Maine Radiologic Technologist Licensing Guide

Maine Radiology License Overview

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

• Limited-permit tier: Limited Radiographer (Limited-Scope X-ray)

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

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

Maine Radiology License Requirements

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

• National certification: confirm with the board which ARRT credential Maine accepts, and whether it must stay current.
• Credential required: ARRT certification and current registration as a radiographer (or board-approved equivalent education plus board-approved exam). Applicants must be at least 18.
• Scope of the base license: Applies ionizing radiation to humans for imaging purposes under a licensed practitioner's supervision. Issued by the Maine Radiologic Technology Board of Examiners as the Radiologic Technologist (RT) license.
• Verification: Official verification of licensure from every other jurisdiction where you hold or have held a license (online lookups are acceptable).

Maine Radiology License Fees and Credentials

Maine 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 Maine does not license those modalities.

All-in $121 = $100 license + a $21 criminal-history check that is mandatory on every initial application.

Maine Radiology License Renewal and CE

• Renewal cycle: every 2 years, prior to August 31st of EVEN numbered years.
• Continuing education: Maine sets 24 hours per 2-year cycle (from our records; confirm with the board), but maintaining an active ARRT certification satisfies the state's CE requirement.
• Radiographer (Radiologic Technologist) CE: 24 hours of continuing education every two-year cycle (or maintenance of valid ARRT credentials / passing an additional exam as an alternative compliance option). Licenses renew August 31 of even years.
• Limited Radiographer (Limited-Scope X-ray) CE: 24 hours of continuing education every two-year cycle, same as the full RT license.

How to Get a Maine Radiology License

In outline, applying takes four steps:

1. Confirm the credential Maine 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 Maine Radiologic Technology Board of Examiners through the application portal.
4. Arrange the verification the board asks for: Official verification of licensure from every other jurisdiction where you hold or have held a license (online lookups are acceptable).

Common slip-ups travelers hit here: leaving out the official verification of licensure from another jurisdiction where you hold or have held a license (online lookups are acceptable).

Maine Radiology License Processing Time

Board processing time is how long the board takes once it has a complete application. In Maine: About 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.

Maine's 2-4 week processing with no temporary license option means permanent licensure must be confirmed before day one. The long recommended lead time accounts for verification delays and lack of expedite options.

Maine Radiology Specialty Rules

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

CT Technologist

Divergence: specialty difference. Computed tomography is performed under the general Radiologic Technologist (RT) license. Maine defines its licensed categories by the type of radiation used (ionizing radiation), not by imaging modality, so CT carries no separate state credential or modality endorsement.

MRI Technologist

Divergence: no state credential. Magnetic resonance imaging uses no ionizing radiation, so it falls outside the Radiologic Technology Board of Examiners' jurisdiction. Maine issues no MRI credential; employers credential MRI technologists against ARRT(MR) or ARMRIT certification.

How it differs from the general license: Unlike the base radiographer license, no Maine license is required to perform MRI. The Medical Radiation Health and Safety Act regulates only ionizing radiation and radionuclides, which excludes MRI.

Sonographer (Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound)

Divergence: no state credential. Diagnostic medical sonography uses ultrasound, which Maine's statute expressly excludes from the definition of ionizing radiation. The Radiologic Technology Board does not license sonographers; employers credential against ARDMS or ARRT(S) certification.

How it differs from the general license: Unlike the base radiographer license, no Maine license is required to perform diagnostic ultrasound. The statute states ionizing radiation does not include ultrasound, placing sonography outside the board's authority.

Limited Radiographer (Limited-Scope X-Ray)

Divergence: limited-scope tier. A reduced-scope license authorizing ionizing-radiation imaging only for limited purposes/anatomical regions, below the full radiographer license. Issued as the distinct LT license type.

• Fee: $100 application, $100 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: Completion of a board-approved course of study and clinical training (Board rules Chapter 6) and passage of the ARRT Examination for the Limited Scope of Practice in Radiology with a score of at least 75%. A Trainee Radiographer (TR) pathway precedes it
• CE: 24 hours of continuing education every two-year cycle, same as the full RT license

How it differs from the general license: Narrower scope than the full radiographer license: the holder may perform only limited-scope radiography rather than the full range of diagnostic imaging, and qualifies via the ARRT Limited Scope exam rather than full ARRT radiographer certification.

Medical Physicist

Divergence: no state credential. Maine does not license medical/radiological physicists. A 'radiation physicist' appears in statute only as a designated seat on the Radiologic Technology Board of Examiners, not as a licensed practitioner category.

How it differs from the general license: Unlike the base radiographer license, no Maine license is issued to Medical Physicists. State Medical-Physicist licensure exists only in a handful of states (e.g., TX, FL, HI, NY); Maine is not among them.

Specialties That Follow the General Maine License

These run under the general radiologic technologist license and need no separate state credential: Radiation Therapist, Nuclear Medicine Technologist, and 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 Maine 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 Maine 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.

Maine Licensing Board and Resources

Maine Radiologic Technology Board of Examiners

Board Website · Application Portal

Phone: (207) 624-8634

Email: [email protected]