Hawaii Radiologic Technologist Licensing Guide
License Snapshot
Board Processing Time
About 2 weeks
Board turnaround on a complete application — see lead time below
Application Fee
$60
Renewal: $60
Credential
ARRT
Required national certification
Renewal
24 hours
Every 2 years
State Overview
Hawaii licenses radiology as more than a single credential. Alongside the general radiologic technologist license, it recognizes 2 separate base licenses (Radiation Therapist (Certified Radiation Therapist) and Nuclear Medicine Technologist (Certified Nuclear Medicine Technologist)).
A few other modalities are credentialed by the hiring facility or not licensed by the state at all, rather than carrying their own Hawaii license. The specialty section below covers each, including where a single-modality candidate may not be placeable.
Across radiology, ARRT certification is the national credential that anchors state licensure. A license you hold in another state does not transfer automatically, so you apply directly to Hawaii's licensing board for each assignment.
General Requirements
If you perform radiology procedures in Hawaii, the baseline below applies regardless of where you trained or which modality you work in.
- National certification: an active ARRT credential is the prerequisite the state license is built on. The state credential sits on top of ARRT, not instead of it.
- Credential required: ARRT registration in Radiography in good standing (HRS 466J-5(a)). Non-ARRT applicants must sit and pass the ARRT exam to be eligible.
- Scope of the base license: Application of x-rays to human beings for diagnostic purposes (HRS 466J-1). This is the base diagnostic radiologic technologist license, issued with an R- license number by the Radiologic Technology Board within the Dept. of Health, Indoor and Radiological Health Branch.
- Verification: ARRT or direct board verification.
Fees & Credentials
Hawaii issues more than one radiology credential, so fees vary by what you actually do. The table below is one row per state-recognized credential.
| Credential | Application | Renewal | Cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radiographer (Certified Radiographer) | $60 | $60 | Every 2 years |
| Radiation Therapist (Certified Radiation Therapist) | $60 | $60 | Every 2 years |
| Nuclear Medicine Technologist (Certified Nuclear Medicine Technologist) | $60 | $60 | Every 2 years |
There is no state fee line for MRI Technologist, Sonographer / Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound, Limited-Scope / Limited-Permit X-ray Operator, and Medical Physicist, because Hawaii does not license those modalities. Their absence from the table is the point, not an omission.
$60 first license, biennial (+$5 each additional credential). Verification must be requested by phone.
Renewal & Continuing Education
- Renewal cycle: every 2 years, on the last day of the licensee's birth month.
- Continuing education: Hawaii sets 24 hours per 2-year cycle, but maintaining an active ARRT certification satisfies the state's CE requirement. If your ARRT credential is current, you do not file separate state CE.
- Radiographer (Certified Radiographer) CE: 24 continuing-education credits acceptable to the board per biennium (HRS 466J-5.5). Licensees in good standing with the ARRT (or who met ARRT CE requirements in the preceding biennium) are deemed to have met the CE requirement.
- Radiation Therapist (Certified Radiation Therapist) CE: Same 24 CE credits per biennium (HRS 466J-5.5); ARRT good standing deemed compliant.
- Nuclear Medicine Technologist (Certified Nuclear Medicine Technologist) CE: Same 24 CE credits per biennium (HRS 466J-5.5); ARRT or NMTCB good standing deemed compliant.
Getting Licensed
Radiology licensure is ARRT-primary, so the path is shorter than the multi-step endorsement other professions run. For most candidates it is four steps:
- Hold the right ARRT credential for the work you will do (Radiography for general x-ray; the matching post-primary credential for a modality the state licenses).
- Complete a board-approved program if the state requires one for your credential.
- Apply to Hawaii Department of Health through the application portal.
- Have ARRT verify your credential to the board directly. You do not self-attest the certification.
Common slip-ups travelers hit here: submitting prior license verification without explicit permission from sending state; Hawaii Board requires applicant-initiated verification request to ARRT or prior state licensing board, not direct hospital/employer submission.
Processing & Timing
Board processing time is how long the board takes once it has a complete application. In Hawaii: About 2 weeks. Boards rarely publish a guaranteed turnaround, so 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.
Hawaii's lack of temporary licensure and sequential (non-concurrent) application processing creates hard stop: permanent license must issue before first day of work. No workarounds exist; plan accordingly.
Quick start: Hawaii is one of the states where the credential can be in hand within days of a complete application, so licensing does not have to gate a fast assignment start.
Specialty Differences
Most of the radiology family in Hawaii runs on the general license. A handful of credentials genuinely diverge, and those are the ones worth reading closely. Below is one subsection per real difference, then roll-up lines for everything else.
CT Technologist
Divergence: facility-credentialed. Computed tomography is diagnostic x-ray imaging and is captured by the radiographer scope; Hawaii issues no distinct CT credential.
- Credential: No separate Hawaii credential. Performed under the radiographer (R-) license; CT uses x-rays for diagnostic purposes and falls within the statutory definition of 'radiography' (HRS 466J-1). Employers typically require the ARRT post-primary CT certification
How it differs from the general license: Hawaii does not issue a CT-specific license or supplemental authorization. A CT technologist works under the general radiographer license, and CT-specific competency is credentialed by the hiring facility against the holder's ARRT post-primary CT certification rather than by the state board.
