Lab Career & State Licensure Path Finder
Pick your state and education. See whether the state licenses lab personnel, the federal CLIA minimum you meet, and where to check national certification. Unverified fields stay blank.
States with lab personnel licensure we verified
Each row was checked on the state's official page on Oct 18, 2026. A blank cell means the official page we read didn't state it, so we left it out.
| State | Agency (official page) | What the page says | License titles | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | California Department of Public Health, Laboratory Field Services | State law requires licensed clinical laboratories in California to employ testing personnel who are licensed by the State. | Medical Laboratory Technician (associate degree level); Clinical Laboratory Scientist (Generalist) and limited scientist licenses (bachelor's level) | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Florida | Florida Board of Clinical Laboratory Personnel | Licenses clinical laboratory personnel; licenses renew every two years. | Technician, Technologist, Supervisor, Director | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Hawaii | Hawaii Department of Health, State Laboratories Division | Evaluates and approves or licenses laboratories and clinical laboratory personnel. | Oct 18, 2026 | |
| Louisiana | Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners | Licenses clinical laboratory personnel; the board's page has the application, laws and rules. | Oct 18, 2026 | |
| Montana | Montana Board of Clinical Laboratory Science Practitioners | Each license requires passing the matching examination (generalist, specialist or technician) offered by a national certifying body. | Clinical Laboratory Scientist, Clinical Laboratory Specialist, Clinical Laboratory Technician | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Nevada | Nevada Bureau of Health Care Quality and Compliance (HCQC) | Licenses and certifies all technical personnel who work in exempt, registered and licensed laboratories. Applications are online. | Oct 18, 2026 | |
| New York | New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions | Practicing as a clinical laboratory technologist, or using the title, requires a license. You must be at least 18. Current ASCP (MLS), ASCPi (MLS) or AMT (MLS) certification is one of seven ways to meet the education requirement. | Clinical Laboratory Technologist | Oct 18, 2026 |
| North Dakota | North Dakota Board of Clinical Laboratory Practice | Issues licenses and provisional permits. Some tests and methods are exempt from licensure (see the board's list). | Oct 18, 2026 | |
| Northern Mariana Islands | CNMI Health Care Professions Licensing Board | The board licenses Medical Laboratory Technology (regulations §140-50.1-500). Its initial license checklist asks for proof of qualifying education or training and an ASCP certificate. | Oct 18, 2026 | |
| Puerto Rico | Puerto Rico Department of Health, Junta Examinadora de Tecnólogos Médicos | The Medical Technologists Examining Board licenses the profession under Law No. 167 of August 11, 1988, as amended. The board's page has the licensing exam (reválida) application, renewal requirements and rules (in Spanish). | Tecnólogo Médico (Medical Technologist) | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Tennessee | Tennessee Department of Health, Medical Laboratory Board | Licenses qualified candidates who graduated from approved clinical laboratory training programs with an associate or baccalaureate degree. The board also licenses medical laboratory facilities. | Oct 18, 2026 | |
| West Virginia | West Virginia Office of Laboratory Services | Rule 64CSR57 requires anyone performing moderate- or high-complexity testing in a CLIA-certified laboratory to hold a laboratory practitioner license for that complexity. Applications are through the LAB-PLUS online system. | Oct 18, 2026 |
States that ended their program (verified)
| State | Official source | What the page says | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | Georgia Department of Community Health, Healthcare Facility Regulation Division | Effective July 1, 2021 (House Bill 93), Georgia removed state licensure requirements for clinical laboratories, collection stations, tissue banks and laboratory directors. Federal CLIA requirements still apply. | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Rhode Island | Rhode Island Department of State, Code of Regulations (R23-16.3-CLS, repealed) | Rhode Island's licensure rules for clinical laboratory science practitioners were repealed (effective Feb 9, 2017) because their enabling law, R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 23-16.3, was repealed effective June 30, 2015. The Department of Health still licenses clinical laboratories. | Oct 18, 2026 |
For every other state we haven't verified that there's no license, so the finder leaves the field blank. Rules change; always confirm with the state.
