(a) The board shall issue a provisional license to an applicant for a license who:
  (1) is licensed in good standing with another state medical licensing entity;
  (2) passed an examination within the number of allowed attempts as provided under §163.6 of this title (relating to Examinations Accepted for Licensure);
  (3) submits information to the board to be used for criminal background checks; and
  (4) is sponsored by a person licensed under the Medical Practice Act with whom the applicant may practice under unless the board waives this requirement after determination that compliance with this provision constitutes a hardship to the applicant.
(b) An applicant who holds a provisional license may only practice in a location that is:
  (1) designated by the federal government as a health professional shortage area; or
  (2) designated by the federal or state government as a medically underserved area.
(c) An applicant shall be determined ineligible for a provisional license if the applicant:
  (1) has had a medical license suspended or revoked by another state or a Canadian province;
  (2) holds a medical license issued by another state or a Canadian province that is subject to a restriction, disciplinary order, or probationary order; or
  (3) has an unacceptable criminal history.
(d) A provisional license expires on the earlier of:
  (1) the date the board issues the provisional license holder a full Texas medical license or denies the provisional license holder's application for a license;
  (2) the 270th day after the date the provisional license was issued; or
  (3) upon determination by the Executive Director that the provisional license holder is ineligible for licensure pursuant to §155.003(e) of the Act.
(e) An individual may not be granted more than one provisional license.
(f) A provisional license holder may only be granted a temporary license under §172.11 of this title (relating to Temporary Licensure--Regular) if:
  (1) the provisional license holder meets all requirements for licensure under Chapter 163 of this title (relating to Licensure); or,
  (2) the provisional license holder has been referred to the Licensure Committee (Committee) for review, but due to a force majeure, the Committee must defer action until the Committee's next scheduled meeting, however, the provisional license is set to expire before the next Committee meeting.

Source Note: The provisions of this §172.16 adopted to be effective November 29, 2009, 34 TexReg 8532; amended to be effective September 19, 2010, 35 TexReg 8351; amended to be effective June 28, 2011, 36 TexReg 3917; amended to be effective July 4, 2012, 37 TexReg 4928