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North Carolina

North Carolina Board of Chiropractic Examiners.

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 North Carolina, a state. Its chiropractic licensing body is the North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners, created by Article 8 of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes.Source: https://ncchiroboard.com/ · http://www.ncleg.net/Enactedlegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_90/Article_8.html · checked 2026-10-04
Licensing body
published The board's website heads itself North Carolina Board of Chiropractic Examiners. Its page footer and the statute use North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners.Source: https://ncchiroboard.com/ · https://ncchiroboard.com/about-the-board/ · http://www.ncleg.net/Enactedlegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_90/Article_8.html · checked 2026-10-04
Statutory authority
published The act is North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 90, Article 8, Chiropractic (G.S. 90-139 onward), at ncleg.net. The rules are Title 21 of the North Carolina Administrative Code, Chapter 10, Board of Chiropractic Examiners (21 NCAC 10), at reports.oah.state.nc.us. The board's homepage links to both, as “Statutes” and “Rules”. The consolidated Chapter 10 PDF shows many rules as Readopted Eff. April 1, 2026.Source: http://www.ncleg.net/Enactedlegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_90/Article_8.html · http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac.asp?folderName=%5CTitle%2021%20-%20Occupational%20Licensing%20Boards%20and%20Commissions%5CChapter%2010%20-%20Chiropractic%20Examiners · http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2021%20-%20occupational%20licensing%20boards%20and%20commissions/chapter%2010%20-%20chiropractic%20examiners/chapter%2010%20rules.pdf · https://ncchiroboard.com/ · checked 2026-10-04
Degree requirement
published G.S. 90-143(b) makes it the board's duty to examine an applicant who is or will become, within 60 days of examination, a graduate of a four-year chiropractic college that is either accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education or deemed by the board to be its equivalent, and who furnishes to the Board, in the manner prescribed by the Board, all of the following: satisfactory evidence of good moral character; proof of a baccalaureate degree from a college or university accredited by a regional accreditation body recognized by the United States Department of Education; and a transcript confirming at least 4,200 hours of accredited chiropractic education. The board shall not count hours earned at an institution that was not CCE-accredited, or not the board-determined equivalent, at the time the hours were earned. Under G.S. 90-143(c), the board shall not issue a license until you exhibit a diploma or other proof that the Doctor of Chiropractic degree has been conferred. The board's FAQ says any baccalaureate qualifies, not specifically a B.S., and that it need not be issued before chiropractic graduation but must be conferred prior to being eligible for licensure. The board's Reciprocity page says a baccalaureate is required by law regardless of reciprocity from any state. Rule 21 NCAC 10 .0212(a) deems certain medical and osteopathic colleges the equivalent of a CCE-accredited chiropractic college, and Rule .0212(b) says For purposes of North Carolina licensure, the Board shall count any and all hours earned by an applicant at a medical college as set forth in Paragraph (a) of this Rule that have been accepted as transfer credits by the applicant's chiropractic college. The board requires a third-party comparison to United States standards to evaluate an international transcript, application or credential, unless the exceptions on its International page apply.Source: http://www.ncleg.net/Enactedlegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_90/Article_8.html · https://ncchiroboard.com/faqs/ · https://ncchiroboard.com/reciprocity-candidates/ · http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2021%20-%20occupational%20licensing%20boards%20and%20commissions/chapter%2010%20-%20chiropractic%20examiners/chapter%2010%20rules.pdf · https://ncchiroboard.com/international-students-and-applicants/ · checked 2026-10-04
Student practice before licensure
