← All licensure pages · All entries for New York → · Rules on the business of practice in New York

New York

The State Board for Chiropractic, within the New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions.

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 New York, a state.Source: https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/license-requirements · checked 2026-10-04
Licensing body
published The State Board for Chiropractic, within the New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions. Under the statute, the Board of Regents appoints the board to assist the Regents and the department on licensing and professional conduct. For the procedure to withdraw your application, the department's requirements page directs you to the Chiropractic Unit by email, telephone or fax. Practice and continuing-education questions go to the State Board for Chiropractic at 89 Washington Avenue, Albany.Source: https://www.op.nysed.gov/chiropractic · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/contact-information · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/article-132 · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/license-requirements · checked 2026-10-04
Statutory authority
published Act: New York Education Law, Title VIII, Article 132 (Chiropractic), sections 6550 to 6556. Licensure requirements are at section 6554 and mandatory continuing education at section 6554-a. Rules: Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, Part 73 (Chiropractic), sections 73.1 to 73.5. The department publishes its own copies of both. Its disclaimer on them states: Readers are advised to consult McKinney's Consolidated Laws of New York (West Publishing Corporation) and Title 8 of the Unofficial Version New York Codes, Rules and Regulations - Title 8 (8 NYCRR), published by the Department of State, and the State Register for the official exposition of the text of these statutes, rules and regulations, as well as for amendments and any subsequent changes or revisions thereto. The department's Laws, Rules & Regulations page also links Part 29 of the Rules of the Board of Regents (Unprofessional Conduct) and Section 52-14 of the Commissioner's Regulations (Chiropractic).Source: https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/article-132 · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/subpart-73 · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/license-requirements · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations · checked 2026-10-04
Degree requirement
published You need 90 semester hours of college study, with a GPA of not less than 2.75 on a 4.0 scale or its substantial equivalent as determined by the department, and a minimum of 24 semester hours in life and physical science courses; at least half of these courses include a laboratory component. Part 73 calls this preprofessional postsecondary education; under section 73.1(b), an applicant who lacks not more than 30 of those semester hours may satisfy the requirement by providing evidence acceptable to the department of an internship or graduate study acceptable to the department, completed after earning a degree in chiropractic. If you graduated from a Doctor of Chiropractic program accredited by the CCE at the time of your graduation, you meet the professional education requirement; if you transferred between programs, you must have completed the equivalent of your final year in a program with fully accredited status by CCE. The statute states two years of preprofessional college study and a four-year resident program; the regulation and the department's requirements page state the 90-semester-hour figure. If you received a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from an unaccredited program, you also complete not less than two academic years of study satisfactory to the department in a registered or accredited chiropractic school program. Alternatively, if you graduated from an unaccredited program and have completed a specialization credential, the department describes a route contingent on Department staff recommendation and approval by the Board of Regents in each case: the chief academic officer of a Doctor of Chiropractic program registered by the New York State Education Department and/or accredited by the CCE attests to your completion of the equivalent of one additional academic year acceptable to the New York State Board for Chiropractic at the accredited DCP, including the specified studies, of no less than 24 semester credit hours or the equivalent for programs using trimesters or quarters. Every applicant completes coursework or training in identifying and reporting child abuse (Education Law section 6507(3)(a)). You must also be of good moral character and at least 21 years old. Section 6554 of the statute, in the department's copy, also sets a citizenship or immigration status requirement: that you be a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States.The requirements page writes Council of Chiropractic Education in one place; elsewhere on the same page and in Part 73 the department writes Council on Chiropractic Education. The statute, in the department's copy, writes commissioner`s with a backtick as the apostrophe.Source: https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/license-requirements · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/article-132 · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/subpart-73 · checked 2026-10-04
Student practice before licensure
published Education Law section 6555 (Exempt persons): Nothing in this article shall be construed to affect or prevent a student enrolled in a college of chiropractic in this state from engaging in all phases of clinical practice under supervision of a licensed chiropractor or physician in a curriculum registered by the department. After the chiropractic degree, section 73.1(b) of the Commissioner's Regulations provides: An applicant who lacks not more than 30 semester hours of the preprofessional postsecondary education required in subdivision (a) of this section may satisfy such requirement by providing evidence acceptable to the department of the following experience completed after earning a degree in chiropractic: the experience listed is an internship acceptable to the department or graduate study acceptable to the department.Source: https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/article-132 · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/subpart-73 · checked 2026-10-04