Federal minimum: who may perform testing (CLIA)
Everyone performing moderate or high complexity testing needs a current state license where the state requires one, plus one of the federal qualifications. Some common ones:
- Moderate complexity (42 CFR 493.1423): a bachelor's or higher in a chemical, biological, clinical or medical laboratory science, medical technology or nursing; an associate degree in one of those fields or medical laboratory technology; the 50-week military course; or a high school diploma plus documented training for the testing performed.
- High complexity (42 CFR 493.1489): a bachelor's or higher in a lab science or medical technology; an associate degree in a laboratory science or medical laboratory technology (or 60 semester hours with the listed coursework and training); or the 50-week military course. People qualified and serving as of December 28, 2024 remain qualified.
National certification (ASCP BOC)
Summarized from ASCP's public MLT and MLS pages. The pages show no effective date. ASCP's current pages control, so check them before you apply.
MLT(ASCP) eligibility routes
| Route | Requirements | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Route 1 | Associate degree OR 60 sem hrs (90 qtr) from a regionally/nationally accredited college + NAACLS or ABHES-accredited MLT program completed within the last 5 years. | ASCP MLT page Last verified Oct 18, 2026 |
| Route 2 | Discontinued as of January 1, 2023 | ASCP MLT page Last verified Oct 18, 2026 |
| Route 3 | Associate OR 60 sem hrs, with 6 sem hrs (9 qtr) chemistry and 6 sem hrs (9 qtr) biology, + 50-week U.S. military medical lab training course within the last 10 years (military documentation required). | ASCP MLT page Last verified Oct 18, 2026 |
| Route 4 | Associate OR 60 sem hrs, with 6 chem/6 bio, + 3 yrs full-time clinical experience in blood bank, chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunology and UA/body fluids, in an acceptable lab (CLIA, DoD CLIP, JCI or ISO 15189), within the last 6 years. A NAACLS MLS, NAACLS/ABHES MLT or foreign MLS training program completed within 5 yrs can replace 1 yr of experience. | ASCP MLT page Last verified Oct 18, 2026 |
Application fee listed on the MLT page: $235 (non-refundable). Last verified Oct 18, 2026.
MLS(ASCP) eligibility routes
| Route | Requirements | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Route 1 | Baccalaureate + NAACLS-accredited MLS program within the last 5 years. | ASCP MLS page Last verified Oct 18, 2026 |
| Route 2 | Valid MLT(ASCP) + baccalaureate with 16 sem hrs (24 qtr) biology incl. 1 semester microbiology and 16 sem hrs (24 qtr) chemistry incl. 1 semester organic or biochemistry + 2 yrs full-time clinical experience (all six areas) within the last 5 years. The training-program-for-1-year substitution applies. | ASCP MLS page Last verified Oct 18, 2026 |
| Route 3 | Discontinued as of January 1, 2023 | ASCP MLS page Last verified Oct 18, 2026 |
| Route 4 | Baccalaureate with 16 bio (incl. micro)/16 chem (incl. organic/biochem) + 5 yrs full-time clinical experience within the last 10 years. The training-program substitution applies. | ASCP MLS page Last verified Oct 18, 2026 |
| Route 5 | Valid MLS(ASCPi) + transcript evaluation showing U.S. baccalaureate equivalency + 5 yrs full-time clinical experience within the last 10 years. No exam retake. Can't revert to ASCPi. | ASCP MLS page Last verified Oct 18, 2026 |
| Route 6 | 50-week U.S. military medical lab training course within the last 10 years + baccalaureate with 16 bio (incl. micro)/16 chem + 1 yr full-time clinical experience within the last 10 years. | ASCP MLS page Last verified Oct 18, 2026 |
Also see the ASCP state licensure list.
Sources
- 42 CFR 493.1423 Testing personnel qualifications (moderate complexity)
- 42 CFR 493.1489 Testing personnel qualifications (high complexity)
- The 14 official state and territory pages linked in the tables (checked Oct 18, 2026)
Federal rules as published in the eCFR (current to Oct 15, 2026). Reference only, not legal advice.