published G.S. 90-142.1 provides for a preceptorship program, a clinical program of an approved chiropractic college. Each student enrolled in a chiropractic college that meets the accreditation requirements of G.S. 90-143 may participate in a preceptorship program. G.S. 90-142.1(a) defines the program and direct supervision. G.S. 90-147, which makes practicing chiropractic without a license a Class 1 misdemeanor, carries an exception: students of chiropractic participating in a preceptorship program may perform chiropractic services without a license under direct supervision as set forth in G.S. 90-142.1. Rule 21 NCAC 10 .0218 sets what a preceptor shall provide to the board before supervision begins, the preceptor's qualifications and the preceptor's conditions. The board's Preceptors page, headed Preceptor Guidelines, sets out paragraphs (a) to (c) whose wording differs from rule .0218. Among the differences, it writes may supervise where the rule writes shall supervise, “must” where the rule writes “shall”, and The minimum requirements for a preceptor are as follows: where the rule writes The requirements for a preceptor are as follows:. Separately, Rule .0213(h) deems graduates of accredited chiropractic colleges, and students in accredited colleges serving college-sponsored preceptorships in North Carolina, to have satisfied all requirements imposed by that rule and competent to perform the duties of a clinical assistant, with a filing condition for anyone exempt who works as a clinical assistant in North Carolina for more than 180 days. G.S. 90-143.4(a) states that nothing in that section shall be construed to allow a chiropractic clinical assistant to provide the services it lists.The rules PDF shows .0218 as Eff. April 1, 2024; Amended Eff. April 1, 2026. G.S. 90-142(7), the board's fee power, names fees for provisional licensure. Neither Article 8 nor 21 NCAC 10 describes a provisional license, or a temporary, training or graduate permit to practice chiropractic.Source: http://www.ncleg.net/Enactedlegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_90/Article_8.html · http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2021%20-%20occupational%20licensing%20boards%20and%20commissions/chapter%2010%20-%20chiropractic%20examiners/chapter%2010%20rules.pdf · https://ncchiroboard.com/preceptors/ · checked 2026-10-04
NBCE parts required
published Except as its Paragraph (f) provides, Rule 21 NCAC 10 .0203(d) requires an applicant who has never been licensed in North Carolina or who is not a reciprocity applicant to first achieve a score of 375 or higher on NBCE Parts I-IV and the Physiotherapy examination before taking the North Carolina examination. The board's application page says passing scores on Part I, II, III, IV and Physiotherapy are required. Paragraph (f) sets a waiver schedule by graduation date. If you graduated from chiropractic college between July 1, 1966 and June 30, 1986, you are required to submit scores of 375 or higher on Part I, Part II and the elective Physiotherapy examination, and are not required to submit a score on Part III or Part IV. If you graduated between July 1, 1986 and June 30, 1997, you are required to submit scores of 375 or higher on Part I, Part II, Physiotherapy and Part III, and are not required to submit a score on Part IV. To receive a license, a waiver applicant shall take and pass the Special Purpose Examination for Chiropractic (SPEC) and the North Carolina Examination. The SPEC is administered by the NBCE, and its passing score shall be 375 or higher. Under Rule .0203(g), these applicants must first take and pass the SPEC before taking the North Carolina examination: a reciprocity applicant; a waiver applicant; and an applicant previously licensed in North Carolina whose active license has lapsed for more than 180 days, unless the exception in .0203(g)(3) applies. Reciprocity and waiver applicants who have achieved 375 or higher on Part IV shall not be required to take and pass the SPEC. The board's FAQ says reciprocity candidates are required to pass the SPEC with a score of 375 or higher, and does not state the Part IV exception. The FAQ also states the NBCE parts for graduates from 7/1/1997 to the present.The FAQ's line for graduates from 7/1/1997 sets (including physiotherapy) after Part III. Rule .0203(d) names the Physiotherapy examination separately from Parts I-IV.Source: http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2021%20-%20occupational%20licensing%20boards%20and%20commissions/chapter%2010%20-%20chiropractic%20examiners/chapter%2010%20rules.pdf · https://ncchiroboard.com/doctor-of-chiropractic/ · https://ncchiroboard.com/faqs/ · http://www.ncleg.net/Enactedlegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_90/Article_8.html · checked 2026-10-04
State-specific exam
