The following constitutes the requirements for the issuance of a license to practice as an assistant to physician:

(1) Provide evidence, satisfactory to the board, of successful completion of a training program accredited by the Committee on Allied Health Education and Accreditation (CAHEA) or the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) or their successor agencies.

(2) Provide evidence, satisfactory to the board, of successful completion of the Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE) as administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) or the National Certifying Examination for Anesthesiologist Assistants (NCEAA) as administered by the National Commission for Certification of Anesthesiologist Assistants (NCCAA).

(3) Submit an application on forms approved by the board in its rules.

(4) Pay in advance to the board the required application fee in an amount established in the rules of the board.

(5) In addition to the above requirements and for the purpose of determining an applicant's suitability for a license to practice as an assistant to physician in this state, each applicant shall submit to a criminal history background check. Each applicant shall submit a complete set of fingerprints to the Board of Medical Examiners. The board shall submit the fingerprints provided by each applicant for a license to practice as an assistant to physician to the Alabama Bureau of Investigation (ABI). The fingerprints shall be forwarded by the ABI to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for a national criminal history record check. Costs associated with conducting a criminal history background check shall be borne by the applicant. The Board of Medical Examiners shall keep information received pursuant to this section confidential except that such information received and relied upon in denying the issuance of a license to practice as an assistant to physician in this state may be disclosed as may be necessary to support the denial.