StateLicensed

Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) License Requirements in Louisiana

Verified · July 2026
Training hours
186 hrs
Upfront cost
$134
Exam
NREMT EMT Cognitive Exam, NREMT EMT Psychomotor Exam
Renewal cycle
Every 2 years
Issuing board
Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), Bureau of Emergency Medical Services

How to get licensed

  1. 1

    Meet the prerequisites

    Be at least 18 years old, pass a criminal background check. Secondary sources consistently state an individual must be 18 years of age at time of application for an EMT license (no age limit is described for the EMR level). A Federal and State criminal history report (processed via Identigo/Idemia, not directly by the Bureau of EMS) is required for all initial EMT applicants, and again upon disclosure of any criminal history on the application. Secondary sources conflict on the reading-level requirement for a standardized Bureau-of-EMS-approved proficiency exam — one source describes it as a 12th-grade reading level, another as 8th-grade — this discrepancy was not resolved against LDH's own text (site returned 403 to automated fetch throughout this session). A high school diploma or GED, and a physician's statement (less than 6 months old) attesting to physical ability to perform EMT duties, are also reportedly required. Background check confirmed on the Bureau's licensing page: since 2023-11-01 applicants use the Louisiana State Police LAPS system via IdentoGO (Bureau of EMS service code 27N4S2), at $55.75 for the state and federal check. [4]

  2. 2

    Complete approved training

    Complete 186 hours of training at a state-approved program. IMPORTANT SOURCING CAVEAT: every page on ldh.la.gov, including its /assets/ PDF paths, returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch throughout this research session (retried), and Wayback Machine access is unavailable to this research tool, so no fact in this record could be directly quoted from LDH's own text this session — verify all figures against ldh.la.gov/bureau-of-emergency-medical-services before publishing a verified page. The 186-hour figure and a 90%-attendance requirement are corroborated consistently across multiple independent secondary sources (getlicensemap.com, percomcourses.com) describing a State Bureau of EMS-approved training program based on the National EMS Education Standards; the specificity of '186' (not a round number) suggests it derives from an actual LDH-published figure rather than aggregator estimation, but this is not independently confirmed against LDH's own text. [1]

  3. 3

    NREMT EMT Cognitive Exam

    Pass the NREMT EMT Cognitive Exam (fee: $104). Computer-adaptive test (CAT). Louisiana requires both NREMT certification and a separate LDH-issued Louisiana license at the EMT level (unlike EMR, which needs no NREMT credential) — applicants apply for the Louisiana license after becoming Nationally Registered. The $104 fee is NREMT's nationally published EMT cognitive exam fee, paid to NREMT rather than LDH — verify current pricing in the official NREMT Candidate Handbook before publishing a verified page. LDH's own site was inaccessible (403) throughout this research session; this record could not directly confirm exam details from LDH's own text. [2]

  4. 4

    NREMT EMT Psychomotor Exam

    Pass the NREMT EMT Psychomotor Exam. Completed as part of the state-recognized training program; no separate state-charged fee is published for this exam beyond the training course cost, per secondary sources (LDH's own site was inaccessible to automated fetch this session). [2]

  5. 5

    Submit your application

    Submit your application to Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), Bureau of Emergency Medical Services with the $30 application fee. [3]

  6. 6

    Receive your license

    Once your application is approved, Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), Bureau of Emergency Medical Services issues your Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for Louisiana.

Fees

Fee Amount
Application fee [3] $30
License fee [3] None specified
Renewal fee [3] $25
NREMT EMT Cognitive Exam [2] $104
NREMT EMT Psychomotor Exam [2] None specified
Initial EMT licence — municipal or volunteer fire employee [3] $15
Initial EMT licence — out-of-state applicant [3] $60
Initial EMT licence — high-school Jump Start student [3] $30
Renewal — municipal or volunteer fire employee [3] $10
Criminal-history background check (state and federal, paid to IdentoGO) [3] $55.75
Additional charge if fingerprinted at a sheriff's office [3] $5
Additional out-of-state fingerprinting service charge [3] $39.99