MRI Technologist
Divergence: no state credential. Magnetic resonance imaging uses no ionizing radiation and is outside the scope of the Radiologic Technology Board's authority.
- Credential: No Hawaii license. MRI is not regulated under HRS Chapter 466J, which governs only x-rays, ionizing radiation, and radiopharmaceuticals
How it differs from the general license: MRI uses no ionizing radiation, so it is not covered by Chapter 466J. Hawaii issues no MRI credential; MRI technologists are not licensed by the state and competency is established through ARRT (MR) or ARMRIT certification and employer credentialing.
Radiation Therapist (Certified Radiation Therapist)
Divergence: separate license. Application of ionizing radiation to human beings for therapeutic purposes (HRS 466J-1). Issued as a distinct license with a T- license number.
- Fee: $60 application, $60 renewal, every 2 years
- Credential: ARRT registration in Radiation Therapy in good standing (HRS 466J-5(a)). Non-ARRT applicants must pass the ARRT exam
- CE: Same 24 CE credits per biennium (HRS 466J-5.5); ARRT good standing deemed compliant
How it differs from the general license: Radiation therapy is its own distinct state license (T- number) with its own ARRT-Radiation-Therapy credential requirement and its own application; it is not performed under the radiographer license. The scope is therapeutic delivery of ionizing radiation rather than diagnostic x-ray imaging.
Nuclear Medicine Technologist (Certified Nuclear Medicine Technologist)
Divergence: separate license. Administration of radiopharmaceuticals and in vivo / in vitro detection and measurement of radioactivity for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes (HRS 466J-1). Issued as a distinct license with an N- license number.
- Fee: $60 application, $60 renewal, every 2 years
- Credential: NMTCB certification, or ARRT registration in Nuclear Medicine, in good standing (HRS 466J-5(b)). Board may also accept ARRT-Radiography registration with acceptable NMT clinical training/experience, or documented NMT practice/training acceptable to the board
- CE: Same 24 CE credits per biennium (HRS 466J-5.5); ARRT or NMTCB good standing deemed compliant
How it differs from the general license: Nuclear medicine is its own distinct state license (N- number) and accepts NMTCB certification as well as ARRT(N). It covers radiopharmaceutical administration and radioactivity measurement rather than diagnostic x-ray imaging, so it is not performed under the radiographer license.
Sonographer / Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound
Divergence: no state credential. Ultrasound uses no ionizing radiation and is outside the Radiologic Technology Board's jurisdiction.
- Credential: No Hawaii license. Diagnostic medical ultrasound is not within HRS Chapter 466J (no ionizing radiation, no radiopharmaceuticals)
How it differs from the general license: Sonography is unregulated by the state; Hawaii issues no sonography credential. Practice competency is established through ARDMS/ARRT(S) certification and employer credentialing rather than a state license.
Limited-Scope / Limited-Permit X-ray Operator
Divergence: no state credential. No limited-scope x-ray tier exists. To apply x-rays diagnostically in Hawaii a person must hold the full radiographer (R-) license, which requires ARRT registration.
- Credential: None. Hawaii does not issue or recognize a limited-scope / limited-permit x-ray operator license. The only reduced credential in Chapter 466J is a board-issued special temporary permit for unlicensed radiographers working in shortage areas (HRS 466J-6(b)), not a standing limited license
How it differs from the general license: Unlike many states, Hawaii has no limited-permit/limited-scope x-ray machine operator category below the full radiographer license. There is no reduced-scope credential; the board can issue only a discretionary special temporary permit in designated shortage areas.
Medical Physicist
Divergence: no state credential. Medical physics is outside the Radiologic Technology Board's authority. (Radiation-producing machine registration and radioactive-material licensing are handled separately by the DOH Radiation Control Program, but that is facility/source registration, not a personal medical-physicist license.).
- Credential: No Hawaii medical-physicist license under the radiologic technology scheme. HRS Chapter 466J does not regulate medical physicists, and ASRT lists no medical-physicist licensure for Hawaii
How it differs from the general license: Despite Hawaii sometimes being cited among states that license medical physicists, no medical-physicist personal license appears in the radiologic technology statute (HRS Chapter 466J) and ASRT lists none. Marked not_licensed under the radiologic technology scheme; any physicist oversight is via the separate Radiation Control source/facility program, not a board license.
Specialties that follow the general Hawaii license
These run under the general radiologic technologist license and need no separate state credential: Mammography.
Before you pay: confirm your modality
Within radiology, whether a modality needs its own state credential is not consistent, and it is the thing travelers most often get wrong. 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 divergences we verified for Hawaii 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, confirm with your recruiter whether Hawaii 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please note that while Fusion Medical Staffing strives to provide the most current and accurate information, we cannot guarantee the completeness or timeliness of the information provided. Requirements and processes can change frequently. Healthcare professionals are strongly encouraged to verify details directly with Hawaii Department of Health's official website.
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