Oregon Radiologic Technologist Licensing Guide

Oregon Radiology License Overview

Oregon 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 authorization: CT Technologist
• Limited-permit tier: Limited-Scope X-ray Machine Operator (LXMO)

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

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

Oregon Radiology License Requirements

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

• National certification: confirm with the board which ARRT credential Oregon accepts, and whether it must stay current.
• Credential required: ARRT(R) or CBRPA.
• Scope of the base license: Practice of radiography, including fluoroscopy and mammography; also non-diagnostic PET/CT and SPECT/CT. Diagnostic CT requires an added CT credential.
• Verification: ARRT or direct board verification.

Oregon Radiology License Fees and Credentials

Oregon 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 Oregon does not license those modalities.

$9/month (OAR 337-021-0030); the initial charge is usually LESS than the $216 two-year ceiling because OBMI prorates to your next birth-month renewal. A one-time fingerprint fee also applies.

Oregon Radiology License Renewal and CE

• Renewal cycle: every 2 years, on first day of birth month.
• Continuing education: Oregon requires 24 hours per 2-year cycle for the general license (from our records; confirm with the board).
• Limited-Scope X-ray Machine Operator (LXMO) CE: 18 CE hours per two years for 3 or fewer anatomical areas, or 24 hours for 4+ areas, including at least 4 hours in radiation use and safety.

How to Get an Oregon Radiology License

In outline, applying takes four steps:

1. Confirm the credential Oregon 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 Oregon Board of Medical Imaging through the application portal.
4. Arrange the verification the board asks for: ARRT or direct board verification.

Common slip-ups travelers hit here: incomplete or mismatched credentials documentation from previous state; Oregon requires official verification from ARRT or prior state board, not self-reported credentials, missing or conflicting documentation triggers formal review delay.

Oregon Radiology License Processing Time

Board processing time is how long the board takes once it has a complete application. In Oregon: About 30 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.

Oregon's lack of temporary licensing combined with 4-6 week processing and monthly board meeting cycles creates significant assignment timing risk. No start date accommodation is possible until permanent license is issued.

Oregon Radiology Specialty Rules

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

CT Technologist

Divergence: add-on authorization. Operation of CT equipment for diagnosis, including cone-beam CT. A radiography licensee may operate an Extremity CT (ECT) unit without the CT credential.

• Credential: ARRT(CT) or NMTCB(CT) credential added to an active OBMI permanent license; temporary CT license available while credentialing

How it differs from the general license: Unlike most radiation-control states, Oregon does not fold CT silently into the radiographer license; an OBMI licensee must add an ARRT or NMTCB CT credential (or hold a temporary CT license) to operate diagnostic CT. The radiography license alone only permits Extremity CT.

MRI Technologist

Divergence: separate license. Practice of magnetic resonance imaging.

• Fee: $216 application, $216 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: ARMRIT or ARRT(MR)

How it differs from the general license: Oregon is unusual in requiring a distinct state MRI license even though MRI uses no ionizing radiation; in most states MRI is not state-licensed at all. The OBMI MRI license is separate from the radiography license and requires its own ARMRIT or ARRT(MR) credential.

Radiation Therapist

Divergence: separate license. Radiation therapy and treatment-planning CT.

• Fee: $216 application, $216 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: ARRT(T)

How it differs from the general license: Radiation therapy is its own OBMI permanent license, separate from radiography, and requires the ARRT(T) credential. It is one of the five named OBMI modalities.

Nuclear Medicine Technologist

Divergence: separate license. Nuclear medicine, including diagnostic CT, PET/CT, SPECT/CT and hybrid scanners (merged-technology rules apply).

• Fee: $216 application, $216 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: NMTCB or ARRT(N)

How it differs from the general license: Nuclear medicine is its own OBMI permanent license, separate from radiography, requiring NMTCB or ARRT(N) credentialing. For hybrid PET/CT and SPECT/CT, OAR 337-010-0011 imposes merged-technology operator requirements.

Sonographer (Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound)

Divergence: separate license. General sonography, echocardiography, and vascular ultrasound.

• Fee: $216 application, $216 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: ARDMS, ARRT, or CCI

How it differs from the general license: Oregon is one of the few states that licenses sonographers at all (no ionizing radiation is involved). The OBMI sonography license is separate from radiography and accepts ARDMS, ARRT, or CCI credentials.

Limited-Scope X-Ray Machine Operator (LXMO)

Divergence: limited-scope tier. Radiographic procedures limited to specific anatomical categories under supervision: skull and sinuses, spine, chest, extremities, podiatric, and bone densitometry.

• Fee: $216 application, $216 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: OBMI-recognized limited x-ray course plus passing the ARRT Limited Scope Examination (70%+)
• CE: 18 CE hours per two years for 3 or fewer anatomical areas, or 24 hours for 4+ areas, including at least 4 hours in radiation use and safety

How it differs from the general license: A reduced-scope permit below the full radiography license. The holder may only image the specific anatomical regions they have trained and tested into (under supervision), versus the unrestricted scope of a full radiographer license.

Medical Physicist

Divergence: no state credential.

How it differs from the general license: Oregon does not license individual Medical Physicists through OBMI. The five OBMI modalities (radiography, radiation therapy, sonography, nuclear medicine, MRI) do not include medical physics, and Oregon Health Authority Radiation Protection Services regulates radiation-machine registration rather than individual physicist licensure.

Specialties That Follow the General Oregon 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 Oregon 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 Oregon 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.

Oregon Licensing Board and Resources

Oregon Board of Medical Imaging

Board Website · Application Portal · License Verification

Phone: 971-673-0215

Email: [email protected]