New Jersey Radiologic Technologist Licensing Guide

New Jersey Radiology License Overview

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

• Base licenses: Radiation Therapist; Nuclear Medicine Technologist
• Add-on authorization: Fusion Imaging CT Technologist
• Limited-permit tier: Limited-Scope X-Ray Operator (Limited Radiography)

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

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

New Jersey Radiology License Requirements

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

• National certification: confirm with the board which ARRT credential New Jersey accepts, and whether it must stay current.
• Credential required: One of three options: (1) current ARRT certification plus a New Jersey or JRCERT-approved program (or the equivalent); (2) the State or an equivalent exam passed within the last 5 years plus an approved program completed within the last 5 years; or (3) the exam passed within the last 5 years and an approved program completed more than 5 years ago, plus documented competent work experience in another state within the last 5 years.
• Scope of the base license: Operate ionizing radiation-producing equipment for radiographic procedures; measure, position, and set technique factors/SID; assist in fluoroscopy with a physician physically in the room; administer contrast media per BME rules (NJAC 7:28-19.4(b)). General computed tomography is performed under this full diagnostic license.
• Verification: ARRT or direct board verification.

New Jersey Radiology License Fees and Credentials

New Jersey 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 New Jersey does not license those modalities.

$60 initial license. DEP, not a health board; apply by mailing the notarized application with a personal check or money order.

New Jersey Radiology License Renewal and CE

• Renewal cycle: every 2 years, prior to December 31st of odd-numbered years.
• Continuing education: New Jersey sets no state CE hours for the general license (from our records; confirm with the board).

How to Get a New Jersey Radiology License

In outline, applying takes four steps:

1. Confirm the credential New Jersey 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 New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of X-Ray Compliance through the application portal.
4. Arrange the verification the board asks for: ARRT or direct board verification.

Common slip-ups travelers hit here: failure to complete or pass the required jurisprudence/state-specific exam before submitting the endorsement application, resulting in application rejection and resubmission delay.

New Jersey Radiology License Processing Time

Board processing time is how long the board takes once it has a complete application. In New Jersey: 7-14 days. 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.

Moderate risk due to mandatory jurisprudence exam and board processing cycles. Temporary license availability mitigates risk if applicant is prepared for exam. Plan 6 weeks; 4 weeks is possible only with very fast exam completion and verification.

New Jersey Radiology Specialty Rules

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

CT Technologist

Divergence: specialty difference. General diagnostic computed tomography falls within the diagnostic radiologic technology scope of practice. The only NJ CT-specific license is 'Fusion Imaging CT Technology,' which is narrowly limited to PET/CT-SPECT/CT fusion procedures performed by nuclear medicine technologists, not general diagnostic CT.

• Credential: Active New Jersey Diagnostic Radiologic Technology license. Facilities credential CT competency (typically against ARRT post-primary CT certification); the state does not issue a separate general CT credential

MRI Technologist

Divergence: no state credential. Magnetic resonance imaging is not addressed by NJAC 7:28 (which governs ionizing radiation). No state license, permit, or certification is issued for MRI technologists.

• Credential: No New Jersey state credential. MRI uses no ionizing radiation and is outside the NJDEP radiation-protection licensing scheme; hiring facilities credential MRI technologists (commonly against ARRT MR or ARMRIT certification)

How it differs from the general license: New Jersey does not license MRI technologists at all because MRI involves no ionizing radiation and falls outside the NJDEP Radiation Protection scheme; unlike the diagnostic radiographer there is no state exam, application, or fee.

Radiation Therapist

Divergence: separate license. Distinct scope of practice (NJAC 7:28-19.4(c)): operate ionizing radiation equipment for therapy simulation and therapeutic procedures, deliver the physician-prescribed treatment dose, position immobilization/beam-modification devices, and assist in treatment planning. It does not authorize diagnostic radiography.

• Fee: $60 application, $90 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: Any of the three licensure options that apply to every license category: current ARRT certification plus a New Jersey or JRCERT-approved program (or the equivalent); the State or an equivalent exam passed within the last 5 years plus an approved program completed within the last 5 years; or the exam within the last 5 years and an approved program, plus a letter from a supervising technologist and a licensed physician attesting to your work in the last 5 years

How it differs from the general license: Radiation Therapy is its own distinct license category and scope under Subchapter 19, requiring its own ARRT therapy certification/exam and authorizing therapeutic (not diagnostic) practice. It is not folded under the diagnostic radiographer license.

