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PTAL - California Letter 10/19/16, 16(42

PTAL - California Letter


The Postgraduate Training Authorization Letter (PTAL) or California Letter is a document that
allows International Medical Graduates (IMGs) to start their training in an IMG friendly
residency program in California. Applying for licensure in California in the future is the same
process as PTAL. Beside the PTAL, you are required to know which programs will accept your
application as an IMG. You can find different specialties in separate lists at www.imgguide.com

Combined Med-Peds Family Medicine Internal Medicine

Observerships and Externships Obstetrics & Gynecology Psychiatry

Followers

PTAL - California Letter STEP BY STEP Followers (7)

California Letter or PTAL, what is PTAL, how to apply?

Postgraduate Training Authorization Letter (PTAL) as commonly referred to the


California Letter for residency or if applying later after residency to jobs in Cali,
then it is California License ( same process). Follow

Applying to any residency program or fellowship in California requires you to add


the PTAL to your 3 LORs in the MyERAS to be eligible for interviews and hence to be 3
ranked in the NRMP system by program directors.

How long it takes to process or issue a PTAL? This will vary depending on how fast Facebook USMLE Forum

your medical school respond in the middle of the thing but the extreme average is 3 Usmle Residency ApplicantGuide
month to 1 year.

Many of you don't apply to California programs just for one reason, you think getting
a PTAL is difficult or impossible, no it is not, it needs some work from your side (and
your medical school as well) but trust me if you follow the guidelines below you will
get it. California has many IMG Friendly residency programs (Click to see more
details) that are thirsty to invite you for interviews because they lack applicants,
indeed. Many of the people who we help to match in California residencies every
year tell us that programs there don't have much applicants as they are told by their
PDs in comparison to other IMG friendly states. If you are an AMG and want to know
which program you can apply based on your criteria then take a look in this site Promote Your Page Too
where you can also find interview questions www.matchadoc.com

So, What's crazy about Cali License?

The Postgraduate Training Authorization Letter or the PTAL as known as California


Letter you need it to start a residency in california. It should be sent to ERAS as part

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PTAL - California Letter 10/19/16, 16(42

of your application where it will stand instead of one of the 4 LORs you can send to
each program. If you couldn't obtain at time of application, then you can send the
"status report on the PTAL" generated for you by the Medical Board to use it
temporary instead of PTAL.

Before starting my explanation, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to
direct it to the Medical Board where they are very welling to help you in any step of
the procedure:

By email address:

webmaster@mbc.ca.gov

By mailing address:

MEDICAL BOARD OF CALIFORNIA


LICENSING PROGRAM
2005 Evergreen Street, Suite 1200
Sacramento, CA 95815

By direct phone numbers:

800 633 2322


916 263 2382

By fax number:

916 2632487

How to get the PTAL?


PTAL made easy Applicant Guide!!

Before you start the steps below, make sure your medical school is listed in their
recognized list:

http://www.mbc.ca.gov/applicant/schools_recognized.html

Step 1

-Go to the MBC website http://www.mbc.ca.gov/

-then in the top middle of the Medical Board of California web site home page you
will find the "Applicants" tab which will take you to
http://www.mbc.ca.gov/applicant/Index.html

-(so as first time user don't click on "Check My Application")

- Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on "Continue" which will take you
to this page http://www.mbc.ca.gov/applicant/additional_info.html

-then on the right upper part of the page click on the "Online Licensing Application
Payment" button it will take you to "Professional Licensing Login" page
https://elicense.dca.ca.gov/iLicense/iLicense where you will be either asked to
upgrade your browser to be compatible with the application process or will start
immediatly applying as a new user where you will creat a username and password.

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PTAL - California Letter 10/19/16, 16(42

-Follow the steps to complete your personal Information and do your payment
[493$, non refundable fee, $442 (Application Fee) and $51 (Finger Print Processing
Fee)], you will need your email and mailing address, date of birth, credit card and
Social Security Number (SSN). Wait for the confirmation which you have to print it
out for the Medical Board of California communications. Keep copies of it for your
personal records. Alternatively, you can pay by sending money order, certified check
or personal check and make it payable to "Medical Board of California" and enclose
it with your application papers (however ApplicantGuide highly recommend doing
this step online).

