Licensing and Regulations

Currently, Illinois does not have a legal definition of Naturopathic Medicine and thus does not have a licensing law to define the scope of practice for ND's. Dr. Lisa is licensed to practice medicine by the State of California.

Licensed States & Licensing Authorities  

Currently, 16 states, the District of Columbia, and the United States territories of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands have licensing laws for naturopathic doctors. In these states, ND’s are required to graduate from a four-year, residential naturopathic medical school and pass and extensive postdoctoral board examination (NPLEX) in order to receive a license. For information about the Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examination Board (NPLEX) and the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners NABNE, please see their page www.nabne.org.

Licensed naturopathic physicians must fulfill state-mandated continuing education requirements annually, and will have a specific scope of practice defined by their state's law. The states that currently have licensing laws for naturopathic physicians are:

• Alaska
• Arizona
• California
• Connecticut
• District of Columbia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Kansas
• Maine
• Minnesota

Organizations

American Association of Naturopathic Medical Colleges
The Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges (AANMC) was established in February 2001, to propel and foster the naturopathic medical profession by actively supporting the academic efforts of accredited and recognized schools of naturopathic medicine. Additional information on naturopathic schools can be found on the American Association of Naturopathic Medical Colleges website - www.aanmc.org.

AANMC Member Schools:

BASTYR University
14500 Juanita Dr. NE, Kenmore, Washington 98028-4966
Phone: (425) 823-1300, Fax: (425) 823-6222

National College of Natural Medicine
049 SW Porter St., Portland, OR 97201
Phone: (503) 552-1555

National University of Health Sciences
200 East Roosevelt Road, Lombard, IL 60148
Phone: (630) 629-2000, Fax: (630) 889-6499
* Granted candidacy status from the CNME in March 2008

Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine
2140 E. Broadway Rd., Tempe, Arizona 85282
Phone: (480) 858-9100, Fax (480) 858.9116

University of Bridgeport - College of Naturopathic Medicine
Health Science Center, 60 Lafayette Street, Bridgeport, Connecticut 06604
Phone: (800) EXCEL UB ext. 4108

Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine
1255 Sheppard Avenue East, Toronto, Ontario, M2K 1E2
Phone: (416) 498-1255, Toll Free: (866) 241-2266

Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine
Boucher Centre, 300-435 Columbia Street, New Westminster, British Columbia, V3L 5N8
Phone: 604-777-9981, Fax: (604) 777-9982

Board Programs

The Council on Naturopathic Medical Education
P.O. Box 178, Great Barrington, MA 01230
Phone: (413) 528-8877, Fax: (413) 528-8880
President: Marcia Prenguber, ND
Executive Director: Daniel Seitz, JD, MAT
staff@cnme.org

The Council on Naturopathic Medical Education's mission is quality assurance: serving the public by accrediting naturopathic medical education programs that voluntarily seek recognition that they meet or exceed CNME's standards. Students and graduates of programs accredited or preaccredited (candidacy) by CNME are eligible to apply for the naturopathic licensing examinations administered by the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners (NABNE), and are generally eligible for state and provincial licensure in the U.S. and Canada.

Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examination Board
P.O. Box 69657, Portland, OR 97201
Phone: (503) 250-9141, Phone: (416) 498-4255×227
President: Paul Sanders, PhD, ND
Executive Director: Christa Louise, MS, PhD
www.nabne.org
christa@nabne.org

The NPLEX (Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examinations) is the examination graduates of one of the approved naturopathic medical colleges must pass to be eligible for licensure in any of the 16 states or 5 provinces that license/register naturopathic physicians. The North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners is responsible for qualifying applicants to take the NPLEX, administering the NPLEX to examinees, and preparing and sending exam results and transcripts to licensing/regulatory authorities.

North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners
8948 SW Barbur Boulevard #157, Portland, OR 97219-4047
Phone: (503) 778-7990
President: James Spring, DC, ND.
Executive Director: Christa Louise, MS, PhD
www.nabne.org
info@nabne.org

The purpose of NABNE is to determine the qualifications of applicants to take the NPLEX, to administer the NPLEX to examinees, and to prepare and send exam results and transcripts to licensing/regulatory authorities. The institutions that regulate naturopathic medicine grant authority to NABNE to be the examining body for the naturopathic profession through their agreement to use the results of the NPLEX Examinations in their determination of the candidate’s eligibility for licensure (United States) or registration (Canada).