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Massachusetts

The board of registration of chiropractors, as chapter 112 of the General Laws names it.

The board's own website could not be read on 5 October 2026. Every field below rests on the state's statute; the board may publish further requirements. Confirm with the board.

What the board and the law publish

Each field carries its own source and the date it was checked. A field marked not published means the board's own pages were read and do not address it. Absence in what we checked is not absence at the board. A field marked unverified says what was attempted.

State
published Massachusetts, a state. The legislature's publication styles it the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the statute calls it the commonwealth.Source: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section89 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section91 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section92 · checked 2026-10-05
Licensing body
unverified Unverified. The board's site on mass.gov returned HTTP 403 on 5 October 2026, so its name as the board writes it and its own URL are not confirmed. The statute defines the board as the board of registration of chiropractors established by section sixty-four of chapter thirteen, and writes the name in lower case.Read on 2026-10-05: General Laws chapter 112, section 89. Not reached: the board's page and the chiropractic licensing page on mass.gov (both HTTP 403); robots.txt for mass.gov (HTTP 403); General Laws chapter 13, section 64, which establishes the board (the General Laws browse pages load chapter lists by script, and no plain link to it appears on the pages read).Source: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/board-of-registration-of-chiropractors · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section89 · checked 2026-10-05
Statutory authority
published Act: Massachusetts General Laws, Part I, Title XVI, Chapter 112 (Registration of Certain Professions and Occupations), sections 89 to 97 (chiropractors), including section 91A (chiropractor student externs) and section 94A (chiropractic facilities), published by the General Court. Section 90 says the board may make and publish necessary rules and regulations for the proper conduct of its duties. Section 94A(b) says the board shall promulgate regulations necessary to ensure the safe and lawful practice of chiropractic. Rules: unverified (the board's pages on mass.gov returned HTTP 403 on 2026-10-05, and no statute page read links to the rules).Not established: the rules.Rules, attempted on 2026-10-05: mass.gov returned HTTP 403 to every request (see board), and no statute page read links to the rules.Source: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section90 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section94A · checked 2026-10-05
Degree requirement
published Under section 91, each applicant shall furnish the board with satisfactory proof of two years in a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in liberal arts or science, and of graduation from a chiropractic school or college approved by the board that meets three conditions: (1) its charter authorizes it to confer the degree of doctor of chiropractic; (2) it gives a course of four academic years, comprising a total of four thousand hours, to matriculants with the educational qualifications required for graduation from an accredited public high school; and (3) it confers the degree only after the applicant's personal attendance at that course, and upon its completion.Source: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section91 · checked 2026-10-05
  • shall furnish the board with satisfactory proof that he has completed two years in a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in liberal arts or science and that he is a graduate of a chiropractic school or college approved by the board, and which is (1) authorized by its charter to confer the degree of doctor of chiropractic; (2) gives a course of four academic years, comprising a total of four thousand hours, to matriculants possessing the educational qualifications required for graduation from an accredited public high school; and (3) confers such degree only after personal attendance of the applicant therefor at such course, and upon completion thereof. malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section91
Student practice before licensure
published Section 91A (chiropractor student externs) covers a current student enrolled in the final academic year at a chiropractic school or college approved by the board. Section 91A(b) says such a student may practice the full scope of chiropractic under the direct supervision of a preceptor chiropractor, and sets the conditions the student extern shall have met; section 91A(c) sets the supervision under which the student extern shall practice, what the student extern shall not be authorized to do, the board's discretion to authorize practice at more than 1 chiropractic facility, and the period the board may authorize, from not less than 4 weeks to not more than 16 weeks during the student's final academic year. Section 91A(a) defines preceptor chiropractor. Sections 89 to 97, including 91A and 94A, make no provision for graduates not yet licensed.Source: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section91A · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section89 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section90 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section91 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section92 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section93 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section94 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section94A · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section95 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section96 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section97 · checked 2026-10-05
  • shall mean a registered chiropractor authorized to practice chiropractic in the commonwealth who is: (i) designated by an approved chiropractic school or college as an instructor; and (ii) the chiropractor of record at the chiropractic facility to which a student extern is assigned. malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section91A
  • An individual that is a current student enrolled in the final academic year at a chiropractic school or college approved by the board may practice the full scope of chiropractic under the direct supervision of a preceptor chiropractor; provided, that the student extern shall have: (i) completed all academic and clinical class requirements for the degree of doctor of chiropractic from a chiropractic school or college approved by the board; and (ii) passed at least 3 of the 4 levels of the examinations administered by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners. malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section91A