  • Nothing in this article shall be construed to affect or prevent a student enrolled in a college of chiropractic in this state from engaging in all phases of clinical practice under supervision of a licensed chiropractor or physician in a curriculum registered by the department. op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/article-132
  • An applicant who lacks not more than 30 semester hours of the preprofessional postsecondary education required in subdivision (a) of this section may satisfy such requirement by providing evidence acceptable to the department of the following experience completed after earning a degree in chiropractic: op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/subpart-73
NBCE parts required
published You need NBCE Parts I, II, III and IV. The department states that the NBCE Physiotherapy subject is not required. If you apply by endorsement, you must have passed Parts I and II; where Parts III and IV were not completed, the department may accept one of the alternatives under Endorsement or reciprocity.Source: https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/license-requirements · checked 2026-10-04
State-specific exam
not published None published. The department's requirements page names NBCE Parts I to IV as the examination requirement, and its contact page names the NBCE as the body that administers the chiropractic licensing examinations. Regulation section 73.2 describes a three-part licensing examination, with Part III a clinical competence examination the scope and content of which shall be satisfactory to the State Board for Chiropractic and the department, and provides: The department may accept grades acceptable to the State Board for Chiropractic on an examination of the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners as meeting requirements of Parts I and II of the licensing examination, provided the grades were obtained on examinations administered subsequent to September 1, 1977. The requirements page and the contact page name no separate New York-administered examination.Source: https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/license-requirements · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/contact-information · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/subpart-73 · checked 2026-10-04
Jurisprudence requirement
not published The department's pages, Article 132 and Part 73 name no law, rules or jurisprudence examination as a licensure requirement. The department publishes a self-assessment, Test your knowledge of Law and Practice, linked from its Laws, Rules & Regulations page. It presents itself as a measure of your working knowledge of the legal requirements governing the practice of your profession. Absence in what we checked is not absence at the board.Read on 2026-10-04: the profession homepage; the license requirements page; the license application forms page; Education Law Article 132; Part 73 of the Commissioner's Regulations; the chiropractic FAQ; the continuing education FAQ; the contact information page; the Laws, Rules & Regulations page; the Test your knowledge of Law and Practice page.Source: https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/license-requirements · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/article-132 · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/subpart-73 · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations · https://www.op.nysed.gov/chiropractic · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/license-application-forms · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/frequently-asked-questions-chiropractic · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/continuing-education-faq · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/contact-information · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/test-your-knowledge-law-and-practice · checked 2026-10-04
Scope: what is included
published Education Law section 6551 defines the practice of chiropractic as detecting and correcting structural imbalance, distortion or subluxations by manual or mechanical means, to remove nerve interference that is the result of or related to distortion, misalignment or subluxation of or in the vertebral column. Section 6551 bars ionizing radiation except X-ray, which it states shall be used for the detection of structural imbalance, distortion, or subluxations in the human body. If you completed a registered program with nutrition coursework satisfactory to the department, you may use nutritional counseling, including dispensing board-approved supplements. Section 73.3 of the regulations provides that licensees may use any electrical devices essential to their practice, provided the devices have not been disapproved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration or its successors, or by the department. Section 73.4 provides: Pursuant to section 6551(3) of the Education Law, a licensee may use for diagnostic purposes those clinical laboratory services which are contained within the required coursework of all registered doctoral programs in chiropractic in this State and the study of which the licensee has successfully completed in a course of study satisfactory to the department, provided that nothing herein contained shall be construed as expanding the definition of the practice of chiropractic. The department publishes a list of approved clinical laboratory tests (revised February 2002) and FAQ answers on extremity adjustment and venipuncture.Source: https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/article-132 · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/subpart-73 · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/frequently-asked-questions-chiropractic · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/clinical-laboratory-tests-approved · checked 2026-10-04
Scope: what is excluded
published Education Law section 6551 and section 73.4 of the Commissioner's Regulations. The department's chiropractic FAQ publishes further answers on specific practices, including animals, acupuncture, school health examinations and casts.Source: https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/article-132 · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/frequently-asked-questions-chiropractic · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/subpart-73 · checked 2026-10-04
