GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 2
SENATE BILL 405
Health Care Committee Substitute Adopted 4/16/25
Short Title: Chiropractic Mods. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
March 25, 2025
*S405 -v-2*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO MAKE VARIOUS CHANGES TO THE LAWS GOVERNING THE PRA CTICE 2
OF CHIROPRACTIC. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 90-139(a) reads as rewritten: 5
"(a) The North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners is created to consist of 6
eight members appointed by the Governor and General Assembly. Six of the members shall be 7
practicing doctors of chiropractic, who are residents of this State and who have actively practiced 8
chiropractic in the State for at least eight consecutive years immediately preceding their 9
appointments; four of these six members shall be appointed by the Governor, and two by the 10
General Assembly in accordance with G.S. 120-121, one each upon the recommendation of the 11
President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. No more 12
than three members of the Board may be graduates of the same college college, program, or 13
school of chiropractic. The other two members shall be persons chosen by the Governor to 14
represent the public at large. The public members shall not be health care providers nor the 15
spouses of health care providers. For purposes of Board membership, "health care provider" 16
means any licensed health care professional and any agent or employee of any health care 17
institution, health care insurer, health care professional school, or a member of any allied health 18
profession. For purposes of this section, a person enrolled in a program to prepare him to be a 19
licensed health care professional or an allied health professional shall be deemed a health care 20
provider. For purposes of this section, any person with significant financial interest in a health 21
service or profession is not a public member." 22
SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 90-142 reads as rewritten: 23
"§ 90-142. Powers; duties. 24
The North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners shall have the following powers 25
and duties: 26
… 27
(13) Establish certification standards for the practice of acupuncture by doctors of 28
chiropractic." 29
SECTION 1.(c) G.S. 90-142.1 reads as rewritten: 30
"§ 90-142.1. Supervised training programs authorized. 31
(a) As used in this section, "preceptorship program" means a clinical program of an 32
approved chiropractic college program in which a student of chiropractic, under the direct 33
supervision of a licensed chiropractor, observes the licensed chiropractor and may perform 34
chiropractic services as defined in G.S. 90-143(a) and subject to G.S. 90-151. For the purposes 35 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 405-Second Edition
of this section, "direct supervision" means that the supervising licensed chiropractor must be 1
within the immediate patient treatment area and available to the student at all times. 2
(b) Each student enrolled in a chiropractic college program that meets the accreditation 3
requirements of G.S. 90-143 may participate in a preceptorship program." 4
SECTION 1.(d) G.S. 90-143 reads as rewritten: 5
"§ 90-143. Definitions of chiropractic; examinations; educational requirements. 6
(a) "Chiropractic" is herein defined to be the science of adjusting the cause of disease by 7
realigning the spine, releasing pressure on nerves radiating from the spine to all parts of the body, 8
and allowing the nerves to carry their full quota of health current (nerve energy) from the brain 9
to all parts of the body. 10
(b) It shall be the duty of the North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners 11
(hereinafter referred to as "Board") to examine for licensure to practice chiropractic in this State 12
any applicant who is or will become, within 60 days of examination, a graduate of a four-year an 13
accredited chiropractic college program that is either accredited by the Council on Chiropractic 14
Education or deemed by the Board to be the equivalent of such a college program and who 15
furnishes to the Board, in the manner prescribed by the Board, all of the following: 16
(1) Satisfactory evidence of good moral character. 17
(2) Proof that the applicant has received a baccalaureate degree from a college or 18
university accredited by a regional accreditation body recognized by the 19
United States Department of Education.Education or its international 20
equivalent. 21
(3) A transcript confirming that the applicant has received at least 4,200 hours of 22
accredited chiropractic education. The Board shall not count any hours earned 23
at an institution that was not accredited by the Council on Chiropractic 24
Education or was not, as determined by the Board, the equivalent of such an 25
institution at the time the hours were earned.a doctor of chiropractic degree 26
from an accredited chiropractic program. 27
The examination shall include the following studies: neurology, chemistry, pathology, anatomy, 28
histology, physiology, embryology, dermatology, diagnosis, microscopy, gynecology, hygiene, 29
eye, ear, nose and throat, orthopody, diagnostic radiology, North Carolina jurisprudence, 30
palpation, nerve tracing, chiropractic philosophy, theory, teaching and practice of chiropractic, 31
jurisprudence and any other related studies as the Board may consider necessary to determine an 32
applicant's fitness to practice. The Board may include as part of the examination any examination 33
developed and administered by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners or its successor 34
organization that the Board considers appropriate, and the examination may be administered by 35
a national testing service. The Board shall set the passing scores for all parts of the examination. 36
…." 37
SECTION 1.(e) G.S. 90-146 reads as rewritten: 38
"§ 90-146. Graduates from other states. 39
A graduate of a regular an accredited chiropractic school program who comes into this State 40
from another state may be granted a license by the North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic 41
Examiners as required in this Article." 42
SECTION 1.(f) G.S. 90-151 reads as rewritten: 43
"§ 90-151. Extent and limitation of license. 44
Any person obtaining a license from the North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic 45
Examiners shall have the right to practice the science known as chiropractic, in accordance with 46
the method, thought, and practice of chiropractors, as taught in recognized chiropractic schools 47
schools, programs, and colleges, but shall not prescribe for or administer to any person any 48
medicine or drugs, drugs requiring a prescription in accordance with rules and regulations by the 49
United States Food and Drug Administration, nor practice osteopathy or surgery." 50
SECTION 1.(g) G.S. 90-154.3 reads as rewritten: 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Senate Bill 405-Second Edition Page 3
"§ 90-154.3. Acceptable care in the practice of chiropractic. 1
(a) It shall be unlawful for a doctor of chiropractic to examine, treat, or render any 2
professional service to a patient that does not conform to the standards of acceptable care. 3
(b) For purposes of disciplinary action, the North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic 4
Examiners may adopt rules that establish and define standards of acceptable care with respect to: 5
(1) Examination and diagnosis. 6
(2) The use of chiropractic treatment. 7
(3) Physiological therapeutic agents. 8
(4) Diagnostic radiology.imaging. 9
(5) The maintenance of patient records. 10
(6) Sanitation, safety, and the adequacy of clinical equipment. 11
(c) Repealed by Session Laws 2021-120, s. 1(a), effective October 1, 2021. 12
(d) Nothing in this section shall alter the lawful scope of practice of chiropractic as 13
defined in G.S. 90-143 or the limitation of license as defined in G.S. 90-151." 14
SECTION 2. The North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners may adopt 15
rules to implement the provisions of this act. 16
SECTION 3. This act becomes effective October 1, 2025, and applies to applications 17
for licensure on or after that date. 18