  • The student extern shall practice under the direct supervision and license of the preceptor chiropractor and shall not be authorized to sign legal documents generally signed by the preceptor chiropractor; provided, however, that the board, in its discretion, may authorize a student extern to practice chiropractic pursuant to this section at more than 1 chiropractic facility. malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section91A
  • An individual may be authorized by the board to practice chiropractic as a student extern for not less than 4 weeks and not more than 16 weeks during the student's final academic year. malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section91A
NBCE parts required
published The statute names the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners in sections 91A and 92 and names no NBCE part by number for licensure. Section 92 says a person certified by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners of the United States may be registered at the discretion of the board upon the payment of a fee and the production to the board of the documents the section names (see Endorsement or reciprocity), and that the board may accept any or all “facts” of that board's examination in lieu of equivalent subjects in the examination required under section 94; “facts” is the word as published. Section 91A requires a student extern to have passed at least 3 of the 4 levels of the NBCE examinations; that condition is for student externs, not for licensure. Which NBCE parts the board itself names is unverified: its pages on mass.gov returned HTTP 403 on 2026-10-05.Source: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section92 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section91A · https://www.mass.gov/orgs/board-of-registration-of-chiropractors · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section89 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section90 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section91 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section93 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section94 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section94A · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section95 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section96 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section97 · checked 2026-10-05
State-specific exam
published An examination of each applicant by the board, described but not named in General Laws chapter 112, section 94. Section 94 says the board shall examine each applicant; the examination shall be in writing and, except as otherwise provided by section 92, shall include the subjects section 94 lists, and shall also include practical demonstrations of chiropractic technique. Except for chiropractic principles and practice, the use and effects of X-ray and the practical demonstrations, the examinations may be proposed by the board of higher education and shall be under the direction and supervision of the board. Section 92 says: The board may accept any or all facts of the examination of said National Board of Chiropractic Examiners of the United States in lieu of equivalent subjects in the examination required under section ninety-four. Neither section says which subjects of the NBCE examination are equivalent, or whether any is accepted in lieu of the practical demonstrations. The board's rules, which might settle this, were not read (see Statutory authority).Source: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section94 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section92 · checked 2026-10-05
  • The board shall examine each applicant as to his qualifications for the practice of chiropractic. malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section94
  • Such examination shall be in writing, and except as otherwise provided by section ninety-two, shall include the subjects of anatomy, physiology, chemistry, pathology, diagnosis, hygiene, public health, the use and effects of X–ray and chiropractic principles and practice as taught in chiropractic schools and colleges, and its examination shall also include practical demonstrations of chiropractic technique. malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section94
  • Except for the examinations in chiropractic principles and practice, the use and effects of X–ray, and the practical demonstrations of chiropractic techniques, the examinations required by this section may be proposed by the board of higher education, and shall be under the direction and supervision of the board of registration of chiropractors. malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section94
Jurisprudence requirement
unverified Unverified. The board's pages on mass.gov returned HTTP 403 on 2026-10-05. The examination subjects in section 94 do not include law or jurisprudence, and sections 89 to 97, including 91A and 94A, do not mention a jurisprudence examination.Read on 2026-10-05: General Laws chapter 112, sections 89 to 97. Not reached: the board's page and the chiropractic licensing page on mass.gov (both HTTP 403).Source: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/board-of-registration-of-chiropractors · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section94 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section89 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section90 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section91 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section91A · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section92 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section93 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section94A · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section95 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section96 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section97 · checked 2026-10-05
Scope: what is included
published Section 89 defines chiropractic. The same section says nothing in the definition shall exclude supportive procedures and therapy, including braces, traction, heat, cold, sound, electricity, and dietary and nutritional advice, as treatment supplemental to a chiropractic adjustment. Section 97 says registered chiropractors may render services under the workers' compensation and rehabilitation laws.Source: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section89 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section97 · checked 2026-10-05
Scope: what is excluded
published General Laws chapter 112, section 89. The exclusion sentence carries its own exception: the X-ray and analytical instruments may be used solely for the purposes of chiropractic examinations.Source: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section89 · checked 2026-10-05
  • It shall exclude operative surgery, prescription or use of drugs or medicines, the practice of obstetrics, the treatment of infectious diseases, and internal examinations whether or not diagnostic instruments are used except that the X–ray and analytical instruments may be used solely for the purposes of chiropractic examinations. malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section89
Continuing education
