Starting residency · MS
Starting residency in Mississippi
Mississippi requires residents to hold a training license from the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure: the Restricted Temporary License. Mississippi has a flat income tax (4% on taxable income above $10,000 for 2026).
Training license
- Status
- Training license required
- Called
- Restricted Temporary License
- Apply
- Applications open three months before the program start date; the board publishes no processing time.
- Fee
- $50; renewal $50
- Renewal
- Annual, for the length of training, up to five years
Who applies: Resident, online through the board's MELS system, with a notarized affidavit and fingerprint cards by mail; schools and training institutions send verifications directly.
Board rules require a license before practicing in Mississippi, and residents who have not finished postgraduate training or Step 3 hold this license. It allows practice only within an approved training program in Mississippi, so it does not cover moonlighting. Residents from other states rotating in Mississippi for 4 weeks or less get a separate temporary training license. A $50 fee applies if staff find an application incomplete.
Full license: After 1 year of ACGME or AOA training for US/Canadian graduates (MD or DO); IMGs after 3 years, or 1 year plus ABMS board certification and board approval. A full license matters if you plan to moonlight.
State income tax
Flat income tax: 4% on taxable income above $10,000 for 2026.
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
Mississippi training license
Apply for your Mississippi 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
- Mississippi 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 Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensureand your program before you apply.