Nevada Radiologic Technologist Licensing Guide

Nevada Radiology License Overview

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

• Base licenses: Radiation Therapist; Mammographer
• Add-on authorization: CT Technologist
• Limited-permit tier: Limited-Scope X-Ray Operator (Limited License)

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

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

Nevada Radiology License Requirements

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

• National certification: confirm with the board which ARRT credential Nevada accepts, and whether it must stay current.
• Credential required: ARRT (Radiography) certification, or alternative standards prescribed by regulation of the Board.
• Scope of the base license: Use of ionizing radiation to diagnose or visualize a medical condition (NRS 653.390). The baseline diagnostic radiographer credential issued by the Nevada Radiation Control Program (DPBH).
• Verification: ARRT or direct board verification.

Nevada Radiology License Fees and Credentials

Nevada 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 Nevada does not license those modalities.

$200 personnel license (NAC 653.200), biennial. A separate $200 CT/fluoroscopy registration applies if performing those. Not online.

Nevada Radiology License Renewal and CE

• Renewal cycle: every 2 years, a license expires 2 years after the date it was issued and must be renewed on or before that date.
• Continuing education: Nevada 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.
• Mammographer CE: CE requirements and a 3-year certificate cycle are governed by NRS 457.183, distinct from the Chapter 653 2-year license cycle.

How to Get a Nevada Radiology License

In outline, applying takes four steps:

1. Confirm the credential Nevada 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 Nevada Radiation Control Program through the application portal.
4. Arrange the verification the board asks for: ARRT or direct board verification.

Common slip-ups travelers hit here: submitting unverified ARRT certification without requesting official board-to-board verification; Nevada requires verification directly from issuing state licensing board, not just proof of exam passage.

Nevada Radiology License Processing Time

Board processing time is how long the board takes once it has a complete application. Nevada does not publish a standard turnaround for radiology, so allow extra time before your start date.

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.

Nevada offers no temporary license pathway and requires full permanent licensure before work begins. Monthly board meeting cycle creates fixed processing gates. Plan significantly ahead to avoid assignment delays.

Nevada Radiology Specialty Rules

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

Radiation Therapist

Divergence: separate license. Administration of ionizing radiation for therapeutic purposes (NRS 653.380).

• Fee: $200 application, $200 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: ARRT (Radiation Therapy) certification, or alternative standards prescribed by regulation of the Board

How it differs from the general license: Radiation therapy is defined separately from radiologic imaging (NRS 653.380 vs 653.390), but one license covers both (NRS 653.510). It requires an accredited educational program and ARRT certification in radiography, nuclear medicine technology or radiation therapy (or NMTCB nuclear medicine), or alternative standards set by Board regulation.

CT Technologist

Divergence: add-on authorization. Performance of computed tomography. A person may not perform CT except as authorized by NRS 653.630 and NRS 653.620.

• Fee: $200 application
• Credential: ARRT or NMTCB Computed Tomography certification; or ARRT nuclear medicine technology or radiation therapy certification (or NMTCB nuclear medicine) plus Division-approved CT training; or other training or a credential approved by the Division; or registration with the Division while performing CT to qualify for CT certification

How it differs from the general license: CT needs more than the base license. Under NRS 653.630 a licensee may perform CT within scope only with ARRT or NMTCB CT certification; with ARRT nuclear medicine technology or radiation therapy (or NMTCB nuclear medicine) certification plus Division-approved CT training; with other training or a credential approved by the Division; or, while working toward CT certification, after registering with the Division.

Limited-Scope X-Ray Operator (Limited License)

Divergence: limited-scope tier. Restricted radiologic imaging in one or more areas: chest, extremities, spine, skull/sinus, podiatric, and bone densitometry. Holders may NOT use contrast media or perform nuclear medicine or radiation therapy.

• Fee: $200 application, $200 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: ASRT Limited X-Ray Machine Operator Curriculum + ARRT limited scope of practice in radiography exam; plus American Chiropractic Registry of Radiologic Technologists certification for spine and extremity, a podiatry hygienist license or American Society of Podiatric Medical Assistants certification for podiatric, or ISCD certification or the ARRT bone densitometry exam for bone densitometry

How it differs from the general license: A reduced-scope credential below the full radiographer license:

• It is limited to enumerated body-region categories (NRS 653.520)
• Requires only the ASRT limited curriculum and ARRT limited-scope exam rather than full JRCERT-program graduation and full ARRT registration
• Prohibits contrast
• Nuclear medicine
• Therapy

Mammographer

Divergence: separate license. Operation of a radiation machine for mammography under the cancer-control statutes, separate from the Chapter 653 radiologic-imaging scheme.

• Fee: Included application, Included renewal, every 3 years
• Credential: Certificate of authorization to operate a radiation machine for mammography (NRS 457.183), or licensure under NRS chapter 630/633
• CE: CE requirements and a 3-year certificate cycle are governed by NRS 457.183, distinct from the Chapter 653 2-year license cycle

How it differs from the general license: Mammography is carved out of the general radiologic-imaging license entirely: it is exempt from Chapter 653 (NRS 653.430) and governed by a separate certificate of authorization under NRS 457.183 with a 3-year (not 2-year) cycle. The fee is waived for those who also hold a Chapter 653 license.

MRI Technologist

Divergence: no state credential. Magnetic resonance imaging uses no ionizing radiation and is therefore outside the scope of NRS/NAC Chapter 653.

How it differs from the general license: MRI is not regulated by the Nevada Radiation Control Program because it involves no ionizing radiation; Chapter 653 governs only ionizing-radiation modalities (NRS 653.390). No state license or authorization is issued; employers typically require ARRT-MR or ARMRIT certification.

Sonographer (Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound)

Divergence: no state credential. Diagnostic medical ultrasound uses no ionizing radiation and is outside Chapter 653.

How it differs from the general license: Sonography is not licensed by the state because it does not use ionizing radiation, placing it outside Chapter 653 (NRS 653.390). No state credential is issued; employers typically require ARDMS/ARRT-S certification.

Medical Physicist

Divergence: no state credential. No Medical Physicist license is issued under Chapter 653.

How it differs from the general license: Nevada does not license Medical Physicists under the radiologic technologist scheme; no Medical-Physicist credential is established in NRS or NAC Chapter 653 (only a handful of states such as TX/FL/HI/NY license this role). A separate facility or RAM-license requirement may exist outside Chapter 653.

Specialties That Follow the General Nevada License

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

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 Nevada 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 Nevada 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.

Nevada Licensing Board and Resources

Nevada Radiation Control Program

Board Website · Application Portal

Phone: (775) 687-7550

Email: [email protected]