published An examination for licensure that G.S. 90-143(b) makes it the board's duty to give to the applicants that subsection describes (see Degree requirement), and that the statute says shall include the studies it lists, among them North Carolina jurisprudence. The statute says the board may include as part of the examination any examination developed and administered by the NBCE or its successor organization that the board considers appropriate, that the examination may be administered by a national testing service, and that the board shall set the passing scores for all parts of the examination. Under G.S. 90-143(d) the board may grant you a license if your scores on all parts of the examination required by the board equal or exceed the passing scores it sets and you satisfy all other requirements for licensure in the Article. The board's rules call it the North Carolina examination set forth in G.S. 90-143(b), in Rule 21 NCAC 10 .0203(a), a rule titled NORTH CAROLINA EXAMINATION. Paragraph (h) of that rule, headed Nature of Examination, describes the North Carolina jurisprudence examination, a test of North Carolina chiropractic law and regulations with a passing grade of 75 percent. The board's FAQ answers When can I take the Board examination for licensure? with the North Carolina Jurisprudence exam, and says the SPEC is not accepted in place of the State exam. Neither G.S. 90-143, Rule .0203 nor the board's FAQ states in so many words that the North Carolina examination and the jurisprudence examination are one exam, or says which examination covers the studies G.S. 90-143(b) lists other than North Carolina jurisprudence.Source: http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2021%20-%20occupational%20licensing%20boards%20and%20commissions/chapter%2010%20-%20chiropractic%20examiners/chapter%2010%20rules.pdf · https://ncchiroboard.com/faqs/ · http://www.ncleg.net/Enactedlegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_90/Article_8.html · checked 2026-10-04
Jurisprudence requirement
published Yes. Under Rule 21 NCAC 10 .0203(h), the North Carolina jurisprudence examination tests your knowledge of North Carolina chiropractic law and regulations, and the passing grade shall be 75 percent. Rule .0203(c) says it shall be given at least four times during the calendar year. The board's application page says that once all required application documents have been received and processed, you are granted access to an online Jurisprudence Presentation and Exam, and that you will not be allowed to take the exam until all documents, including the SBI background check, have been received and processed. The board's FAQ says an online Jurisprudence Review Course is provided first. Reciprocity applicants shall pass the jurisprudence exam (Rule .0203(b)(3)); the board's Reciprocity page says reciprocity candidates from the states it names will need to pass it. Separately, the board's application page lists a Certification of Reading the General Statutes of NC.Source: http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2021%20-%20occupational%20licensing%20boards%20and%20commissions/chapter%2010%20-%20chiropractic%20examiners/chapter%2010%20rules.pdf · https://ncchiroboard.com/doctor-of-chiropractic/ · https://ncchiroboard.com/faqs/ · https://ncchiroboard.com/reciprocity-candidates/ · checked 2026-10-04
Scope: what is included
published G.S. 90-143(a) defines chiropractic. Under G.S. 90-151, a licensee shall have the right to practice the science known as chiropractic, in accordance with the method, thought, and practice of chiropractors, as taught in recognized chiropractic schools and colleges; the same sentence continues with the exclusions under Scope: what is excluded. Under G.S. 90-151.1, A chiropractic physician may sell nutritional supplements at a chiropractic office to a patient as part of the patient's plan of treatment but may not otherwise sell nutritional supplements at a chiropractic office. Under G.S. 90-153, a licensed chiropractor may have access to and practice chiropractic in any hospital or sanitarium in North Carolina that receives aid or support from the public, and shall have access to diagnostic X-ray records and laboratory records relating to the chiropractor's patient. Rule 21 NCAC 10 .0208 sets the conditions for performing acupuncture, beginning with the NBCE Acupuncture Examination at a passing score of 375 or greater and the instruction prerequisites. The board's dry needling position statement says Dry Needling falls within the scope of chiropractic in North Carolina, and that licensed North Carolina chiropractic physicians who have completed adequate training in Dry Needling may administer it. The board's FAQ says physical therapy modalities may be used, and that the chiropractor may not advertise as a physical therapist unless they have also passed the state Physical Therapy board