Louisiana requires both National Registry certification and a state license at every level above Emergency Medical Responder. The Department of Health's Bureau of EMS issues the license. Everything below comes from the Bureau's license-levels document (December 2025) and its FAQ, checked October 18, 2026.
Study aid, not a protocol. Nothing on this site replaces your course, your medical director or your agency's protocols. Built by an RN and former EMT. Headed In LLC is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) or any state EMS office; their names appear here only to point you to the real thing.
The national steps, briefly
A state-approved EMT course
Every state approves its own programs, all taught to the National EMS Education Standards. Most run 150 to 300 hours over three to six months.
A healthcare-provider CPR card
AHA BLS or an equivalent your state accepts, usually before clinicals.
The cognitive exam
The National Registry (NREMT) EMT exam: 70 to 120 adaptive questions in 2 hours, $104 per attempt, six attempts within two years of your course.
Your state's license or certification
The card comes from the state, not the Registry. The state's own steps are below.
Course and exams: within two years of finishing a state-approved EMT course, hold National Registry EMT certification earned with the Registry's computer adaptive exam and a Louisiana Bureau of EMS psychomotor exam.
CPR: a current BLS CPR credential.
Background check: a state and federal check through IdentoGO with the Bureau's service code 27N4S2, finished before the license issues and good for 24 months.
Application and fee: the EMT application on the Bureau's online system. The initial EMT license is $30, or $15 if you work for the state, a municipal fire department, a fire protection district, a volunteer fire department or a municipal police agency and do no paid EMS work outside it. Nothing is reviewed until the fee is paid.
License term: apply January 1 to June 30 and it expires March 31 two years later; July 1 to December 31, three years later.
Renewal: every two years by March 31, with current National Registry certification (its recertification requirements or exam), a CPR card and the fee ($25, or $10 at the public-employee rate). April is a reinstatement month, not an extension.
Trained out of state: with Registry certification but no license from the course's state, either get that state's license and apply for reciprocity or pass the Louisiana psychomotor exam.