How to transfer your Radiologic technologist licence to California (2026)

Radiologic technologist work in California is licensed at state level, by the California radiologic technology licensing program (health department or a separate board). This page says what a radiologic technologist licensed or working in another state has to do to work in California, in the order to do it, and what goes wrong when the order is reversed.

How the transfer works

About three quarters of states license radiologic technologists, and almost all of them accept ARRT certification as the basis for a licence by endorsement. The remaining states do not license; employers there hire on ARRT alone. Apply to California's licensing program with your ARRT card, a background check and the fee.

Exam: ARRT, which licensing states accept.

How long: two to eight weeks. Fee: $50 to $200; the current figure is on the licensing body's own site.

What to have ready before you move

• ARRT card and its renewal date
• Continuing education record
• Modality certificates (CT, MRI, mammography)

Start the paperwork before you give notice. Every week the licence is not done is a week you are not paid, and nothing in the process needs you to be in California already.

What people get wrong

• Assuming a state licence is not needed; most states require one before the first shift
• Letting ARRT lapse; licensing states will not endorse without it

Who hires radiologic technologists in California

Radiologic technologists in California are hired by hospitals, imaging centres, orthopaedic and urgent care clinics. The metros with the most of that work are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco and Sacramento. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are on the California openings page.

For the money side: the median radiologic technologist in California earned $107,670 a year ($52 an hour) in May 2024 across 19,550 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and California has a progressive state income tax with a top rate of 13.3%. What that leaves you after tax is its own page.

Everything about California, on one page

The California page has the registries and boards, the income tax table, the programs that pay you to come and the openings filed this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of California employers hiring from out of state.