About

History of the Interstate Podiatric Medical Licensure Compact

The Interstate Podiatric Medical Licensure Compact (IPMLC) is a joint initiative started in 2023 to reduce statutory and regulatory barriers to telemedicine by enhancing the portability of licensure for Podiatric Physicians (DPM).  The initiative is made possible through a partnership with the following organizations:

  • Federation of Podiatric Medical Boards (FPMB), a nonprofit association comprised of podiatric medicine licensing and disciplinary boards of the United States and its territories.
  • Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission, a nonprofit organization that license and regulate allopathic (MD) and osteopathic (DO) physicians and currently has participation of 42 jurisdictions. A MOU with the IMLCC is in place securing their support in providing technical assistance and administrative assistance for the development of the compact and its consideration by states.

About Licensure Compacts

Enhanced license portability holds significant potential in harnessing telehealth technologies to address healthcare access disparities, especially for vulnerable populations like individuals residing in rural or remote areas, those requiring specialized care (i.e., diabetes), the elderly or homebound, and patients who speak languages other than English. By facilitating easier access to specialized care and consultations, the Compact endeavors to mitigate disparities in healthcare distribution and reduce structural barriers that restrict the availability of podiatric physicians, ultimately leading to improved health outcomes, including improved limb preservation.

The IPMLC is an interstate occupational licensure compact.  Interstate compacts are constitutionally authorized, legislatively enacted, legally binding agreements among states.  Interstate licensure compacts are developed through a collaborative and transparent process to establish uniform standards for participating states and licensees.  Licensure compacts are administered by a compact commission, and interstate government agency comprised of delegates from each compact member state.  Licensure compacts also create a licensure data system to improve information sharing between compact member states, including disciplinary information to further protect the public.

As of 2024 there are 14 medical licensure compacts in existence and additional licensure compacts in development including the IPMLC.

About the Interstate Podiatric Medical Licensure Compact

The Interstate Podiatric Medical Licensure Compact (IPMLC) will facilitate the ability of licensed Podiatric Physicians to practice in states that join the compact. Rather than having to obtain an individual license in every state in which they desire to provide care, Podiatric Physicians will be able to apply for state licensure through a streamlined process. The compact provides a pathway for a licensee to obtain multiple state licenses enabling that licensee to provide podiatric medical services and other licensed activity to a patient located in a particular compact state under that state’s laws and regulations.

Moreover, akin to the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC), the IPMLC enshrines the following eight key principles:

 

  • Voluntary Participation: Both podiatric physicians and Licensing Boards have the voluntary option to participate in the Compact.
  • Additional Pathway for Licensure: Generally, Compact participation offers an alternative route for licensure without altering a state's existing Podiatric Medical Practice Act.

 

  • Patient-Centric Jurisdiction: The Compact reaffirms that podiatric medicine practice occurs where the patient is situated during the physician-patient encounter, necessitating the podiatric physician's jurisdiction under the Licensing Board where the patient is located.
  • State Board Jurisdiction: It establishes a mechanism by which any podiatric physician practicing in a state fall under the jurisdiction of that state's Licensing Board.

 

  • Retained Regulatory Authority: Regulatory authority remains with participating Licensing Boards and is not delegated to any external entity administering the Compact.

 

  • Compliance Obligation: Podiatric physicians practicing under Compact-issued licenses must adhere to the statutes, rules, and regulations of each Compact state in which they choose to practice.

 

  • Information Sharing: Licensing Boards participating in the Compact are mandated to share complaint and investigative information with one another.

 

  • License Revocation: Any or all Compact states reserve the right to revoke the license to practice podiatric medicine.

Who can use the Interstate Podiatric Medical Licensure Compact?

Podiatric Physicians who hold an active, unencumbered license in a compact member state can use the compact to practice in other participating states, provided the practitioner:

  • Has graduated from a Podiatric Medical School approved by CPME
  • Passed Parts I, II, III (PM Lexis) of the NBPME APMLE examination series
  • Completed a podiatric residency program approved by the Council of Podiatric Medical Education
  • Holds specialty Certification from a specialty board approved by the Council of Podiatric Medical Education
  • Possesses a full and unrestricted license to engage in the practice of podiatric medicine issued by a member compact state board
  • Has not had a controlled substance license or permit suspended or revoked by a state or the US DEA or has voluntarily surrendered such license after notification of investigation
  • Does not have any disqualifying criminal history.
  • Other requirements may apply. Podiatrist’s should refer to the model compact legislation for a comprehensive list of requirements.

Benefits of the Compact

Patients:

  • Expanded Access to Care: Increases availability of podiatric services, especially in rural and underserved areas, through cross-state in-person and telemedicine options.
  • Specialized Care Continuity: Supports access to coordinated, high-level care for patients with complex conditions, close to home.
  • Emergency Readiness: Enables swift deployment of podiatric clinicians during public health crises.
  • Assured Patient Safety: Guarantees care from podiatrists who meet high licensing standards.

