Mississippi Radiologic Technologist Licensing Guide

Most of the radiology family in Mississippi 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.

Nuclear Medicine Technologist

Divergence: separate license. Performs in vivo imaging and measurement procedures and in vitro non-imaging laboratory studies, prepares radiopharmaceuticals, and administers diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceutical doses under the supervision of an authorized user.

• Fee: $50 application, $50 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: ARRT Registered Nuclear Medicine Technologist and/or Nuclear Medicine Technologist Certification Board (NMTCB)

How it differs from the general license: Mississippi issues nuclear medicine technologist registration as its own MSDH registration type, distinct from the radiographer registration, and uniquely accepts NMTCB certification as an alternative to ARRT. Its scope is radiopharmaceutical-based rather than external-beam diagnostic imaging.

Radiation Therapist

Divergence: separate license. Applies x-radiation and ionizing radiation from particle accelerators, cobalt-60 units, and sealed sources to humans for therapeutic purposes, under the supervision of a licensed radiation oncologist or board-certified radiologist designated as an authorized user.

• Fee: $50 application, $50 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: ARRT Registered Radiation Therapist (ARRT (T))

How it differs from the general license: Radiation therapy is a separate MSDH registration type with a therapeutic (treatment-delivery) scope rather than diagnostic imaging. The radiographer registration does not cover therapeutic radiation, and vice versa.

Limited X-Ray Machine Operator (LXMO)

Divergence: limited-scope tier. Limited radiographic procedures on chest, abdomen, and skeletal structures only. Explicitly excludes fluoroscopy (stationary and mobile/C-arm), contrast studies, computed tomography, nuclear medicine, radiation therapy, and mammography.

• Fee: $50 application, $50 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: Board of Medical Licensure permit (not full ARRT registration); for non-radiologic-technologist personnel working under specific direction of a licensed practitioner
• CE: 12 continuing education hours per biennial renewal period (versus 24 ARRT-approved clock hours per registration term for the full MSDH radiographer registration)

How it differs from the general license: A reduced-scope permit for non-radiologic-technologists, issued by the Board of Medical Licensure rather than MSDH, restricted to chest/abdomen/skeletal radiography under a licensed practitioner's direction and excluding fluoroscopy, CT, nuclear medicine, radiation therapy, and mammography. It requires no full ARRT registration and carries a lower 12-hour CE obligation.

CT Technologist

Divergence: facility-credentialed. CT credentialing is the hiring facility's responsibility; Mississippi issues no CT registration or permit. A CT technologist who entered through radiography still holds the underlying MSDH radiologic technologist registration.

• Credential: ARRT (CT) post-primary certification, credentialed by the hiring facility

How it differs from the general license: Mississippi does not regulate CT as a separate state credential (per ASRT's states-that-regulate listing, and the modality is absent from the MSDH registration scheme). CT is credentialed by the employer against the holder's ARRT post-primary certification rather than by the state. LXMO permits explicitly exclude CT.

MRI Technologist

Divergence: no state credential. MRI uses no ionizing radiation and falls entirely outside Mississippi's medical-radiation-technology registration scheme. No Mississippi license, registration, or permit exists for MRI technologists.

• Credential: ARRT (MR) or ARMRIT, employer-set; no state credential exists

How it differs from the general license: An MRI-only technologist needs no Mississippi state credential whatsoever. The MSDH scheme governs only ionizing-radiation modalities (radiography, nuclear medicine, radiation therapy), and ASRT confirms MRI is not regulated; practice is governed by employer and national-certification standards.

Sonographer / Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound

Divergence: no state credential. Ultrasound uses no ionizing radiation and sits outside Mississippi's medical-radiation-technology scheme. The state issues no license, registration, or permit for sonographers.

• Credential: ARDMS/CCI, employer-set; no state credential exists

How it differs from the general license: Mississippi is not among the few states that license sonographers; ASRT confirms sonography is not regulated. A sonographer needs no Mississippi state credential, governed instead by national certification (ARDMS/CCI) and the employer.

Medical Physicist

Divergence: no state credential. Mississippi does not appear to issue a medical physicist personnel license within the radiology licensing landscape. The MSDH medical-radiation-technologist scheme covers only radiographer, nuclear medicine, and radiation therapist registrations; no medical physicist credential surfaced in MSDH or MSBML radiology materials.

How it differs from the general license: Mississippi is not among the small set of states (e.g., TX/FL/HI/NY) that license medical physicists, and no medical-physicist personnel license appears in the state's radiologic-technology registration scheme. Any oversight would fall under radiation-control/equipment regulation rather than a personnel license; this is a personnel-licensing negative rather than an affirmatively-confirmed statutory prohibition.

Credentialed by the facility, not the state

Mississippi does not separately license these modalities. The hiring facility credentials them against your ARRT post-primary certification, and you still need the general radiologic technologist license underneath: 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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.