Section 172.16 - Provisional Licenses for Medically Underserved Areas(a) The board shall issue a provisional license to an applicant for a license who: (1) is licensed in good standing with another state medical licensing entity;(2) passed an examination within the number of allowed attempts as provided under § 163.6 of this title (relating to Examinations Accepted for Licensure);(3) submits information to the board to be used for criminal background checks; and(4) is sponsored by a person licensed under the Medical Practice Act with whom the applicant may practice under unless the board waives this requirement after determination that compliance with this provision constitutes a hardship to the applicant.(b) An applicant who holds a provisional license may only practice in a location that is: (1) designated by the federal government as a health professional shortage area; or(2) designated by the federal or state government as a medically underserved area.(c) An applicant shall be determined ineligible for a provisional license if the applicant: (1) has had a medical license suspended or revoked by another state or a Canadian province;(2) holds a medical license issued by another state or a Canadian province that is subject to a restriction, disciplinary order, or probationary order; or(3) has an unacceptable criminal history.(d) A provisional license expires on the earlier of: (1) the date the board issues the provisional license holder a full Texas medical license or denies the provisional license holder's application for a license;(2) the 270th day after the date the provisional license was issued; or(3) upon determination by the Executive Director that the provisional license holder is ineligible for licensure pursuant to § 155.003(e) of the Act.(e) An individual may not be granted more than one provisional license.(f) A provisional license holder may only be granted a temporary license under § 172.11 of this title (relating to Temporary Licensure--Regular) if: (1) the provisional license holder meets all requirements for licensure under Chapter 163 of this title (relating to Licensure); or,(2) the provisional license holder has been referred to the Licensure Committee (Committee) for review, but due to a force majeure, the Committee must defer action until the Committee's next scheduled meeting, however, the provisional license is set to expire before the next Committee meeting.22 Tex. Admin. Code § 172.16
The provisions of this §172.16 adopted to be effective November 29, 2009, 34 TexReg 8532; amended to be effective September 19, 2010, 35 TexReg 8351; amended to be effective June 28, 2011, 36 TexReg 3917; amended to be effective July 4, 2012, 37 TexReg 4928