North Dakota Radiologic Technologist Licensing Guide

North Dakota Radiology License Overview

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

• Base licenses:
  • MRI Technologist
  • Radiation Therapist
  • Nuclear Medicine Technologist
  • Sonographer (Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound)
• Add-on authorizations: CT Technologist; Mammography
• Limited-permit tier: Limited X-Ray Machine Operator (LXMO)

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

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

North Dakota Radiology License Requirements

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

• National certification: confirm with the board which ARRT credential North Dakota accepts, and whether it must stay current.
• Credential required: ARRT (or other board-recognized national certifying body) registration in radiography; accredited radiologic technology program; ARRT exam; fingerprint-based state/federal criminal history check. No state-mandated CE to retain the base license per general guidance, though NDAC 114-02-01-04 requires 5 CE hours per declared modality per 2-year cycle.
• Scope of the base license: Full-scope diagnostic radiography under NDCC 43-62 and NDAC Title 114, administered by the North Dakota Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Board (NDMIRTB).
• Verification: Upload a copy of your current license verification, printed from each state's licensing website, with the application.

North Dakota Radiology License Fees and Credentials

North Dakota 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 Medical Physicist, because North Dakota does not license those modalities.

All-in $216.25 = $25 application + $150 license + $41.25 background check.

North Dakota Radiology License Renewal and CE

• Renewal cycle: every 2 years, prior to January 1st.
• Continuing education: North Dakota sets no state CE hours for the general license (from our records; confirm with the board).
• CT Technologist CE: 5 hours of continuing education appropriate and relevant to CT per 2-year cycle, in addition to other declared modalities (NDAC 114-02-01-04).
• MRI Technologist CE: 5 hours of MRI-specific continuing education per 2-year cycle (NDAC 114-02-01-04).
• Radiation Therapist CE: 5 hours of radiation-therapy-specific continuing education per 2-year cycle (NDAC 114-02-01-04).
• Nuclear Medicine Technologist CE: 5 hours of nuclear-medicine-specific continuing education per 2-year cycle (NDAC 114-02-01-04).
• Sonographer (Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound) CE: 5 hours of sonography-specific continuing education per 2-year cycle (NDAC 114-02-01-04).
• Mammography CE: 5 hours of mammography-specific continuing education per 2-year cycle, in addition to other declared modalities (NDAC 114-02-01-04).
• Limited X-Ray Machine Operator (LXMO) CE: 12 continuing education hours per 2-year cycle for the LXMO credential.

How to Get a North Dakota Radiology License

In outline, applying takes four steps:

1. Confirm the credential North Dakota 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 North Dakota Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Board through the application portal.
4. Arrange the verification the board asks for: Upload a copy of your current license verification, printed from each state's licensing website, with the application.

Common slip-ups travelers hit here: incomplete ARRT verification documentation submitted; board requires official verification directly from ARRT or current state board, not photocopies.

North Dakota Radiology License Processing Time

Board processing time is how long the board takes once it has a complete application. In North Dakota: 2-4 weeks (depending on background results). 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.

North Dakota endorsement carries moderate risk due to 2-6 week processing and state-specific background check delays. Temporary license (valid 180 days) provides strong mitigation, allowing work to begin within 1-2 weeks while permanent license processes.

North Dakota Radiology Specialty Rules

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

CT Technologist

Divergence: add-on authorization. CT is practiced under the single NDMIRTB license as a declared modality on top of an active base license.

• Credential: Appropriate national registry in CT (e.g., ARRT post-primary CT certification) must be held to declare and practice CT as a modality
• CE: 5 hours of continuing education appropriate and relevant to CT per 2-year cycle, in addition to other declared modalities (NDAC 114-02-01-04)

How it differs from the general license: North Dakota does not issue a standalone CT license, but CT is a regulated declared modality: a technologist must hold the appropriate national CT registry (ARRT post-primary) and complete 5 CT-specific CE hours per cycle. No separate state fee applies because ND charges a single license fee covering all declared modalities.

MRI Technologist

Divergence: separate license. MRI Technologist is enumerated as a distinct licensed profession by the NDMIRTB under NDCC 43-62.

