State Licensure Requirement Disclosure

Graduates of the MSTCM and DACM programs at ACTCM are eligible to take both the national certification exam modules offered by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM), and the California Acupuncture Licensing Exam (CALE). Graduates of the DACM Completion Program are only eligible for NCCAOM certification exams and the California Acupuncture Licensing Exam on the basis of their Master’s level degree, which is a pre-requisite for entry in to the DACMCP. The DACMCP does not confer eligibility for certification or licensure on its own.

The ability of an individual candidate to be licensed in a state is dependent on meeting the specific licensure requirements for that state. Graduation from an accredited acupuncture or Chinese medicine program does not guarantee licensure in a state. Please see specific licensure requirements for the state in which you intend to practice for more professional licensure information. State regulations for licensure are ever changing. CIIS intends to insure the accuracy of the following licensure route eligibility by reviewing it annually, but cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information. Prospective students should always check with the state license granting authority to determine eligibility.

List of states (including the District of Columbia) for which CIIS has determined that the MSTCM and DACM curriculum meets the state educational requirements for licensure or certification with detailed exceptions:

AK, AZ, AR¹, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL^2,3, GA, HI, ID⁴, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME⁵, MD, MA⁶, MI, MN, MS³, MO, MT, NE, NH⁴, NJ^3,4, NM^3,7, NY, NC, ND, OH⁸, OR³, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX³, UT, VT⁹, VA¹⁰, WA¹¹, WV¹¹, WI, WY

The following states have these exceptions for the MSTCM and DACM programs that alter national or California standards :

1. AR: Requires 60 semester credits of prior college education prior to entering, but 30 of those credits must be in a relevant science: biology, chemistry, anatomy, psychology and physiology
2. FL: Requires 60 hours of education in injection therapy
3. FL, MS, NJ, NM, OR, TX: Require a state jurisprudence exam
4. ID: Requires passage of CCAOM CNT Course
5. ME, NH, NJ: Require a BS/BA degree prior to entering an acupuncture and Chinese medicine program
6. MA: Requires that a lab course of biology, anatomy or physiology be taken prior to entering. The lab may be a distance course.
7. NM: Requires approval of education from each applicant. Our programs meet their requirements, but extensive documentation must be filed by the applicant. New Mexico also requires passage of a practical and clinical exam administered by the state board.
8. OH: Requires a completion certificate for a course on FDA dispensary practices
9. VT: Requires 800 hours of internship clinic. The MSTCM has 780 hours. Graduates of the MSTCM will need to take one extra clinic shift to meet the requirement in Vermont. The DACM program meets this requirement.
10. VA: Prohibits distance or correspondence courses
11. WA, WV: Require microbiology

List of states for which CIIS has not determined that the MSTCM and DACM curriculum meets the State educational requirements for licensure or certification:

AL¹, NV^2,3, OK¹, SD¹

1. AL, OK, SD: Do not have an acupuncture practice act. In states without a licensing act, one cannot obtain a license but may be able to still practice, the practice is restricted to physicians only, or one may practice under the license of another practitioner. Students are advised to conduct more research to assess the ability to practice in these states.
2. NV: Requires 2500 hours of didactic coursework, which is significantly in excess of national standards. The MSTCM program has 2138 hours of didactic course work, and the DACM has 2468 hours of didactic course work. Up to 250 hours of the 2500 requirement for licensure may be submitted through CEU credits.
3. NV: Requires a BS/BA degree prior to entering an acupuncture and Chinese herbology program.