Read directly from the Bureau of EMS fee schedule 'License Fees and Fee Waivers' (revised 2025-12-12). Louisiana tiers EMT fees by employer: initial $30 private or hospital-based, $15 municipal or volunteer fire, $60 out of state, $30 for a high-school Jump Start student; renewal $25 private or hospital-based and $10 municipal or volunteer fire. The private/hospital-based figures are recorded as the headline application and renewal fees because they are the general case. The $50 previously recorded for both was the Paramedic column of the same table, not the EMT column. No separate licence-issuance fee is charged, so license is null. Fees are waived entirely for active US Uniformed Service members, federal-government employees, bona fide volunteer community responders, and under-19 high-school Jump Start EMR applicants. The criminal-history check is billed by IdentoGO, not the Bureau.

Renewal & continuing education

Renew every 2 years. 40 continuing education hours required per cycle.

Secondary sources describe an unusual initial-cycle alignment: an EMT completing licensure between January 1 and June 30 receives an expiration date of March 31 two years later, while one completing between July 1 and December 31 receives an expiration date of March 31 three years later — cycleYears is recorded as the standard 2-year figure since that describes the ongoing renewal cadence. CE requirement is described as Louisiana's version of NREMT's National Continued Competency Program (NCCP): 40 total hours per cycle (20 National Component + 10 State Component + 10 Individual Component, the latter two being flexible EMS-patient-care-related hours). LDH's own site was inaccessible (403) throughout this research session; verify directly before publishing a verified page.

Reciprocity

Endorsement/reciprocity from another state is available. Participates in: EMS Personnel Licensure Interstate Compact (REPLICA).

Louisiana is a current member of the EMS Personnel Licensure Interstate Compact, per the compact commission's own commissioner roster (emscompact.gov/the-commission/commissioners, accessed 2026-07-12). Secondary sources also describe LDH's own reciprocity license application, available to applicants with no disqualifying conditions (felony convictions, state-issued EMS discipline). LDH's own reciprocity form (ldh.la.gov/assets/oph/ems/forms/210701ReciprocityForm.pdf) returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch throughout this session; verify directly before publishing a verified page.

7 state-approved training providers in Louisiana — browse programs and compare schools on tradecolleges.org.

Cost calculator

  • $30
  • $104
Total$134

Frequently asked questions

Does Louisiana require NREMT certification to become an EMT?

Yes. Louisiana requires both NREMT certification and a separate Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) license at the EMT level — applicants apply for the Louisiana license after becoming Nationally Registered.

How much does it cost to get an EMT license in Louisiana?

The standard initial license fee is reported at $50, with a reduced $15 fee for qualifying government/public-safety employees. Renewal is reported at $50 standard / $10 for qualifying government employees. The NREMT cognitive exam fee is separate and paid directly to NREMT. LDH's own fee schedule could not be directly accessed during this research session — verify current amounts before relying on them.

What is the minimum age to become an EMT in Louisiana?

18 years of age at the time of application (no minimum age is described for the EMR level).

How often do Louisiana EMTs renew their license?

On a roughly 2-year cycle tied to a March 31 expiration date; sources describe a 40-hour continuing-education requirement per cycle (20 National Component + 10 State Component + 10 Individual Component hours).

Is Louisiana part of the EMS interstate licensure compact?

Yes. Louisiana is a current member of the EMS Personnel Licensure Interstate Compact (REPLICA), and LDH also offers its own reciprocity license application for qualifying out-of-state EMTs.

Sources

  1. [1] ldh.la.gov/bureau-of-emergency-medical-services/ems-education — accessed 2026-07-12
  2. [2] ldh.la.gov/bureau-of-emergency-medical-services/ems-credentialing — accessed 2026-07-12
  3. [3] ldh.la.gov/assets/oph/ems/2025/EMSCredentialing/License-Fees-and-Waivers12122025.pdf — accessed 2026-07-27
  4. [4] ldh.la.gov/bureau-of-emergency-medical-services/ems-Licensing — accessed 2026-07-27