• Fee: $25 application, $150 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: Appropriate national MRI registry (e.g., ARRT-MR or ARMRIT). North Dakota offers a Conditional Licensure pathway for MRI professionals working toward registry
• CE: 5 hours of MRI-specific continuing education per 2-year cycle (NDAC 114-02-01-04)

How it differs from the general license: North Dakota explicitly lists Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologist as its own licensed profession, separate from the radiographer license, even though MRI uses no ionizing radiation. A Conditional Licensure track exists specifically for MRI professionals not yet registry-certified.

Radiation Therapist

Divergence: separate license. Radiation Therapist is enumerated as a distinct licensed profession under NDCC 43-62, administered by NDMIRTB.

• Fee: $25 application, $150 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: Appropriate national registry in radiation therapy (e.g., ARRT-T)
• CE: 5 hours of radiation-therapy-specific continuing education per 2-year cycle (NDAC 114-02-01-04)

How it differs from the general license: Radiation therapy is its own NDMIRTB license category distinct from diagnostic radiography, requiring the appropriate radiation therapy registry rather than a radiography registry.

Nuclear Medicine Technologist

Divergence: separate license. Nuclear Medicine Technologist is enumerated as a distinct licensed profession under NDCC 43-62, administered by NDMIRTB.

• Fee: $25 application, $150 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: Appropriate national registry in nuclear medicine (e.g., NMTCB or ARRT-N)
• CE: 5 hours of nuclear-medicine-specific continuing education per 2-year cycle (NDAC 114-02-01-04)

How it differs from the general license: Nuclear medicine is its own NDMIRTB license category, requiring the nuclear medicine national registry (NMTCB/ARRT-N) rather than a radiography registry.

Sonographer (Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound)

Divergence: separate license. Sonographer is enumerated as a distinct licensed profession under NDCC 43-62, administered by NDMIRTB.

• Fee: $25 application, $150 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: Appropriate national registry in sonography (e.g., ARDMS or CCI). ND offers a Conditional Licensure pathway for sonography students
• CE: 5 hours of sonography-specific continuing education per 2-year cycle (NDAC 114-02-01-04)

How it differs from the general license: Unlike many states that leave ultrasound unregulated because it uses no ionizing radiation, North Dakota licenses Sonographer as its own profession requiring the appropriate national ultrasound registry. A Conditional Licensure track exists for sonography students.

Mammography

Divergence: add-on authorization. Mammography is practiced under the single NDMIRTB license as a declared modality on top of an active base license.

• Credential: Appropriate national registry in mammography (ARRT post-primary M) must be held to declare and practice mammography as a modality. (Federal MQSA standards also apply.)
• CE: 5 hours of mammography-specific continuing education per 2-year cycle, in addition to other declared modalities (NDAC 114-02-01-04)

How it differs from the general license: North Dakota does not issue a standalone mammography license, but mammography is a regulated declared modality requiring the appropriate national mammography registry (ARRT post-primary M) and 5 mammography-specific CE hours per cycle. No separate state fee applies under ND's single-fee model.

Limited X-Ray Machine Operator (LXMO)

Divergence: limited-scope tier. Restricted scope: approx. 30 board-approved procedures (chest, extremities, spine, skull/sinuses) under general supervision; no fluoroscopy and no contrast media administration.

• Fee: $25 application, $75 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: Completion of a board-recognized structured LXMO program, documented clinical competency (97 evaluations) within 9 months, and passing the ARRT state-administered limited scope radiography exam (Core plus modules: Chest, Extremities, Skull/Sinus, Spine). Applicants typically hold an allied-health license (nurse, PA, MT, etc.). 12 CE hours per cycle
• CE: 12 continuing education hours per 2-year cycle for the LXMO credential

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

• It does not require ARRT radiographer certification
• Is limited to board-approved plain-film procedures
• Prohibits fluoroscopy and contrast
• Requires only general (not direct) supervision after competency
• Carries a lower $75 renewal fee

Medical Physicist

Divergence: no state credential. The NDMIRTB does not issue a Medical Physicist license. A Medical Physicist is required to sit as one member of the nine-member board, but Medical Physicists are not an NDMIRTB-licensed profession; they are not listed among the board's license categories.

How it differs from the general license: North Dakota does not license Medical Physicists as a profession. The role appears only as a required board seat, not as a credential the board issues. (Texas, Florida, Hawaii, and New York are the states commonly cited as licensing Medical Physicists; North Dakota is not among them.)

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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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.

North Dakota Licensing Board and Resources

North Dakota Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Board

Board Website · Application Portal

Phone: (701) 425-0861