Who Qualifies, and Why We Will Not Print a List
Program and regulatory figures verified October 9, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Three separate eligibility tests get conflated constantly. The lender's, the Department of Health's, and TNAFP's. They have nothing to do with each other.
★★ Three tests, not one
| Test | Set by | What it asks |
|---|---|---|
| Physician mortgage | the lender | is your credential on the current programme's list, and does your file support the loan |
| TSLRP | TN Department of Health | is your discipline on the published list, and is the site in an HPSA |
| Family Medicine Incentive | TNAFP | are you a resident in a Tennessee family medicine programme, still in training |
★ A dermatologist can be excellent for a physician mortgage and ineligible for both state programmes. A family medicine resident can be eligible for $200,000 and still have a file that does not support the house they want. The tests do not talk to each other.
★ Why no list for the mortgage
Because it is a portfolio product, the accepted credential set is the lender's and it moves. A list published on a web page in October is a liability in March.
We have seen other sites publish confident degree lists that are out of date. A physician who reads one and concludes they are ineligible does not call, and that is a worse outcome than asking.
So: send the credential, the start date and the contract. We tell you what the current programmes accept, on the day you ask.
What the state programmes do say
These are published, so we can be specific.
TSLRP. The Department publishes its own list of eligible disciplines, and it is broader than "doctors": primary care physicians who have completed residency, dentists (DDS or DMD), advanced practice nurses, registered nurses at BSN level, certified nurse midwives, physician assistants, behavioural and mental health professionals, and pharmacists outside retail dispensing. The site must be an ambulatory public or non-profit primary care entity in a federally designated HPSA. Full-time is 40 hours with no more than 8 on administration; part-time is 20 to 39 hours on a 2 or 4 year obligation. Detail.
★ Family Medicine Incentive. Family medicine residents in one of Tennessee's 12 family medicine residency programmes, applying from intern year until they finish training, in return for five years in Tennessee. Detail.
Dentists and the rest
Physician mortgage programmes commonly extend past MD and DO, and dentists are usually in scope. Specifics are still a lender term. The dentist page.
How to get a real answer
One call and three documents: credential, executed contract, student loan statements. Mike Certo, NMLS #260555. (480) 296-6513 · mcerto@cfmtg.com.
Frequently asked questions
Which professions qualify for a physician mortgage?
That is a lender term that changes between programmes and over time, so this site publishes no fixed list. Physician mortgage programmes commonly extend beyond MD and DO, often including dentists. Send your credential and start date for a current answer.Does qualifying for a physician loan mean I qualify for Tennessee loan repayment?
No. They are unrelated tests set by different bodies. The mortgage test is the lender's. TSLRP eligibility is set by the Tennessee Department of Health, which publishes its own list of eligible disciplines and requires an ambulatory primary care site in a federally designated Health Professional Shortage Area. The Family Medicine Loan Repayment Incentive is set through the Tennessee Academy of Family Physicians and is open only to family medicine residents.Who is eligible for TSLRP?
The Department publishes a list: primary care physicians who have completed residency, dentists, advanced practice nurses, registered nurses at BSN level, certified nurse midwives, physician assistants, behavioural and mental health professionals, and pharmacists outside retail dispensing. The site must be an ambulatory public or non-profit primary care entity in a federally designated Health Professional Shortage Area. Full-time is forty hours a week with no more than eight spent on practice-related administration; part-time is twenty to thirty-nine hours with a two-year or four-year obligation.Can a specialist get Tennessee loan repayment?
TSLRP is for primary care, and the Family Medicine Loan Repayment Incentive is restricted to family medicine residents. A specialist outside those definitions would not meet either programme's published eligibility, though that has no bearing on whether a physician mortgage fits their file.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about physician mortgage financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax or financial advice. The Tennessee State Loan Repayment Program is administered by the Tennessee Department of Health and the Family Medicine Loan Repayment Incentive through the Tennessee Academy of Family Physicians, neither by Cornerstone; their terms, award amounts and application cycles are set by those bodies and change. Figures here carry the date we verified them against the programmes' own published materials. Physician-loan program terms, eligible degrees and overlays are set by the lender and change. All loans are subject to borrower, property and program qualification.