published Section 96 says every registered chiropractor practicing shall annually, before April first, pay the board a license fee, and that the board shall thereupon issue a license renewal certificate, provided, however, that the chiropractor shall furnish the board satisfactory evidence of having attended, in the twelve months preceding each renewal date, twelve hours of instruction in chiropractic related subjects as conducted by the Massachusetts Chiropractic Society, or of having received equivalent instruction as approved by the board. Satisfactory evidence of completion of post-graduate study of a type and character, at an educational session or institution, both as approved by the board, shall be considered that equivalent. The board may waive the educational requirements if it is satisfied that an applicant was prevented from meeting them by reason of an unusual emergency, or that the applicant has undergone an extreme hardship, or for other good and sufficient reason deemed adequate by the board. The board may suspend a registered chiropractor's authority to practice for failure to comply with any of the above requirements, which in section 96 include notifying the board of office addresses, the license fee and the educational requirements.Section 89 defines the license renewal certificate as a certificate the board issues annually upon payment of the license fee and upon presentation of satisfactory evidence that the chiropractor has completed the prescribed educational requirements for renewal.Source: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section96 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section89 · checked 2026-10-05
Endorsement or reciprocity
published Under section 92, a person licensed by a chiropractic board of any other state that had, when the person obtained the license, a standard equal to that of the commonwealth and that extends similar privileges to persons licensed by the commonwealth, or a person certified by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners of the United States, may be registered at the discretion of the board, upon payment of a fee and production of the documents the section names. If you apply under a license granted by another state, you shall produce evidence of having practiced chiropractic under that license for at least three years.Source: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section92 · checked 2026-10-05
  • Any person licensed by a chiropractic board of any other state having at the time when said person obtained his license a standard equal to that of this commonwealth and which extends similar privileges to persons licensed by the commonwealth, or any person certified by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners of the United States, may be registered at the discretion of the board malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section92
  • the production to the board of his diploma, the license obtained in such other state by examination or the proof of his certification by said National Board of Chiropractic Examiners of the United States, and evidence satisfactory to the board that he is of good moral character. malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section92
  • Any person making application under this section under a license granted by another state shall produce evidence that he has practiced chiropractic under such license for at least three years. malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section92
Summary
published In Massachusetts, the board of registration of chiropractors licenses chiropractors under General Laws chapter 112, sections 89 to 97, and the board's rules are unverified (the board's pages on mass.gov returned HTTP 403 on 2026-10-05, and no statute page read links to the rules). Under section 91 you shall furnish the board with satisfactory proof of two years in a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in liberal arts or science, and of graduation from a chiropractic school or college approved by the board that meets the statute's three conditions, among them a course of four academic years comprising a total of four thousand hours. Section 94 says the board shall examine each applicant; the examination shall be in writing and, except as otherwise provided by section 92, shall include the subjects section 94 lists, and shall also include practical demonstrations of chiropractic technique. The statute gives the examination no name. Section 92 says: The board may accept any or all facts of the examination of said National Board of Chiropractic Examiners of the United States in lieu of equivalent subjects in the examination required under section ninety-four. The statute names no NBCE part for licensure, and which parts the board itself names is unverified (the board's pages on mass.gov returned HTTP 403 on 2026-10-05); whether the board requires a jurisprudence exam is unverified (the board's pages on mass.gov returned HTTP 403 on 2026-10-05). In your final academic year at a school approved by the board, you may practice as a student extern under the supervision and conditions section 91A sets, and section 89 sets the scope of practice and its exclusions. For the license renewal certificate, section 96 requires satisfactory evidence of twelve hours of instruction in chiropractic related subjects in the twelve months preceding each renewal date, as conducted by the Massachusetts Chiropractic Society, or of equivalent instruction as approved by the board, and the board may waive this on the grounds the section states. If you are licensed in another state that meets section 92's conditions, or certified by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners, the board may register you at its discretion upon payment of a fee and production of the documents section 92 names, and an applicant under another state's license shall produce evidence of at least three years of practice under it.Source: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section89 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section91 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section91A · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section92 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section94 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section96 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section90 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section93 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section94A · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section95 · https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section97 · checked 2026-10-05

Recorded limit. The Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards publishes a record for each board at https://www.fclb.org/. That site returned HTTP 403 to us when checked on 2026-10-04, so its record could not be read.

The board is the authority on everything here. Requirements change. Confirm anything you intend to act on with the board directly.

Cite this entry. Massachusetts licensure. In The Kaleidoscope. ChiroTrack. Last verified 5 October 2026. https://kaleidoscope.thechirotrack.com/licensure-massachusetts.html. Accessed ________.

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