Section 4730.14 | Renewing license.
(A) A license to practice as a physician assistant shall expire biennially and may be renewed in accordance with this section. A person seeking to renew a license to practice as a physician assistant shall, on or before the thirty-first day of January of each even-numbered year, apply for renewal of the license. The state medical board shall provide renewal notices at least one month prior to the expiration date.
Applications shall be submitted to the board in a manner prescribed by the board. Each application shall be accompanied by a biennial renewal fee of two hundred dollars. The board shall deposit the fees in accordance with section 4731.24 of the Revised Code.
The applicant shall report any criminal offense that constitutes grounds for refusing to issue a license to practice under section 4730.25 of the Revised Code to which the applicant has pleaded guilty, of which the applicant has been found guilty, or for which the applicant has been found eligible for intervention in lieu of conviction, since last signing an application for a license to practice as a physician assistant.
(B) To be eligible for renewal of a license, an applicant is subject to all of the following:
(1) The applicant must certify to the board that the applicant has maintained certification by the national commission on certification of physician assistants or a successor organization that is recognized by the board by meeting the standards to hold current certification from the commission or its successor, including completion of continuing medical education requirements and passing periodic recertification examinations;
(2) Except as provided in division (F) of this section and section 5903.12 of the Revised Code, the applicant must certify to the board that the applicant has completed during the current licensure period not less than one hundred hours of continuing medical education acceptable to the board.
(3) The applicant must comply with the renewal eligibility requirements established under section 4730.49 of the Revised Code that pertain to the applicant.
(C) The board shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code specifying the types of continuing medical education that must be completed to fulfill the board's requirements under division (B)(2) of this section. Except when additional continuing medical education is required, as specified in section 4730.49 of the Revised Code, the board shall not adopt rules that require a physician assistant to complete in any licensure period more than one hundred hours of continuing medical education acceptable to the board. In fulfilling the board's requirements, a physician assistant may use continuing medical education courses or programs completed to maintain certification by the national commission on certification of physician assistants or a successor organization that is recognized by the board if the standards for acceptable courses and programs of the commission or its successor are at least equivalent to the standards established by the board.
(D) If an applicant submits a complete renewal application and qualifies for renewal pursuant to division (B) of this section, the board shall issue to the applicant a renewed license to practice as a physician assistant.
(E) The board may require a random sample of physician assistants to submit materials documenting certification by the national commission on certification of physician assistants or a successor organization that is recognized by the board and completion of the required number of hours of continuing medical education.
(F) The board shall provide for pro rata reductions by month of the number of hours of continuing education that must be completed for individuals who are in their first licensure period, who have been disabled due to illness or accident, or who have been absent from the country. The board shall adopt rules, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, as necessary to implement this division.
(G)(1) A license to practice that is not renewed on or before its expiration date is automatically suspended on its expiration date. Continued practice after suspension of the license shall be considered as practicing in violation of division (A) of section 4730.02 of the Revised Code.
(2) If a license has been suspended pursuant to division (G)(1) of this section for two years or less, it may be reinstated. The board shall reinstate a license suspended for failure to renew upon an applicant's submission of a renewal application, the biennial renewal fee, and any applicable monetary penalty.
If a license has been suspended pursuant to division (G)(1) of this section for more than two years, it may be restored. In accordance with section 4730.28 of the Revised Code, the board may restore a license suspended for failure to renew upon an applicant's submission of a restoration application, the biennial renewal fee, and any applicable monetary penalty and compliance with sections 4776.01 to 4776.04 of the Revised Code. The board shall not restore to an applicant a license to practice as a physician assistant unless the board, in its discretion, decides that the results of the criminal records check do not make the applicant ineligible for a license issued pursuant to section 4730.12 of the Revised Code.
The penalty for reinstatement shall be fifty dollars and the penalty for restoration shall be one hundred dollars. The board shall deposit penalties in accordance with section 4731.24 of the Revised Code.
(H) If an individual certifies that the individual has completed the number of hours and type of continuing medical education required for renewal or reinstatement of a license to practice as a physician assistant, and the board finds through a random sample conducted under division (E) of this section or through any other means that the individual did not complete the requisite continuing medical education, the board may impose a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars.
A civil penalty imposed under this division may be in addition to or in lieu of any other action the board may take under section 4730.25 of the Revised Code. The board shall deposit civil penalties in accordance with section 4731.24 of the Revised Code. The board shall not conduct an adjudication under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code if the board imposes only a civil penalty.
The Legislative Service Commission presents the text of this section as a composite of the section as amended by multiple acts of the General Assembly. This presentation recognizes the principle stated in R.C. 1.52(B) that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation.
Available Versions of this Section
- March 24, 2008 – House Bill 104 - 127th General Assembly [ View March 24, 2008 Version ]
- October 15, 2015 – Senate Bill 110, House Bill 64 - 131st General Assembly [ View October 15, 2015 Version ]
- October 17, 2019 – Amended by House Bill 166 - 133rd General Assembly [ View October 17, 2019 Version ]
- October 3, 2023 – Amended by House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly [ View October 3, 2023 Version ]