Healthcare Recruiting
Missouri PA License 2026: Physician Assistant Requirements, Supervision, and Salary
Missouri physician assistants are licensed by the Missouri State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts. The state requires PA practice under physician supervision, documented through the employing institution. Missouri's healthcare market is geographically divided between two major urban centers — St. Louis (BJC HealthCare, SSM Health, Mercy Health) and Kansas City (Saint Luke's, Children's Mercy, HCA Midwest) — with a substantial rural tier in the Ozarks and southern Missouri.
Practice Model: Supervision Required
Missouri PAs practice under physician supervision with the arrangement documented through their employer. The supervising physician must be licensed in Missouri. Specific filing requirements are managed at the institutional credentialing level.
- Supervision required: Documented through institutional credentialing
- Prescriptive authority: Schedule II–V with DEA registration
- Bi-state practice: Many Kansas City PAs hold both MO and KS licenses
Application Requirements
- Active NCCPA certification
- Graduation from ARC-PA accredited program
- Missouri Division of Professional Registration application and ~$175 fee
- Background check
- DEA registration (separate)
Processing Timeline
Missouri processes complete PA applications in 6–8 weeks. Total time to practice-ready including DEA: approximately 8–10 weeks.
PA Salary in Missouri (2026)
| Setting | Median Base | Typical Sign-On |
|---|---|---|
| Hospital / Inpatient (St. Louis / Kansas City) | $120,000 | $8,000–$18,000 |
| Surgical First-Assist | $130,000 | $10,000–$22,000 |
| Emergency Medicine | $125,000 | $8,000–$18,000 |
| Primary Care / Outpatient | $112,000 | $5,000–$12,000 |
| Rural Ozarks / Southern MO | $116,000 | $10,000–$22,000 |
Top PA Employers in Missouri
BJC HealthCare (Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Missouri Baptist, Christian Hospital, and 13 hospitals statewide) is St. Louis's dominant academic and community health system. Barnes-Jewish is one of the country's premier academic PA employers for subspecialty and surgical roles. SSM Health (St. Louis University Hospital, SSM Saint Louis University, and 11 hospitals) provides the St. Louis Catholic health system market. Saint Luke's Health System (Kansas City) anchors the KCK/KCMO market as an independent health system. Mercy Health (St. Louis and statewide) is a large regional Catholic system with hospitals across Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Children's Mercy Kansas City recruits for pediatric PA roles. Cox Health (Springfield) anchors the southwest Missouri market.
What We See at Ava Health
Missouri's bi-city structure (St. Louis / Kansas City) creates two distinct labor markets. St. Louis is more academic-competitive (Barnes-Jewish, Washington University Medicine); Kansas City is more community-competitive with Saint Luke's and HCA Midwest. Rural southern Missouri — the Ozarks corridor from Springfield to Poplar Bluff — has NHSC-eligible positions with genuine shortage incentives and dramatically lower COL than either metro.
Related: NP License Missouri 2026, PA Salary by State 2026, Healthcare Recruiting in Missouri 2026.
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