CHAPTER 01 – NORTH CAROLINA ACUPUNCTURE LICENSING BOARD

SECTION .0100 - LICENSURE

21 ncac 01 .0101             Application and practice requirements FOR LICENSURE

In addition to and for the purposes of meeting the requirements of G.S. 90-455, an applicant for licensure to practice acupuncture shall satisfy requirements one through six and eight listed below or requirements one through five and requirements seven and eight listed below:

(1)           Submit a completed application;

(2)           Submit fees as required by Rule .0103 of this Section;

(3)           Ensure that an official copy of a diploma, transcript, license or certificate, examination score, or other document required for application is forwarded directly to the Board by the issuing entity or its successor organization or designated state agency.  Documents shall have an official or government seal or written verification authenticating the document;

(4)           If the applicant sat for the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) examination on or before June 30, 2004, the applicant shall submit proof that he or she passed the acupuncture written exam and the point location exam as established and determined by NCCAOM or its successor organization.  If the applicant sat for the licensing examination after June 30, 2004, the applicant shall submit proof that he or she passed, as determined by NCCAOM, the following four NCCAOM modules:  Foundations of Oriental Medicine, Acupuncture, Biomedicine and Point Location;

(5)           Submit proof that he or she passed the Clean Needle Technique course as offered and determined by the Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (CCAOM) or its successor organization;

(6)           Submit proof of satisfying the education requirements listed below:

(a)           US Trained Applicants.  All U.S. trained applicants shall graduate from a three-year postgraduate acupuncture college, accredited by or in candidacy status by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM) or its successor organization.

(b)           Foreign Trained Applicants.  All foreign trained applicants shall graduate from a postgraduate acupuncture college that meets the curricular requirements of ACAOM.  The college shall also be approved by either:

(i)            A foreign government's Ministry of Education;

(ii)           A foreign government's Ministry of Health;

(iii)          A governmental agency that is comparable to a division or department of the US Government charged with educational accreditation; or

(iv)          A private foreign accreditation agency that has an accreditation process and standards substantially equivalent to that of ACAOM, and that is recognized for that purpose by the substantially equivalent governmental entity in that foreign country.  The educational institutions shall meet the curricular requirements of ACAOM.

(c)           The documents substantiating that the U.S. trained applicant has met the specified requirements shall be submitted as follows:

(i)            The educational program or governmental agency from which the applicant received the certificate or diploma shall send an official copy of the applicant's transcript directly to the Board in a sealed envelope. 

(ii)           By its submission of this transcript, the program or agency shall verify the applicant's satisfactory completion of the required ACAOM academic and clinical education and designate the completed courses and the hours of study completed in each subject.

(d)           The documents substantiating that the Foreign trained applicant has met the specified requirements shall be submitted as follows:

(i)            The educational program or governmental agency from which the applicant received the certificate or diploma shall send an official copy of the applicant's transcript directly to the Board in a sealed envelope;

(ii)           By submission of this transcript, the program or agency shall verify the applicant's satisfactory completion of his or her clinical education and designate the completed courses and hours of study earned in each subject;

(iii)          The applicant, at his or her own expense, shall submit an accurate English translation that interprets all documents submitted in a foreign language.  Each translated document shall bear the affidavit of the translator certifying that he or she is competent in both the language of the document and the English language and that the translation is a true and complete translation of the foreign language original.  Each translated document shall also bear the affidavit of the applicant, certifying that the translation is a true and complete translation of the original.  Each affidavit shall be signed before a notary public; and

(iv)          All foreign trained applicants, at his or her expense, shall submit their transcripts for evaluation by a foreign credential evaluation service to determine if the applicant's course work is equivalent to that required of an applicant from a three-year postgraduate acupuncture college accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM).  This includes a subject-by-subject analysis that meets the curricular requirements of ACAOM in effect at the time of certification by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) in the acupuncture written and point location examinations.  The applicant may use a current member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Offices (AACRAO);

(7)           Practice Requirements:

(a)           The applicant shall fulfill the requirements set forth in G.S. 90-455.

(b)           Disciplinary action, as used in Article 30 of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes, means censure, suspension, or revocation but does not include a letter of caution, warning or admonition; and

(8)           Submit a license history stating the disciplinary record of the applicant to reflect any censure, suspension or revocation.  The record shall be sent directly to the Board by each state board in which the applicant has been licensed to practice acupuncture.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 90-451; 90-454; 90‑455;

Temporary Adoption Eff. March 18, 1994 for a period of 180 days or until the permanent rule becomes effective, whichever is sooner;

Eff. August 1, 1996;

Amended Eff. August 1, 2007; July 1, 2000; April 1, 1999; August 1, 1995;

Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. November 12, 2014.