Is licensure required to practice as a PA in the United States?

Licensure is required for medical professionals in the U.S. Each state sets its own requirements for a license as a physician assistant. To obtain a license, an individual, even one educated as a PA or physician in another country, must graduate from an ARC-PA accredited U.S. physician assistant program and pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) administered by the National Commission on Certifying of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).