Physician assistants in District of Columbia are licensed by the District of Columbia Department of Health, which sets its own application, fees and processing times. Every state requires current NCCPA certification and a degree from an ARC-PA accredited program; what varies is the supervision or collaboration agreement, the prescriptive authority granted, and how long the board takes. District of Columbia has not enacted the PA Licensure Compact. Even once privileges open in 2027, a separate District of Columbia license will be the only route to practicing here.
District of Columbia PA License Requirements
Current NCCPA certification — a passing PANCE score and certification in good standing. This is the single gate every state shares, and the compact will require it too.
A degree from a physician assistant program accredited by ARC-PA at the time it was conferred.
Fingerprint-based criminal background check.
A documented supervision or collaboration agreement with a physician. District of Columbia sets its own terms for what that agreement must contain, how many PAs one physician may cover, and whether experience hours reduce the requirement — District of Columbia Department of Health publishes the current form.
Verification of every other PA license you hold or have held, including any lapsed ones. Undisclosed prior licenses are among the most common causes of a stalled file.
Disclosure of any disciplinary action, in any jurisdiction, ever.
Separate state controlled-substance registration in addition to your federal DEA number. The two are not interchangeable, and the state registration is frequently the step that delays a start date.
How Much Does an District of Columbia PA License Cost?
We have not published an District of Columbia figure yet
District of Columbia Department of Health does not publish its physician assistant fee schedule anywhere we can verify it, and the third-party sites that do list one are unreliable — we found published figures off by as much as four times the real amount. Rather than repeat a number we cannot stand behind, we confirm the current fee with the board as part of the engagement.
For scale: across the states where the schedule is published, PA application fees run from $25 to $400, with renewals from $40 to $300. Yours will land in that range.
We handle the District of Columbia application end-to-end.
Eligibility screening, document prep, board follow-ups, and tracking — so you don't lose a board meeting cycle to a missing form.
View full pricingHow Long Does It Take to Get an District of Columbia PA License?
Typical Processing
Two to four months from a complete filing is common, though boards vary widely and none of them commit to a date. Very little of that is the board reading your file — it is fingerprint results, transcripts in transit, and verification of prior licenses.
Recommended Lead Time
Start at least four months before your intended start date, and get the collaborating physician named early — several states will not issue until that agreement is on file, which turns a parallel step into a blocking one.
This state is not in the compact, so this timeline is the only one available — there will be no privilege route here even after 2027.
What Working with Us Costs
Transparent, a la carte service fees. The state board and NCCPA fees listed above are paid directly to those organizations. Our concierge fee is separate and is the only thing you pay us.
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