Starting residency · OR
Starting residency in Oregon
Oregon requires residents to hold a training license from the Oregon Medical Board: the Limited License. Oregon has a graduated income tax (top rate 9.9% above $125,000 for 2026).
Training license
- Status
- Training license required
- Called
- Limited License, Postgraduate (LLPG)
- Fee
- $185 per year, paid in full for the license term at application
- Renewal
- Granted for up to 5 years, not beyond the training program; residents may choose a one-year license each year
Who applies: Resident, online; the Oregon school of medicine or teaching hospital sends the board its list of incoming residents (or a letter for off-cycle starts).
Oregon's licensing law has no exemption for residents, so residents hold the LLPG or a full license; a GME office that allows a resident to apply for a full license instead must send a signed letter. The LLPG limits practice to the accredited training program and does not allow moonlighting. Holders notify the board within 30 days of leaving the program.
Full license: After 1 year of training in one program for US/Canadian graduates (MD or DO) and graduates of board-approved schools in England, Scotland, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia; 3 years for other IMGs. A full license matters if you plan to moonlight.
Source: Oregon Medical Board
State income tax
Graduated income tax: top rate 9.9% above $125,000 for 2026. Portland-area taxes apply to higher earners: Metro's 1% tax above $128,000 and Multnomah County's Preschool for All tax of 1.5% above $125,000 (single filers, 2026). Portland residents also owe a $50 arts tax.
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
Oregon training license
Apply for your Oregon 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
- Oregon 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 Oregon Medical Boardand your program before you apply.