Nuclear Medicine Technologist

Divergence: separate license. Practice of nuclear medicine technology under a dedicated license issued under NJAC 7:28-24.7, separate from diagnostic radiography. Governed by its own subchapter, exam, and renewal cycle.

• Fee: $60 application, $90 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: Passage within 3 years of a nuclear medicine technology exam from ARRT, NMTCB, or ASCP (or Commission-approved equivalent), plus an approved course of study; reciprocity available with 1,000 hours of practice. Administered under Subchapter 24 (separate from the diagnostic Subchapter 19)

How it differs from the general license: Nuclear medicine is licensed under a separate subchapter (NJAC 7:28-24) with its own NMTCB/ARRT(N) exam pathway and renewal cycle. It is an entirely distinct credential from the Subchapter 19 diagnostic radiographer license, not an add-on to it.

Sonographer (Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound)

Divergence: no state credential. Diagnostic medical sonography is not addressed by NJAC 7:28 and the state issues no license, permit, or certification for sonographers.

• Credential: No New Jersey state credential. Diagnostic ultrasound uses no ionizing radiation and is outside the NJDEP radiation-protection scheme; hiring facilities credential sonographers (commonly against ARDMS/ARRT(S) certification)

How it differs from the general license: New Jersey issues no credential for sonographers because ultrasound involves no ionizing radiation and is outside the NJDEP licensing scheme; there is no state exam, application, or fee, unlike the diagnostic radiographer.

Limited-Scope X-Ray Operator (Limited Radiography)

Divergence: limited-scope tier. Reduced, body-region-specific scopes (NJAC 7:28-19.4(d)-(h)): e.g., chest, dental, orthopedic (spine/extremities), podiatric (foot/ankle/distal lower leg), urologic (abdomen/pelvis). Each limited scope EXPRESSLY excludes fluoroscopy, tomography, and computed tomography (and most exclude bone densitometry).

• Fee: $60 application, $90 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: Pass the Board examination in the specific limited category and meet the education requirements of NJAC 7:28-19.6/19.7. Categories include Limited Chest (CXT), Dental, Orthopedic, Podiatric, Urologic, plus spine and abdomen variants. Dental and Fusion Imaging CT use separate application forms

How it differs from the general license: Limited licenses authorize only a single named body region or modality and statutorily exclude CT, tomography, and fluoroscopy, whereas the full diagnostic radiographer license covers all radiographic procedures plus assisted fluoroscopy.

Fusion Imaging CT Technologist

Divergence: add-on authorization. Narrowly limited to CT performed as part of fusion-imaging procedures (e.g., PET/CT, SPECT/CT): operate CT equipment, position patients, set technique factors, acquire/manipulate fusion data, and perform attenuation correction (NJAC 7:28-24.4(d)). It does NOT authorize general diagnostic CT.

• Fee: $60 application, $90 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: Applicant must already be LICENSED IN NUCLEAR MEDICINE TECHNOLOGY in New Jersey, plus be currently certified in CT by ARRT or NMTCB (or pass an approved CT exam within 5 years, or hold an equivalent out-of-state fusion CT credential). Requires 20 documented fusion-imaging CT procedures

How it differs from the general license: Unlike the diagnostic radiographer license, this is an add-on built on an active nuclear medicine technology license and confines the holder to CT done within fusion-imaging studies. It does not exist as a stand-alone or general-CT credential and is not available to diagnostic radiographers.

Medical Physicist

Divergence: no state credential. Medical Physicists are not licensed as practitioners; their role is recognized as a 'qualified Medical Physicist' under the diagnostic-equipment QA subchapter for QA-program supervision, not as a personal occupational license to practice imaging.

• Credential: No occupational practitioner license. New Jersey does not issue a state Medical-Physicist license comparable to the technologist licenses. NJAC 7:28-22.12/22.13 establishes a 'qualified Medical Physicist' certification/qualification only for supervising equipment quality-assurance programs, defined by degree plus board certification (e.g., ABR/ABMP) and experience

How it differs from the general license: New Jersey issues no occupational Medical-Physicist license like the radiographer license; only a QA-program 'qualified Medical Physicist' qualification/certification exists under NJAC 7:28-22, tied to equipment registrants rather than to a personal practice license, with its own degree/board-certification criteria.

Specialties That Follow the General New Jersey 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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey 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.

New Jersey Licensing Board and Resources

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of X-Ray Compliance

Board Website · Application Portal

Phone: (609) 984-5890