Kentucky itemizes its PA fees in 201 KAR 9:084: $100 to apply, $150 biennial renewal, $50 for a temporary license, $50 to convert it, $150 to reactivate from inactive, and a $50 late penalty. Most applicants pay two of those. The rest price the awkward situations.
Kentucky publishes an unusually complete fee schedule, and reading all of it tells you something the headline number does not.
What most people pay
$100 to apply. One hundred and fifty every two years to renew. That is the entire cost of an ordinary Kentucky license, and it is unremarkable — squarely mid-range nationally.
If nothing about your situation is complicated, stop reading. Those are your numbers.
What the other line items price
Temporary licensure at $50, with a further $50 to convert it to a full license. That is a $100 to start working early, which is the same decision Indiana prices at $50 and many states do not offer at all.
Reactivation from inactive at $150. Late renewal penalty at $50. Each of these prices a specific administrative failure or a specific piece of flexibility.
Why the itemization is useful
A state that publishes only "application fee: $100" leaves you guessing about everything else. Kentucky tells you in advance what a lapse costs, what going inactive costs to reverse, and what a temporary bridge costs.
That lets you make decisions with real numbers. Taking a year out? Inactive status plus $150 to come back is cheaper and faster than a lapse. Starting a job before the license lands? A $100, decided in advance rather than discovered mid-crisis.
The temporary-to-full conversion is the interesting one
Most states either issue a temporary permit that simply expires when the full license arrives, or do not offer one. Kentucky charges separately for the conversion, which means the bridge is a two-step transaction and both steps have to be actively completed.
The failure mode is obvious once stated: a PA who buys the temporary, starts work, and does not follow through on the conversion. The temporary expires, and the practice suddenly has an unlicensed clinician.
Kentucky is a compact member
Which changes what a $100 Kentucky application is worth. A member-state license supports privileges into every other member state from 2027, so it does work well beyond Kentucky.
Set against Ohio at $400 or North Carolina at $325, Kentucky is one of the better-value entries into the compact — cheaper than most, fully itemized, and in a state with substantial rural health demand.
Fees are set by rule and revised without much notice. The amount you owe is the one in force when the board receives your application.
Common questions
- How much is a Kentucky PA license?
- $100 to apply and $150 for biennial renewal, under 201 KAR 9:084. Temporary licensure is $50, with another $50 to convert it to a full license.
- What is a Kentucky temporary PA license for?
- Starting work before the full license issues. It costs $50, and converting it to a full license costs another $50 — so the bridge costs $100 in total.
- What does it cost to reactivate an inactive Kentucky license?
- $150, the same as a renewal. Letting a license go inactive is not free to reverse, though it is far cheaper than reinstating a fully lapsed one.
- Is Kentucky in the PA compact?
- Yes. Kentucky is a member state, so a Kentucky license will support privileges in other member states once applications open.
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