Continuing education
published You complete 36 hours of acceptable formal continuing education in each three-year (triennial) registration period. No more than 12 hours may be self-instructional coursework; the chiropractic FAQ states a minimum of 24 hours in live format. Where ten or more hours are required in a registration period, at least one-third must be in patient communications, recordkeeping, and/or matters of law and/or ethics. Courses designed solely to maximize practice profits do not count. Courses must come from an approved sponsor. CCE-accredited colleges and institutions with New York-registered chiropractic programs are deemed approved; other New York or national chiropractic organizations or higher education institutions may be approved by the department for three years, for a $900 application fee. You are exempt in the registration period in which you are first licensed, unless you were first licensed by endorsement. Hours do not carry over. The department may grant adjustments for health reasons certified by an appropriate health care professional, for extended active duty with the armed forces of the United States, or for other good cause acceptable to the department which may prevent compliance. You certify compliance at each re-registration and keep records for six years. A $45 continuing education fee is payable each triennial registration period under the statute; section 73.5(j) collects it from licensees engaged in the practice of chiropractic in New York State, except those exempt in the registration period in which they are first licensed.Section 6554-a, in the department's copy, contains author- izing, with a stray hyphen and space.Source: https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/article-132 · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/subpart-73 · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/continuing-education-faq · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/frequently-asked-questions-chiropractic · checked 2026-10-04
Endorsement or reciprocity
published New York licenses by endorsement. If you are licensed elsewhere, you must have passed NBCE Parts I and II. If you have not passed Parts III and IV, the department may accept a state-administered clinical competency examination that tested hands-on demonstration of skills and knowledge in X-ray, Neurological and Orthopedic Testing, Physical Diagnosis, and Chiropractic Technique, attested by the licensing authority on Form 3, together with two licensed colleagues attesting on Form 4 to two years of experience during the past five years. If you passed Parts III and IV, you may instead be licensed by examination, without the experience requirement, though Form 3 verification is still required. If you have no practical clinical competency examination, you may meet the exam requirement with the NBCE SPEC and seven of the immediate past ten years of acceptable practice experience, attested by two licensed colleagues on Form 4. If you are licensed by endorsement, you are not exempt from continuing education in your first registration period.Source: https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/license-requirements · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/continuing-education-faq · checked 2026-10-04
Summary
published New York licenses chiropractors through the State Education Department's Office of the Professions, with a State Board for Chiropractic, under Education Law Article 132 and Part 73 of the Commissioner's Regulations. You need 90 semester hours of college study, with a GPA of not less than 2.75 on a 4.0 scale or its substantial equivalent as determined by the department and a minimum of 24 semester hours in life and physical science; under section 73.1(b), an applicant who lacks not more than 30 of those hours may satisfy the requirement with an internship or graduate study acceptable to the department, completed after the chiropractic degree. You also need to have graduated from a Doctor of Chiropractic program accredited by the CCE at the time of your graduation (with your final year at a fully accredited program if you transferred) or, if your program was unaccredited, to complete the further study the department sets out; and you need coursework or training in identifying and reporting child abuse. NBCE Parts I to IV are required and Physiotherapy is not; the requirements page names no separate state examination and no jurisprudence examination. The statute defines the practice and sets out its exclusions in section 6551. Continuing education is 36 hours every three years, at least one-third in patient communications, recordkeeping, and/or matters of law and/or ethics. If you are licensed elsewhere, you can apply by endorsement on the NBCE and experience conditions the department sets out.Source: https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/license-requirements · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/contact-information · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/subpart-73 · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations/article-132 · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/laws-rules-regulations · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/test-your-knowledge-law-and-practice · https://www.op.nysed.gov/chiropractic · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/license-application-forms · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/frequently-asked-questions-chiropractic · https://www.op.nysed.gov/professions/chiropractic/continuing-education-faq · checked 2026-10-04
Corrected. This page told you New York requires an additional academic year beyond the Doctor of Chiropractic degree, and that New York does not publish which National Board parts it requires. The additional year applies to graduates of unaccredited programs, and the department names Parts I, II, III and IV. Corrections records what this page said before, what is true, and how we found out.

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. New York licensure. In The Kaleidoscope. ChiroTrack. Last verified 4 October 2026. https://kaleidoscope.thechirotrack.com/licensure-new-york.html. Accessed ________.

Corrections to this entry: 10 October 2026 · 5 October 2026 · 5 October 2026 · If this is your institution: how this entry was sourced, and how to correct it