Licensing directory · all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Find your state’s acupuncture licensing path.

Choose a state to find the license, herbal-medicine rules, application steps, renewal requirements and the official places to confirm what applies to you.

Pick your state.

Claims link to primary sources where we found them. Gaps and open questions stay labeled so you can tell what has, and has not, been confirmed.

Licensing in

Vermont

Start with the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation. Licensure needs a program accredited by ACAOM (with 400 supervised clinical hours) and the NCCAOM exams. Licenses renew every two years with 30 hours of continuing education. The scope includes herbal therapies. Application fees were not found.

State license · Office of Professional Regulation · NCCAOM exams

At a glance

Start with the responsible authority.

Regulatory authoritySource checked: Secretary of State's Office of Professional Regulation, with two advisor appointees26 V.S.A. §§3403–3404 ↗

Last checked October 10, 2026

Know which credential fits

License types

Licensed acupuncturist

Independent acupuncture practice

License requiredSource checked: A license is required to practice acupuncture or imply acupuncturist status; the title is "licensed acupuncturist" or "Lic. Ac." Supervised students, five-day seminar visitors and other licensed professionals are exempt.26 V.S.A. §3402 ↗
AuriculotherapySource checked: Needling the external ear is unregulated if the person has clean-needle training, uses sterile single-use needles, treats no disease and does not claim to be an acupuncturist.26 V.S.A. §3402(g) ↗
Diagnosis limitSource checked: Acupuncturists may give a functional diagnosis only, for care planning or insurer documentation.26 V.S.A. §3401a(b) ↗

What to confirm

Getting your first license

EligibilitySource checked: At least 18, and a degree or diploma from an ACAOM-accredited (or equivalent) program of at least two academic years with at least 400 hours of supervised clinical practice.26 V.S.A. §3405 ↗
ExaminationSource checked: Pass the exam; the Director may waive it for NCCAOM exam passers or licensees of a substantially equivalent state. The rules require the NCCAOM acupuncture exam and the CCAOM clean needle technique course.26 V.S.A. §§3406–3407; rules §2.3 ↗
EndorsementSource checked: Licensed or certified in good standing in a substantially equivalent jurisdiction; applicants licensed for three or more years may use Fast Track; a 90-day provisional license is available when only verification is outstanding.Application instructions (Dec. 2025) ↗
Fees: The Office's fee schedule was not found; the forms page links to it.Know this? Share an official source

What to confirm

Herbal medicine

Herbal medicine authoritySource checked: Scope includes nutritional, herbal and manual therapies, exercise and lifestyle counseling, acupressure and massage.26 V.S.A. §3401a(a) ↗
Retail, compounding, and dispensing: No herb-specific rules were read.Know this? Share an official source

What to confirm

Keeping the license active

Renewal cycleSource checked: Every two years on January 31 of even-numbered years, with 30 hours of continuing education from the prior two years.26 V.S.A. §3408; rules §3.1 ↗
Late and lapsedSource checked: A late renewal needs a late fee; a license lapsed more than three years needs a reinstatement application showing professional qualification.Rules §3.5 ↗
Renewal fee: Not confirmed yet. We only publish what an official source supports.Know this? Share an official source

What to confirm

Rules after you open

Disclosure statementSource checked: Give each new client a signed disclosure of qualifications, unprofessional conduct and complaint procedure before the first treatment.26 V.S.A. §3411 ↗
Rules copyNeeds review: The administrative rules PDF is dated 2003; the statute was amended in 2019, so confirm which provisions are current.Administrative rules ↗Know this? Share an official source

Go to the source

Official resources

Board pageSource checked: Vermont OPR: acupuncturistsOpen ↗
Application instructionsSource checked: Acupuncture application instructionsOpen ↗
LawSource checked: 26 V.S.A. chapter 75Open ↗
RulesSource checked: Administrative rules for licensed acupuncturistsOpen ↗

Community review

Help improve the Vermont page.

Fix an error, fill a research gap, or share a newer official source. Contributions enter a review queue and never change the guide automatically.

Frequently asked

Licensing questions, answered.

Is this legal or licensing advice?

No. It points you to the responsible state authority and the statutes, rules and forms that apply, and says what to confirm. The board’s own decision controls, so confirm your situation with it before you apply or practice.

What do “Source checked,” “Needs review” and “Help wanted” mean?

Source checked means the claim was read against a named official page. Needs review means we found something but could not fully confirm it, or sources disagree. Help wanted means we have not confirmed it from an official source yet and would welcome one. None of these is a statement that a rule does not exist.

Has every state page been independently verified?

Not yet. Every state has a first research pass from official sources, and a separate verification pass is still under way. Each page shows the date its sources were last opened. Fees and deadlines change, so check the linked board page before relying on them.

Why do Oklahoma and South Dakota have so little?

We did not find a licensing act for either state, only bills that were introduced. That is not proof that practice is unregulated or prohibited, so those pages say what we found and stop there.

A fact on my state’s page is wrong or out of date. What do I do?

Use the correction form on that state’s page. Send the official source link if you have one. We review every report against the controlling source before anything changes; nothing updates automatically. Do not include patient or confidential information.

Does it say whether I can prescribe or sell herbs?

Each state has its own herbal section that separates recommending herbs from dispensing, compounding or selling them, because states treat those differently. Where the rules were not found or not clear, the section says so.

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