-Your Username and Password will be sent to your email which you will use it again
to login and print your online recipt from
https://elicense.dca.ca.gov/iLicense/iLicense as you will need to send it later with
your application or other communications if needed.

Step 2

Fingerprints

On the same above mentioned link there are two options "Live Scan Form" and
"Live Scan Locations", if you live in California print the first form and fill it (it will
generate 3 copies) and go to one of the locations present in the second mentioned
link "Live Scan Locations". There they will do the three forms for you, one you will
mail it back to the board, one they will mail it to the FBI and DOJ and one you will
keep it with you.

If you don't live in California, either take an appointment and fly there, or there is
another option also mentioned inside the "Live Scan Form" called the fingerprints
cards, instructions are also available there. In the other option which is also easy to
do, the Board will mail to you two copies of the fingerprints cards (you have to
request them by the above email address I mentioned initially) which you have to
take it to any certified fingerprints service or to any police station that provide this
service in the area where you live and get it done then mail them back to the
board.

STEP 3
Now we come to the PTAL application itself, it consists of forms L1A through L1E (in
addition to the other forms L2, L3, L4, L5 and L6 as needed, see below which is
applicable to you).

So, on the "Applicants" page you will find a link on the left "International Medical
Graduates". Click on it and it will take you to the PDF application (which contain
the forms to be filled as discussed below).

You need to notarize L1E form.


You will need a recent 2" x 3" photo of your head and shoulders.

After finihing and sending the first 3 steps, the Medical Board of California should
contact you in no more than 90 days to inform you that they received your initial
application, however you have to finish all the steps to get the PTAL.

STEP 4
Go to the Federation of State Medical Boards website, specifically to the transcripts
request page, http://www.fsmb.org/ebahr.html . Click "Begin the online
transcript request". Follow the instructions and pay $50 dollars. Select California
Medical Board. Remember you will only do this step when you already have passed

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PTAL - California Letter 10/19/16, 16(42

Step 1 and Step 2 (including CK and CS), otherwise you will need to pay again for
any pending results.

NB: If you are in residency or post-residency and are applying to jobs in Cali we
recommend you also apply to the FCVS and establish an account with them because
they will send many of the documents required directly to the Cali Board (from your
medical school or from ECFMG) and this will save you a lot of time. See this link
which documents FCVS can help you to obtain without causing any headaches for
you: http://www.fsmb.org/pdf/FCVS_calif_checklist.pdf

STEP 5
Documents your medical school has to send (fill them, except for L5 form they have
to fill it):

1.- Form L2

Complete your personal data (name, SSN, DOB) at the top of the form.
Submit this form to your medical school for completion of all the information.
The medical school official must affix his/her original signature and the seal of the
medical school.
This form must be mailed directly from the school.

NB: L3A,L3B and L4: these forms have to be filled when you finish your residency
and you want to apply for a California license (to practice). It's not needed when
you apply for PTAL.
L6: is needed if you have attended clinical training and clerkships outside your core
primary medical school training (for example Caribbean medical schools where they
usually send their students for clerkships in US)

2.- Official Medical school Transcript

An original official medical school transcript must have the following:


Prepared on university letterhead.
Affixed with the signature of the dean/registrar.
The medical school seal.
Document all of the basic science and clinical courses completed during the
medical curriculum.
A transcript will need to be provided directly from each institution of attendance
and submitted directly to the Medical Board of California.
If prepared in language other than English will need to be accompanied by an
original, official translation.
This form must be mailed directly from the school.

3.- Certified copy of medical degree

Submitted DIRECTLY from the medical school.


To be acceptable shall contain:
A statement on the reverse side of the copy indicating that it is a true copy of the
original degree.
An original signature of the dean or registrar immediately following the statement
verifying authenticity of the copy.
An official medical school seal affixed to the copy.
If prepared in language other than English will need to be accompanied by an
original, official translation.
This form must be mailed directly from the school.

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4.- Form L5

You have to submit the Form L5 to your medical school for completion of all the
information.
You may print or copy as many L5 forms as necessary to provide a complete
breakdown of your undergraduate clinical training.
Include each and all clinical clerkships.
Your medical school official must affix his/her original signature and the seal of the
medical school.
Your medical School has to send the forms back to the Medical Board of California.

