Kentucky Radiologic Technologist Licensing Guide

Kentucky Radiology License Overview

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

• Base licenses: Radiation Therapist; Nuclear Medicine Technologist
• Limited-permit tier: Limited X-ray Machine Operator (LXMO)

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

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

Kentucky Radiology License Requirements

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

• National certification: confirm with the board which ARRT credential Kentucky accepts, and whether it must stay current.
• Credential required: Graduation from an accredited radiography program + valid ARRT certificate. Licensed by the Kentucky Board of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy (KBMIRT).
• Scope of the base license: General diagnostic radiography. The KBMIRT issues this as the base 'radiation license' tier; the licensee must practice per the ASRT Practice Standards for the discipline in which they hold a credential (201 KAR 46:035).
• Verification: ARRT or direct board verification.

Kentucky Radiology License Fees and Credentials

Kentucky 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 Kentucky does not license those modalities.

$100 initial (201 KAR 46:020); $50 annual renewal.

Kentucky Radiology License Renewal and CE

• Renewal cycle: every 2 years, renewed every year, online during a window that opens 90 days before the license expires.
• Continuing education: Kentucky requires 24 hours per 2-year cycle for the general license.
• Limited X-ray Machine Operator (LXMO) CE: 12 CE units per biennium, half the 24 units required of full licensees (201 KAR 46:060).

How to Get a Kentucky Radiology License

In outline, applying takes four steps:

1. Confirm the credential Kentucky 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 Kentucky Board of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy through the application portal.
4. Arrange the verification the board asks for: ARRT or direct board verification.

Common slip-ups travelers hit here: incomplete ARRT verification submission, applicants fail to use ARRT's official verification pathway, causing the board to request direct verification from prior state and adding 1-2 weeks.

Kentucky Radiology License Processing Time

Board processing time is how long the board takes once it has a complete application. In Kentucky: Up to 2 weeks. 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.

No license = no work; plan conservatively to avoid assignment start delays.

Kentucky Radiology Specialty Rules

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

CT Technologist

Divergence: facility-credentialed. Computed tomography performed by a base licensee who holds the ARRT/NMTCB CT post-primary credential; scope governed by the ASRT CT Practice Standards adopted by reference (201 KAR 46:035).

• Credential: Active KBMIRT radiographer (or nuclear medicine) license PLUS ARRT or NMTCB post-primary certification in computed tomography. 201 KAR 46:010 defines a 'computed tomography technologist' as an individual who has obtained post-primary CT certification from ARRT or NMTCB

How it differs from the general license: Kentucky does not issue a separate CT state license. The state defines the CT technologist by reference to the ARRT/NMTCB post-primary CT certification; CT is performed under the base radiographer license and the hiring facility credentials the technologist against that national certification and the ASRT CT practice standards.

MRI Technologist

Divergence: no state credential. Magnetic resonance imaging. Not defined or licensed in KRS Chapter 311B or 201 KAR Chapter 46.

• Credential: No Kentucky state credential. MRI uses no ionizing radiation and is outside the KBMIRT licensing scheme; employers typically require ARRT(MR) or ARMRIT certification

How it differs from the general license: MRI is not regulated by the KBMIRT and requires no Kentucky license because it does not use ionizing radiation. It is not among the modalities defined in 201 KAR 46:010, and the limited-license exclusion list treats MRI as outside the radiation-licensing scheme.

Radiation Therapist

Divergence: separate license. Therapeutic application of ionizing radiation. 201 KAR 46:040 lists Radiation Therapist as one of the five primary license classifications, separate from radiographer.

• Fee: $100 application, $50 renewal, every year
• Credential: Graduation from an accredited radiation therapy program + valid ARRT certificate. Licensed by KBMIRT

How it differs from the general license: Radiation Therapist is a separate license classification under 201 KAR 46:040, not an endorsement on the radiographer license. It requires its own ARRT radiation therapy certification and accredited therapy program rather than the radiography credential.

Nuclear Medicine Technologist

Divergence: separate license. Administration of radiopharmaceuticals and nuclear medicine imaging (including PET via post-primary certification). One of the five primary license classifications under 201 KAR 46:040.

• Fee: $100 application, $50 renewal, every year
• Credential: Graduation from an accredited nuclear medicine program + valid ARRT or NMTCB certificate. Licensed by KBMIRT

How it differs from the general license: Nuclear medicine technologist is a separate license classification, not a radiographer endorsement. It is the only tier where the NMTCB examination is accepted as an alternative to ARRT, reflecting its distinct credentialing path.

Sonographer / Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound

Divergence: no state credential. Diagnostic medical ultrasound. Not defined or licensed in KRS Chapter 311B or 201 KAR Chapter 46.

• Credential: No Kentucky state credential. Diagnostic medical sonography uses no ionizing radiation and is outside the KBMIRT scheme; employers typically require ARDMS (RDMS) certification

How it differs from the general license: Sonography is not regulated by the KBMIRT and requires no Kentucky license because it uses no ionizing radiation. It is not defined among the modalities in 201 KAR 46:010 and is not one of the licensable classifications under 201 KAR 46:040.

Limited X-Ray Machine Operator (LXMO)

Divergence: limited-scope tier. Reduced-scope plain radiography only. General LXMO: thorax/lungs/ribs, abdomen, skull/facial, extremities, pectoral girdle/hips/pelvis, and spine. Podiatry LXMO: foot and ankle only. Bone densitometry LXMO: bone densitometry only. Must work under direct or indirect supervision and may NOT work at facilities performing contrast studies, fluoroscopy, mammography, CT, MRI, bedside radiography, nuclear medicine, PET, or radiation therapy.

• Fee: $100 application, $50 renewal, every year
• Credential: Completion of a formal LXMO education program approved by the board + passing the Kentucky Limited Scope Exam
• CE: 12 CE units per biennium, half the 24 units required of full licensees (201 KAR 46:060)

How it differs from the general license: The LXMO is a reduced-scope credential below the full radiographer license:

• It permits only specified plain-film exams (or podiatry/bone-density subsets)
• Requires only the ARRT limited scope exam rather than full ARRT radiography certification
• Mandates supervision
• Bars employment at facilities using advanced modalities

Medical Physicist

Divergence: no state credential. Medical/radiation physics. Outside the KBMIRT scheme.

• Credential: No Kentucky license. Medical Physicists are not licensed by the KBMIRT and are not addressed in KRS Chapter 311B or 201 KAR Chapter 46; practitioners typically hold ABR/ABMP board certification

How it differs from the general license: Kentucky does not license Medical Physicists. The credential is absent from KRS Chapter 311B and 201 KAR Chapter 46 (which cover only imaging/therapy technologists, LXMOs, and advanced imaging professionals); only a handful of states such as TX, FL, HI, and NY license Medical Physicists.

Specialties That Follow the General Kentucky License

These run under the general radiologic technologist license and need no separate state credential: Mammography.

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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky 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.

Kentucky Licensing Board and Resources

Kentucky Board of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy

Board Website · Application Portal

Phone: (502) 782-5687

Email: [email protected]