LXMO: How to Become a Limited X-Ray Machine Operator

What a limited X-ray machine operator does

Limited X-ray techs do the bread-and-butter imaging of outpatient medicine: chest X-rays for a cough that won't clear, wrist and ankle films after a fall, lumbar spine films in an orthopedic office, foot films in a podiatry practice. Many are medical assistants who add X-ray to their role. The limit is in the name: you may image only the body areas your state license covers, and limited licenses generally exclude fluoroscopy, contrast studies, CT and mammography.

Every state sets its own rules. Most that license limited operators use the ARRT Examination for the Limited Scope of Practice in Radiography: a core section on patient care, radiation safety and image production, plus procedure modules for chest, extremities, skull/sinuses, spine and podiatric. Your license covers the modules you pass. Some states give their own exam, some license by type rather than module, and some have no limited license at all.

LXMO, BXMO, LMRT: one job, many names

"LXMO" is the most common title, but if you search only for it you'll miss most states. Florida certifies a Basic X-ray Machine Operator (BXMO, plus BXMO-PM for podiatric medicine). Ohio licenses a General X-ray Machine Operator (GXMO). California issues a Limited Permit X-ray Technician permit, which is why you'll hear "limited permit X-ray tech." Texas certifies a Limited Medical Radiologic Technologist (LMRT). Colorado registers a Limited Scope Operator (LSO), Minnesota a Limited Scope X-ray Operator (LSXO), Arizona a Certified Practical Technologist in Radiology (CPTR), Virginia a Radiologic Technologist-Limited (RT-L), Iowa a Limited Radiologic Technologist (LRT) and Utah a Radiology Practical Technician. The table below has every state.

From our state research; rows flagged on each state's page as partly confirmed should be checked with the state board.

How to become a limited X-ray machine operator

1. Find your state's rules. Open your state on our state pages to see the credential, the exam, the modules and the pass mark, with links to the board's own pages.
2. Complete the required training. Requirements vary widely. Maryland lists 115 didactic hours and 480 clinical hours under an ARRT-registered technologist; Colorado asks for 80 hours didactic, 480 clinical and 84 documented exams; Mississippi's education-based permit needs 12 hours; and Florida requires a review course covering the ARRT limited scope content rather than a formal program. Some states require a board-approved or JRCERT-accredited program.
3. Get authorized to test. Most states approve you before you register with ARRT. Virginia issues an eligibility letter; Minnesota has you apply to the Department of Health, then pay ARRT, with 90 days to test.
4. Pass the core and your modules. The core is 100 scored questions; modules are 20 or 25 each. Most states require the pass mark (65% to 75% where published) on every section.
5. Apply for the license and keep it current. Many states require continuing education, for example 24 hours every 2 years in Maryland and Massachusetts, and 12 hours every 2 years in Louisiana.

What about states without an LXMO license?

Eighteen states and DC have no limited license exam in our research, and they split two ways. Some don't license X-ray operators at all and rely on employer training (Georgia requires at least 6 hours within 90 days of hire; South Dakota 80 hours of documented training). Others, like New York, Connecticut and Hawaii, allow only fully licensed technologists to take X-rays, so there's no limited path. If you're in a no-exam state, limited scope training still makes you safer and more employable, and it travels with you if you move.

Texas: LMRT vs non-certified technician

Texas has two routes that people mix up. The Limited Medical Radiologic Technologist (LMRT) certificate requires the ARRT Limited Scope exam, with every section passed at 75%. Separately, the Texas Medical Board keeps a Non-Certified Radiologic Technician (NCT) registry: NCTs complete mandatory training under Board Rule 186.26 and work under a Texas physician's supervision, and TMB's page mentions the Jurisprudence Exam rather than the ARRT exam. If you're preparing for the LMRT, the ARRT Limited Scope core and modules are what you study.

Getting ready for the exam

Whatever your state calls the job, the exam rewards the same preparation: a strong core and every module on your license at or above the pass mark. Start with what's on the ARRT Limited Scope exam, try the free practice test, and read the free lesson LXMO, BXMO, LMRT and more: what your limited X-ray license is called.