Maine § 2571. - Licensure; qualifications; fees

§ 2571.. Licensure; qualifications; fees

Except as otherwise specified by this chapter, an applicant for licensure as an osteopathic physician in this State must satisfy the following requirements.   [PL 2025, c. 220, §2 (NEW).]

1.  Osteopathic education.  An applicant must graduate from an osteopathic medical school designated as accredited by the American Osteopathic Association's Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation.

2.  Postgraduate training.  An applicant who has graduated from an accredited osteopathic medical school prior to January 1, 2026 must have satisfactorily completed at least 12 months in a medical graduate educational program accredited by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education or the American Osteopathic Association. An applicant who has graduated from an accredited osteopathic medical school on or after January 1, 2026 must have satisfactorily completed at least 36 months in a graduate educational program accredited by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education or the American Osteopathic Association.

The board may not require an applicant for initial licensure or license renewal as an osteopathic physician under this chapter to obtain certification from a specialty medical board or to complete maintenance of certification as a condition of licensure. For the purposes of this subsection, "maintenance of certification" means a program that requires a physician to engage in periodic examination, self-assessment, peer evaluation or other activities to maintain certification from a specialty medical board.  

3.  Examination.  An applicant must achieve a passing score on each component of the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners' Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination of the United States, known as the COMLEX-USA examination, or other examinations designated by the board as the qualifying examination or examinations for licensure.

4.  Fees.  An applicant must pay a fee up to $600 plus the cost of the qualifying examination or examinations. Fees set in this chapter are nonrefundable application fees or administrative processing fees payable to the board at the time of application or at the time board action is requested.

5.  No cause for disciplinary action.  An applicant may not be licensed unless the board finds that the applicant is qualified and no cause exists, as set forth in section 2591‑A, that may be considered grounds for disciplinary action against a licensed physician.

6.  Special license categories.  The board may issue a license limited to the practice of administrative medicine, or any other special license, as set forth by routine technical rule of the board adopted pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.