnostic imaging, preparation/administration of radioactive materials, and internal radioactive material therapy.

• Fee: $228 application, $261 renewal, every 5 years
• Credential: ARRT(N) nuclear medicine certification or NMTCB certification
• CE: At least 5 clock hours of CE per authorized scope; 5-year renewal cycle (vs. the CRT's 2-year / 24-hour cycle)

How it differs from the general license: Nuclear medicine is a wholly separate state certificate (CTNM), not derived from the CRT. It carries its own higher fee schedule ($228 application / $261 renewal) and a 5-year renewal cycle instead of the CRT's 2-year cycle. Dual-mode CT/PET operation requires holding BOTH a CRT and a CTNM.

Sonographer / Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound

Divergence: no state credential. Diagnostic medical sonography; no ionizing radiation, so outside the CDPH Radiologic Health Branch's authority.

• Credential: No California credential; employers typically require ARDMS (RDMS/RDCS/RVT) certification

How it differs from the general license: California issues no sonography credential. Ultrasound uses no ionizing radiation and is not covered by the Radiologic Technology Act; competency is established through national certification (ARDMS) and verified by the hiring facility, not the state.

Mammography (Mammographic Certified Radiologic Technologist)

Divergence: add-on authorization. Mammographic radiography.

• Fee: $112 application, $104 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: Active Diagnostic CRT plus ARRT(M) mammography certification (or the CDPH-RHB mammography examination)
• CE: Renewed on the CRT 2-year / 24-CE cycle

How it differs from the general license: Unlike many states where mammography is performed under the general radiographer license, California requires a distinct Mammographic CRT certificate category layered on top of an active Diagnostic CRT, with its own per-category application and renewal fees.

Fluoroscopy Permit (Radiologic Technologist Fluoroscopy Permit / RTF)

Divergence: add-on authorization. Operating and controlling patient radiation exposure during fluoroscopic procedures.

• Fee: $112 application, $104 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: Active Diagnostic CRT plus passing the fluoroscopy examination (ARRT fluoroscopy exam exemption available for qualifying recent ARRT radiography registrants)
• CE: 24 CE credits per 2-year cycle, of which 4 must be in fluoroscopy clinical radiation safety

How it differs from the general license: Fluoroscopy is gated behind a separate state permit layered on an active Diagnostic CRT. It requires a fluoroscopy examination and adds a 4-hour fluoroscopy radiation-safety CE requirement on top of the standard CRT continuing education.

Limited Permit X-Ray Technician (XT)

Divergence: limited-scope tier. Limited radiography restricted to the specific permitted anatomical category(ies); narrower than the full Diagnostic CRT.

• Fee: $112 application, $104 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: CDPH-RHB limited-scope examination(s) for the specific category(ies); does not require a full CRT
• CE: 2-year renewal cycle, per-category

How it differs from the general license: A reduced-scope, stand-alone permit below the full Diagnostic CRT. It authorizes radiography only within specific anatomical categories (e.g., chest, extremities, bone densitometry) rather than the full diagnostic scope, and does not require ARRT(R) certification.

Medical Physicist

Divergence: no state credential. Limited to mammography medical physics and therapeutic calibration/survey physics; not a general Medical Physicist license.

• Credential: CDPH authorization in the applicable physicist category (mammography Medical Physicist, therapeutic calibration physicist, or therapeutic survey physicist) under the Radiation Control Law

How it differs from the general license: Unlike technologist certificates under the Radiologic Technology Act, Medical Physicist authorizations are issued under the separate Radiation Control Law and only for narrow roles (mammography Medical Physicist, therapeutic calibration physicist, therapeutic survey physicist). There is no general 'Medical Physicist' license; this is unrelated to the radiographer credential.

Before You Pay: Confirm Your Modality

States differ on whether a radiology modality needs its own state credential. MRI, nuclear medicine, radiation therapy, sonography, and CT can each be a separate state license in one state, a facility credential checked against your ARRT registration in the next, and nothing extra in a third.

The specialty differences we have on file for California are above. What we cannot see is your specific assignment and the site you land at. Before you submit any application fee for an advanced modality, check whether California issues a state credential for it or whether the facility handles that against your certification. We would rather you ask first than pay for something the role never required.

California Licensing Board and Resources

California Department of Public Health

Board Website · Application Portal · License Verification

Phone: (916) 327-5106

Email: [email protected]