examination and meet its licensure requirements.The board's Position Statements page says The North Carolina Board of Chiropractic Examiner’s Position Statements are interpretive statements that attempt to explain the meaning of laws or rules that govern the practice of chiropractic in North Carolina, usually those relating to discipline. It also says a Position Statement should not be seen as the promulgation of a new standard as of the date of issuance or amendment.Source: http://www.ncleg.net/Enactedlegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_90/Article_8.html · http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2021%20-%20occupational%20licensing%20boards%20and%20commissions/chapter%2010%20-%20chiropractic%20examiners/chapter%2010%20rules.pdf · https://ncchiroboard.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Dry-Needling_082019.pdf · https://ncchiroboard.com/faqs/ · https://ncchiroboard.com/position-statements/ · checked 2026-10-04
Scope: what is excluded
published G.S. 90-151 and G.S. 90-151.1. G.S. 90-154.3(d) says that section does not alter the scope defined in G.S. 90-143 or the limitation of license in G.S. 90-151. The board also addresses scope in its position statement on injectable vitamins and in its FAQ.Source: http://www.ncleg.net/Enactedlegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_90/Article_8.html · https://ncchiroboard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Position-Statement-on-Injectable-Vitamins.pdf · https://ncchiroboard.com/faqs/ · checked 2026-10-04
Continuing education
published G.S. 90-155(a) says Licensees must renew their license each year on or before December 31 of each year following the year in which a license is first issued. With renewal you shall furnish the board evidence of having attended two days of educational sessions or programs approved by the Board during the preceding 12 months, and the board may waive this requirement due to sickness or other hardship. Rule 21 NCAC 10 .0204(e) defines one day as nine hours. Except as Paragraphs (f), (g) and (h) of that rule provide, you shall obtain 18 hours (2 days) of Board-approved continuing education each calendar year. At least 10 hours shall be obtained by attending in-person or live online educational sessions. As many as eight hours may be obtained in the manner set forth in Rule .0210, and Rule .0210(d) says professional development credit shall not exceed two hours annually for all activities combined. Rule .0210(e) allows as many as 12 hours annually for attending a national meeting of the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards or a meeting of the NBCE. Under Rule .0204(f), if you were enrolled in chiropractic college at any time during your year of initial licensure, or were initially licensed after September 1st of the current year, you are permitted to renew for the ensuing year without continuing education, but are required to submit a renewal form and pay the renewal fee. The board's CE page states the requirement as two days, defined as 18 hours, each calendar year, which it says you can meet with 18 hours of classroom study, or, as a substitute, with a minimum of 10 hours of classroom study plus a maximum of eight hours of recorded online study, which may include up to a maximum of two self-study or self-reported professional development hours. It says classroom study may be redefined by the board to include both regular classroom learning as well as live-online study where the student has the ability to interact with the instructor. Rule .0207(a) says Only continuing education seminars approved by the Board shall count towards satisfying the requirements for license renewal, and no practice-building or motivational seminars shall be approved (Rule .0207(d)(1)).Rule .0207(d)(3) says Each seminar subject shall pertain to chiropractic licensure in this State. The board's FAQ cites rule .0205 for continuing education; the code shows .0205 as Repealed Eff. January 1, 2022. The board's FAQ says DC’s must renew annually on or before the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January in each year after a license has been issued (GS 90-155). That date differs from the December 31 date in G.S. 90-155(a).Source: http://www.ncleg.net/Enactedlegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_90/Article_8.html · http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2021%20-%20occupational%20licensing%20boards%20and%20commissions/chapter%2010%20-%20chiropractic%20examiners/chapter%2010%20rules.pdf · https://ncchiroboard.com/continuing-education-requirements-doctor-of-chiropractic-dc/ · https://ncchiroboard.com/faqs/ · checked 2026-10-04
Endorsement or reciprocity
