Licensure, Registration, and Renewal Requirements
The licensure pathway
Maryland licenses chiropractors through the Board, and the exam expects the sequence: graduate from a chiropractic college accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education; pass the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners examinations (Parts I-IV, plus the physiotherapy component where applicable); pass the Maryland jurisprudence examination; submit transcripts, scores, a criminal history background check, and fees; and hold an issued license before touching a patient.
Applicants licensed elsewhere may seek licensure by endorsement, but the Board still verifies credentials and may impose Maryland-specific requirements. A license from another state is not itself authority to practice here.
Keeping the license
- Renewal runs on a fixed biennial cycle tied to continuing education; renewal is not effective until CE is complete and attested.
- CE must be Board-approved, documented, and retained for audit.
- Updates: report name and address changes as required.
- Lapse: practicing after expiration -- even by days -- is unlicensed practice, whatever the status of the renewal application.
Worked example
A licensee's renewal lapses on a Friday. The application and fee go out Monday, and the office keeps treating patients for two weeks. Every adjustment in that window is unlicensed practice and independent grounds for discipline, even if the Board later renews. The correct move: stop practicing, confirm reinstatement requirements, and resume only on written issuance.
Traps
- Assuming payment of the fee alone renews the license.
- Confusing "registration" of a practice location with the license itself.
- Believing CE hours can be back-filled after the renewal date.
- Assuming endorsement waives the jurisprudence exam or Maryland-specific review.