Podiatric Physicians:

  • Streamlined Licensure: Cuts the burden, time, and cost of securing and maintaining multiple licenses.
  • Broader Practice & Job Access: Enables cross-state in-person and telemedicine care, expanding reach to new patients and markets.
  • Military Mobility Support: Eases license transitions for relocating service members and spouses.

 

States:

  • Preserves State Authority: Upholds individual state podiatric practice acts and full regulatory oversight.
  • Improves Operational Efficiency: Streamlines licensure processes through shared technology and centralized data systems and reduces costs.
  • Ensures Accountability: Compact-licensed podiatrists must comply fully with all laws and regulations in each state where they practice.

Local Hospitals

  • Stronger Workforce & Recruitment: Reduces gaps by expanding access to qualified podiatric physicians across compact states.
  • Trusted Quality Standards: Compact physicians meet strict benchmarks, ensuring high-quality care

Other Policy Considerations

  • As with the existing licensure compacts, the Interstate Podiatric Medical Licensure Compact has no impact on a state’s laws and regulations except as defined in the compact — this is not a takeover of state regulatory authority
  • Practitioners become licensed in U.S. states, territories and Washington, D.C., without any change in each state licensure requirement.
  • The Interstate Podiatric Medical Compact legislation only permits the compact commission to promulgate rules directly related to the implementation and administration of the compact. The commission does not dictate policy to the states.

Podiatry Compact Development History

The project began in 2023 and was supported in 2024 with a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of funding for the Licensure Portability Grant Program. To develop the compact legislation, the organizations used a multitier, stakeholder-informed process that prioritized transparency, collaboration, and consensus.

1. Project Research Conducted by Partner Organizations

The Federation of Podiatric Medical Boards (FPMB) researched and analyzed the scope of the proposed interstate compact, including the state regulatory landscape of Podiatric Medicine licensure laws.

2. Team  Drafting Task Force Authored Draft of the Compact Legislation

In consultation with project stakeholders, the FPMB drafting team force of member boards drafted the Interstate Podiatric Medical Licensure Compact (IPMLC), modeled after the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC) legislation.

The Interstate Medical Compact Commission Executive Director and an attorney who is an expert in Compact law supported the work of the drafting team force by providing legal and policy technical assistance. The task force produced a draft IPMLC in the Summer of 2024, conforming to standard and accepted language and structure guided by the policy provisions recommended by the (IMLC).

3. Stakeholder Review

A draft of the proposed model legislation was distributed in the Fall of 2024 to state medical boards and key stakeholders. FPMB conducted a transparent and extensive stakeholder draft review process. Feedback was solicited on the proposed draft compact from identified stakeholders, including state podiatric licensing boards and other interested organizations. FPMB organized comments and reconvened the drafting task force to analyze the feedback and decide if the issues raised warranted changes to the draft document. The draft was then revised by the drafting task force based on feedback to accommodate concerns and to address concerns raised. 

4. Compact Legislation is Finalized After Incorporating Stakeholder Feedback

Upon completing its analysis of stakeholder comments from the review process, the drafting task force delivered a final draft of the Interstate Podiatric Medical Licensure Compact in late 2024. FPMB shared the final draft legislation with stakeholders to review the proposed final draft, and enlist support.

Timeline

Interstate compacts take time to develop and implement because of the coordination necessary among state legislatures, state regulatory boards and the compact commission. The following timeline represents the Podiatric Medical Compact’s development history as well as its projected dates to become operational.

Timeline History and Projected Dates

Summer 2023; Compact project started.

Winter 2023 –Summer 2024; FPMB in consultation with a Task Force of project stakeholders drafts Interstate Podiatric Medical Licensure Compact legislation, modeled after the Interstate Medical Compact legislation.

Fall – Winter 2024; Interstate Podiatric Medical Licensure Compact legislation finalized and shared with state podiatric licensing boards and stakeholders, made available for state adoption

Spring – Summer 2025 (projected); Projected preparation for legislative passage in inaugural states, with a threshold of 4 state adoptions needed to activate the Compact Commission

Fall 2025 (projected); Continued state introduction of legislation, threshold of 4 state adoptions needed to activate the Compact Commission

Early 2026 (projected); Compact Commission to hold its inaugural meeting, developing rules and organizational structure

What's Next?

Additional states may continue to consider and enact the compact legislation.

Please feel free to reach out to Jay S. LeBow, DPM, Primary Contact, at contact@ipmlc.org or call 516.874.7652 / 516.US.IPMLC if

  • You would like further information and resources on the Podiatric Medical Compact
  • You are a bill sponsor or regulator and would like a policy expert to provide nonpartisan
    legislative testimony
  • You would like an informational presentation.

NOTICE: The Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services is providing 5 years of financial support for this Licensure Portability Grant Program project (Grant Number: 1 H1MTH53168-01-00). The contents are those of the author. They may not reflect the policies of the Department of Health and Human Services or the U.S. government.