How to Become a Medical Assistant in Kentucky

Checked against Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure (delegating physicians); Kentucky Board of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy (x-ray licenses) · Verified 2026-10-15

Exam: Not required
Training: Not required
Term: Only the limited x-ray machine operator license has a term: it is renewed every year and expires on the last day of your birth month.
State fee: See state office
Rules set by: Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure (delegating physicians); Kentucky Board of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy (x-ray licenses)

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Who can apply

Kentucky has no state license, certificate or registration for medical assistants. The Board of Medical Licensure licenses physicians and some allied professions, but medical assistants are not one of them.
To take x-rays you need a Kentucky limited x-ray machine operator license (or a full radiographer license) from the Board of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy.
The limited x-ray license requires a criminal background check completed within the past six months.

Step by step

Finish a medical assistant program or get on-the-job training from your employer. Kentucky does not require a specific program.
Optional: earn a national certification (CMA, RMA, CCMA or NCMA). Kentucky does not require one.
If your job includes x-rays, complete a board-approved limited x-ray machine operator program and apply for a temporary limited x-ray license.
Pass the Kentucky Limited Scope Exam (given by ARRT) within one year of finishing the x-ray program, then apply for the full limited x-ray machine operator license.
Work only on tasks the supervising physician may delegate. The Board of Medical Licensure holds the physician responsible for delegation.

Training and exam

Training: Kentucky has no state-mandated medical assistant program. Training is the employer's and delegating physician's responsibility. The exception is x-ray work: a board-approved limited x-ray machine operator program is required. Until June 30, 2027, a general program must include at least 240 classroom hours and 360 clinical hours. From July 1, 2027, the minimum rises to 480 classroom hours and 700 clinical clock hours (201 KAR 46:081, Section 6).

Exam: Kentucky has no state exam for medical assistants, and national certification exams are voluntary. To take x-rays you must pass the Kentucky Limited Scope Exam, administered by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT), within one calendar year of finishing your x-ray program (201 KAR 46:081, Section 3).

No state exam here, but most employers ask for national certification. Practice for the CMA/RMA/CCMA free →

What it costs in Kentucky

Fixed amounts are set by the state. Items marked “your quote” are priced by private sellers, so enter what you’re quoted.

Temporary limited x-ray machine operator license (only if you take x-rays)(optional)$100
Limited x-ray machine operator exam qualification fee (state board)(optional)$25
Initial limited x-ray machine operator license(optional)$100
Limited x-ray machine operator renewal, per year(optional)$50
Medical assistant program tuition(optional)$

Estimated total in Kentucky$0

Cost details from the state

Limited x-ray machine operator fees (201 KAR 46:020, effective March 12, 2026): temporary license $100; exam qualification fee $25; initial license $100; renewal $50 per year.
Criminal background check for the x-ray license (amount not set by the board).
Medical assistant and x-ray program tuition varies by school.
National certification exam fees, if you choose to certify.

Good to know in Kentucky

What a medical assistant can do in Kentucky: Kentucky has no medical assistant statute or rule. Physicians delegate tasks to unlicensed staff under the Board of Medical Licensure's standards of acceptable and prevailing medical practice, and the physician is accountable for what is delegated.

What a medical assistant cannot do: A 2011 Board opinion lets physicians delegate simple and layered skin closures only to certified or licensed non-physicians, within their scope of practice. Complex closures, skin flap closures and skin grafts may not be delegated to any non-physician. A joint statement of the Kentucky Boards of Medical Licensure, Nursing and Pharmacy on retail IV therapy says physicians may not delegate prescribing, compounding or administering such medications to unlicensed persons. Only a licensee whose scope of practice includes IVs may administer them.

X-ray: Taking x-rays in Kentucky requires a license from the Board of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy. The limited x-ray machine operator license (KRS 311B, 201 KAR 46:081) is issued in three categories: general, bone densitometry, or podiatry. Limited operators work under the direct or indirect supervision of a licensed practitioner of the healing arts. The license renews every year. You need 12 hours of continuing education every two years, at least 6 of them on radiation safety or medical imaging.

Limited x-ray scope and temporary license: A general limited operator may do only static x-rays of the chest/ribs, abdomen, skull and face, extremities, shoulder girdle, hips and pelvis, and spine. Limited operators may not do contrast, fluoroscopy, mammography, CT, MRI, bedside radiography, nuclear medicine or radiation therapy. After finishing your program you can get a temporary license that lasts up to one year from program completion and cannot be renewed; you must pass the Kentucky Limited Scope Exam (given by ARRT) within that year.

Sources

General information, not legal advice. Fees and rules change — confirm with Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure (delegating physicians); Kentucky Board of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy (x-ray licenses) before you apply.