Starting residency · GA
Starting residency in Georgia
Georgia requires residents to hold a training license from the Georgia Composite Medical Board: the Residency Training Permit. Georgia has a flat income tax (4.99% for 2026).
Training license
- Status
- Training license required
- Called
- Residency Training Permit (board rule: Temporary Postgraduate Training Permit)
- Fee
- $150; renewal $75
- Renewal
- Annual; permits expire June 30 and can be renewed for the length of the program, up to 7 years of training
Who applies: Resident, online; the program director signs a Certificate of Postgraduate Training, and the GME office uploads a roster of residents.
Board rule makes the permit mandatory for all postgraduate training in Georgia unless the trainee holds a Georgia license. Transferring programs requires a new application. The rule says the board issues permits within 45 days of a complete application. The board materials read do not address moonlighting. From July 1, 2025, ECFMG and ACGME treat Canadian graduates as IMGs for entering residency; the Georgia board has not adopted that for its permits or licenses.
Full license: After 1 year of ACGME, AOA or Canadian training for graduates of board-approved schools (US, Canada, Puerto Rico and some foreign schools); 3 years for graduates of other schools. A full license matters if you plan to moonlight.
Source: Georgia Composite Medical Board
State income tax
Flat income tax: 4.99% for 2026.
Source: dor.georgia.gov
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
Georgia training license
Apply for your Georgia 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. HB 463 (signed May 2026) cut the rate from 5.19% to 4.99% retroactive to January 1, 2026; the Tax Foundation's February 2026 table shows the earlier 5.19%.
Related
- Compare RAP, IBR and Tiered Standard on a resident's income
- Georgia 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 Georgia Composite Medical Boardand your program before you apply.