1. (1) To qualify for a license to practice as a physician assistant an individual must meet the following requirements:

   1. (a) Provide evidence, satisfactory to the Board, of successful completion of a training program accredited by the Committee on Allied Health Education and Accreditation (CAHEA), the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA), or their successor agencies;
   2. (b) Provide evidence, satisfactory to the Board, of successful completion of the Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE) as administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA);
   3. (c) Submit an application on forms approved by the Board; and
   4. (d) Pay the required license application fee as determined by the Board.

   5. (e) Beginning October 1, 2008, submit to a criminal history background check which includes the following:

      1. 1. Provide fingerprints and execute a criminal history information release using forms provided by the Board; and
      2. 2. Pay a criminal history background check fee in an amount established in Rule 540-X-3-.09(2). Fingerprints provided by an applicant shall be submitted to the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), which is responsible for forwarding the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for a national criminal history record check. Information received by the Board pursuant to a criminal history background check shall be confidential and shall not be a public record, except that such information received and relied upon in denying the issuance of a license to practice as a physician assistant in this state may be disclosed as may be necessary to support the denial.
2. (2) Documentation submitted through the Federation Credentials Verification Service (FCVS) may be accepted to demonstrate compliance with the credentialing requirements of this rule.

Author: Patricia E. Shiner, Attorney for the Board of Medical Examiners

Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §§34-24-290, et. seq.

History: Repealed and Replaced: Filed September 21, 1998; effective October 26, 1998. Repealed and New Rule: Filed August 22, 2002; effective September 26, 2002. Repealed and New Rule: Filed September 19, 2002; effective October 24, 2002. Amended: Filed October 17, 2002; effective November 21, 2002. Amended: October 15, 2008; effective November 19, 2008. Amended: Filed November 16, 2018; effective December 31, 2018. Amended: Published January 31, 2022; effective March 7, 2022.