Some international schools complete their family medicine clerkships (rotations)


within community medicine clerkship. If this is the case with your school, you must
attach a letter from your medical school stating this. The document must state your
name, institution name with proper letterhead, and the amount of hours completed
in family medicine. This should be signed, sealed, and mailed to the MBC,
preferably with forms L2 and L5.
Tip: finding a colleague from your school who has completed the requirement for a
PTAL can make this step easier.
If your medical school curriculum does not meet the family medicine or psychiatry
clerkships, you must find ACGME certified clerkships in the U.S. to complete them.

NB:If you have done any rotations outside of your main medical college teaching
hospital you need to fill out form L6. Otherwise it is not needed. Forms L3 and L4
are not required for the PTAL. They are used when you apply for a Licence.

Rotations required: Minimum of 40 weeks of undergraduate clinical rotations plus:


minimum of 8 weeks in surgery, 8 weeks in medicine, 6 weeks in pediatrics, 6 weeks
obgyn, 4 weeks in family medicine (or community medicine) and 4 weeks in
psychiatry. You will find this information also in the PDF application you will get
form the links above. This means the L5 forms the medical school will send
should document minimum of 72 weeks of clinical rotations as the above
breakdown outlined.

Sample on how to fill the L5 form of the PTAL:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3_nt4WP8LDPYUczeFNoTnVQOEE/edit?
usp=sharing

STEP 6
Sending the PTAL to ECFMG/ERAS as a part of the application for the match, the
following is from the ECFMG website:
Postgraduate Training Authorization Letter (PTAL) or California Letter
If you apply to programs in California, you must submit a Postgraduate Training
Authorization Letter (PTAL) issued by the Medical Board of California with your
residency applications. The PTAL was known formerly as the California Applicant
Status Letter and may also be referred to simply as the California Letter.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Medical Board of California will require several months to
issue the PTAL. You should contact the Medical Board of California for information
and apply for the PTAL well in advance of program deadlines.

You must include the PTAL as one of your LoRs in your applications to programs in
California. As a result, you can assign up to three LoRs and the PTAL to any program
in California. List the letter as one of your LoRs by entering California Letter
instead of a letter writers name, and checking the box that indicates This is a

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California Applicant Status Letter. Then send to ERAS Support Services a copy of
the letter, identified with your AAMC Identification Number and accompanied by a
completed DSF.

If you do not yet have your PTAL, you need to let programs in California know that
you are working to obtain one. To do this, list the letter as one of your LoRs, as
described above, and submit a temporary document, such as the receipt issued by
the Medical Board of California or the Originals Returned letter that accompanied
your returned originals, with a completed DSF. When you receive the final PTAL,
send a copy to ERAS Support Services at ECFMG with a completed DSF requesting
that it replace the temporary document.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please list California Letter only once in MyERAS. Do not create
a second letter entry for your final letter. There should be only one slot designated
for the California Letter.

Obtaining a PTAL (California Letter)

Please contact:

Medical Board of California


2005 Evergreen Street, Suite 1200
Sacramento, CA 95815
Tel: (916) 263-2382

Information and application materials are also available by visiting


www.medbd.ca.gov or sending e-mail to webmaster@mbc.ca.gov.

How to renew a PTAL:

1. No fees to renew (check for any changes in the CA board website).

2. You need to mail L1A-L1E forms again to CA board after being notarized.

3. PTAL needs to be renewed every year this way until you get the license (early 3rd
year). The deadline will be the date PTAL is issued.

4. If you matched this year, send the registration form ASAP to CA board. This form
was mailed to you with the PTAL. IF you cannot find it, go to CA board website to
download.

5. Always call your agent to ask. There is the number and name of the person's who
takes care of your file at the end of the PTAL.

Do renew it even you matched, because you need it to get licensed or apply for
fellowship later in CA.

How to get SSN, please follow these two links


http://www.ssa.gov/ssnumber/
http://www.ssa.gov/ssnvisa/ff_gov_links.htm

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For more material and IMG Friendly programs www.applicantguide.com

If you have any questions regarding USMLE, ERAS, Observerships, NRMP match and
SOAP contact the applicantguide team at applicantguide@yahoo.com

NB: we are not affiliated to California board by any means. We are an independent
bloggers helping IMGs with their residency seeking. This blog is to help IMGs getting
California letter for residency.

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