published If you are already licensed in another state, G.S. 90-143.1 says the board shall issue a license upon evidence of the conditions it lists, which the statute joins with “and”. Rule 21 NCAC 10 .0203(b) requires reciprocity applicants to submit the application, pay the application fee, pass the jurisprudence exam, comply with G.S. 90-143.1, and provide an attestation that they meet it. Under Rule .0203(g), a reciprocity applicant must pass the SPEC before taking the North Carolina examination, unless the applicant has achieved 375 or higher on NBCE Part IV. The board's Reciprocity page says Only 4 states qualify for reciprocity with NC: and lists Kansas, Maryland, S. Dakota and Tennessee. The paragraph after the list begins Reciprocity Candidates from those 5 states. The page also says a baccalaureate is required regardless of reciprocity. The board's FAQ describes an application for license holders from states whose licensing requirements are equal to or greater than those of NC, and says a reciprocity form of verification must be completed by the chiropractic examiners office of the state you are applying from.Source: http://www.ncleg.net/Enactedlegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_90/Article_8.html · http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2021%20-%20occupational%20licensing%20boards%20and%20commissions/chapter%2010%20-%20chiropractic%20examiners/chapter%2010%20rules.pdf · https://ncchiroboard.com/reciprocity-candidates/ · https://ncchiroboard.com/faqs/ · checked 2026-10-04
Summary
published North Carolina's chiropractic licensing body is the North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners, under General Statutes Chapter 90, Article 8, and 21 NCAC 10. To be examined, you must be, or within 60 days of examination become, a graduate of a four-year chiropractic college that is CCE-accredited or deemed equivalent by the board, and furnish to the board, in the manner the board prescribes, all of the following: satisfactory evidence of good moral character, proof of a baccalaureate degree from a college or university accredited by a regional accreditation body recognized by the United States Department of Education, and a transcript confirming at least 4,200 hours of accredited chiropractic education; the board shall not issue a license until you exhibit a diploma or other proof that the Doctor of Chiropractic degree has been conferred. Each student enrolled in a chiropractic college that meets the accreditation requirements of G.S. 90-143 may participate in a preceptorship program, under the conditions in G.S. 90-142.1, rule .0218 and the board's Preceptors page, which words them differently. If you have never been licensed in North Carolina or are not a reciprocity applicant, rule .0203(d) requires 375 or higher on NBCE Parts I-IV and the Physiotherapy examination before the North Carolina examination, except under the graduation-date waiver schedule, and some applicants must also pass the SPEC. Rule .0203, titled North Carolina Examination, describes the North Carolina jurisprudence examination, a test of North Carolina chiropractic law and regulations with a 75 percent passing grade; scope is defined in G.S. 90-143(a) and 90-151, and exclusions are in G.S. 90-151 and 90-151.1 (see Scope: what is excluded); and continuing education is 18 hours (2 days) of Board-approved CE each calendar year, at least 10 of them in-person or live online, subject to the rule's exceptions and the statute's hardship waiver. If you are licensed in another state, G.S. 90-143.1 says the board shall issue a license on evidence of the conditions it lists; Rule .0203 says a reciprocity applicant shall pass the jurisprudence exam and must first pass the SPEC in order to take the North Carolina examination, unless the applicant has achieved a score of 375 or higher on Part IV of the National Board examination; and the board's Reciprocity page names the states it says qualify for reciprocity with North Carolina.Source: http://www.ncleg.net/Enactedlegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_90/Article_8.html · http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2021%20-%20occupational%20licensing%20boards%20and%20commissions/chapter%2010%20-%20chiropractic%20examiners/chapter%2010%20rules.pdf · https://ncchiroboard.com/preceptors/ · https://ncchiroboard.com/reciprocity-candidates/ · checked 2026-10-04

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. North Carolina licensure. In The Kaleidoscope. ChiroTrack. Last verified 4 October 2026. https://kaleidoscope.thechirotrack.com/licensure-north-carolina.html. Accessed ________.

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