Special Faculty Permit
The Special Faculty Permit is issued for faculty from other states or countries, which do not have a California State medical license. The Medical Board of California issues a Special Faculty Permit authorizing eminent academic physicians to practice medicine within California medical schools. Pre-information concerning the Special Faculty Permit is listed below:
The permit authorized by Section 2168 of the Business and Professions Code is intended to attract gifted academic physicians to the State of California, and enhance California’s position in the international medical community.
The Special Faculty Permit authorizes the permit holder to practice medicine only within the sponsoring medical school and any affiliated institutions in which the permit holder is providing instruction as part of the medical school’s educational program, and for which the medical school has assumed direct responsibility.
The permit is valid only while holding a full-time appointment at the level of a full professor in a tenure track position or its equivalent (i.e., in-residence) in the sponsoring medical school and fulfilling the duties assigned by the dean and department chair.
The permit does not authorize practice in other medical schools or in any setting outside the sponsoring medical school and appropriate affiliated institutions. Leaving the faculty of the sponsoring medical school or switching to another California medical school invalidates the Special Faculty Permit.
If the permit holder later desires to engage in the practice of medicine outside the parameters of the sponsoring medical school, he or she must apply for and meet all of the routine requirements for the standard, unrestricted California medical license.
The Special Faculty Permit is not intended to be a pathway to full and unrestricted licensure. Faculty service rendered in a medical school while holding a Special Faculty Permit will not satisfy the postgraduate training required for full and unrestricted licensure, nor entitle the permit holder to request a waiver of any of the routine licensing examinations or other requirement.
The permit is not time-limited; however, the permit holders must renew their permit at regular biennial intervals.
To obtain a Special Faculty Permit application, please contact the DGSOM Visa and Licensing Office.
The Special Faculty Permit Review Committee reviews the applications submitted to the Board pursuant to Section 2168.1of the California Business and Professions Code and makes recommendations to the Medical Board of California relative to an applicant’s eligibility for the requested appointment.
The application deadline for the receipt, review, and determination that an application is complete and approved to proceed to a meeting has been established for each Committee meeting to ensure appropriate processing. These dates have been determined based on current staff assignments and mandatory staff furloughs. As a result of the challenges faced due to the reduced work hours, no exceptions to the deadlines will be considered. Therefore, please ensure that applications are submitted well in advance to allow for the complete process.