Starting residency · DE
Starting residency in Delaware
Delaware requires residents to hold a training license from the Delaware Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline: the Physician Training license. Delaware has a graduated income tax (top rate 6.6% above $60,000 for 2026).
Training license
- Status
- Training license required
- Called
- Physician Training license (also called ACGME Training license; board rules call it an institutional certificate)
- Fee
- $82 (the renewal fee is shown at renewal)
- Renewal
- Annual; licenses expire March 31
Who applies: Resident, online through DELPROS, with an affidavit from the hospital's chief administrative officer; the institution usually pays the fee.
Delaware law requires a certificate to practice medicine and exempts medical students, not residents; the statute and board Rule 4.0 provide a hospital-limited certificate for interns, residents and fellows employed by Delaware hospitals. The board's 'When to Apply' text names only out-of-state residents rotating in Delaware for more than a month and house physicians, but the statute and rule cover all residents. Practice is limited to the employing hospital and duties the program assigns, so moonlighting is not covered. Renewal after the first year requires passing at least one licensing exam step.
Full license: After 1 year of ACGME training for US/Canadian graduates (MD or DO); 3 years of US training for IMGs. A full license matters if you plan to moonlight.
State income tax
Graduated income tax: top rate 6.6% above $60,000 for 2026. Wilmington taxes its residents' earned income and nonresidents' pay for work in the city; state law caps the rate at 1.25%.
Source: taxfoundation.org
Match Day to your first loan payment
Assumes you enroll in RAP or IBR when the grace period ends, recertify once a year, and file each tax return by April. Your servicer's dates govern.
Mid-March
Match Day
You learn where you'll train. Your program sends its residency (GME) agreement and onboarding steps.
March–April
Delaware training license
Apply for your Delaware training license as soon as your program sends instructions. Applications often need school records and background checks that take weeks.
April–June
Credentialing and onboarding
Hospital credentialing, health screening, payroll and benefits forms, and a DEA registration if your program requires one.
Late June–July 1
Move and start
Intern orientation usually starts in the last week of June. When the first paycheck arrives depends on the hospital's payroll schedule, so budget for a few weeks of moving costs without one.
About 6 months after graduation
Federal loan grace period ends
Payments start 6 months after you leave school. Choose a plan before then, or request residency forbearance, during which interest accrues and months don't count toward PSLF.
First year of payments
Payments use last year's income
RAP and IBR use the adjusted gross income on your most recent tax return, which for most new residents is a student year. Payments rise after you recertify with a resident's income.
One board licenses MDs and DOs.
Related
- Compare RAP, IBR and Tiered Standard on a resident's income
- Delaware physician non-compete law, for when you sign your first attending contract
- All states
General information, checked on the date above. Board requirements and fees change; confirm with the Delaware Board of Medical Licensure and Disciplineand your program before you apply.