331.030. Application for license, requirements, fees--reciprocity--rulemaking, procedure.
Application for license, requirements, fees--reciprocity--rulemaking,procedure.
331.030. 1. No person shall engage in the practice of chiropracticwithout having first secured a chiropractic license as provided in thischapter.
2. Any person desiring to procure a license authorizing the person topractice chiropractic in this state shall be at least twenty-one years ofage and shall make application on the form prescribed by the board. Theapplication shall contain a statement that it is made under oath oraffirmation and that representations contained thereon are true and correctto the best knowledge and belief of the person signing the application,subject to the penalties of making a false affidavit or declaration, andshall give the applicant's name, address, age, sex, name of chiropracticschools or colleges which the person attended or of which the person is agraduate, and such other reasonable information as the board may require.The applicant shall give evidence satisfactory to the board of thesuccessful completion of the educational requirements of this chapter, thatthe applicant is of good moral character, and that the chiropractic schoolor college of which the applicant is a graduate is teaching chiropractic inaccordance with the requirements of this chapter. The board may make afinal determination as to whether or not the school from which theapplicant graduated is so teaching.
3. Before an applicant shall be eligible for licensure, the applicantshall furnish evidence satisfactory to the board that the applicant hasreceived the minimum number of semester credit hours, as required by theCouncil on Chiropractic Education, or its successor, prior to beginning thedoctoral course of study in chiropractic. The minimum number of semestercredit hours applicable at the time of enrollment in a doctoral course ofstudy must be in those subjects, hours and course content as may beprovided for by the Council on Chiropractic Education or, in the absence ofthe Council on Chiropractic Education or its provision for such subjects,such hours and course content as adopted by rule of the board; however inno event shall fewer than ninety semester credit hours be accepted as theminimum number of hours required prior to beginning the doctoral course ofstudy in chiropractic. The examination applicant shall also provideevidence satisfactory to the board of having graduated from a chiropracticcollege having status with the Commission on Accreditation of the Councilon Chiropractic Education or its successor. Any senior student in achiropractic college having status with the Commission on Accreditation onthe Council on Chiropractic Education or its successor may take a practicalexamination administered or approved by the board under such requirementsand conditions as are adopted by the board by rule, but no license shall beissued until all of the requirements for licensure have been met.
4. Each applicant shall pay upon application an application orexamination fee. All moneys collected pursuant to the provisions of thischapter shall be nonrefundable and shall be collected by the director ofthe division of professional registration who shall transmit it to thedepartment of revenue for deposit in the state treasury to the credit ofthe chiropractic board fund. Any person failing to pass a practicalexamination administered or approved by the board may be reexamined uponfulfilling such requirements, including the payment of a reexamination fee,as the board may by rule prescribe.
5. Every applicant for licensure by examination shall have taken andsuccessfully passed all required and optional parts of the writtenexamination given by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners,including the written clinical competency examination, under suchconditions as established by rule of the board, and all applicants forlicensure by examination shall successfully pass a practical examinationadministered or approved by the board and a written examination testing theapplicant's knowledge and understanding of the laws and regulationsregarding the practice of chiropractic in this state. The board shallissue to each applicant who meets the standards and successful completionof the examinations, as established by rule of the board, a license topractice chiropractic. The board shall not recognize any correspondencework in any chiropractic school or college as credit for meeting therequirements of this chapter.
6. The board shall issue a license without examination to persons whohave been regularly licensed to practice chiropractic in any other state,territory, or the District of Columbia, or in any foreign country, providedthat the regulations for securing a license in the other jurisdiction areequivalent to those required for licensure in the state of Missouri, whenthe applicant furnishes satisfactory evidence that the applicant hascontinuously practiced chiropractic for at least one year immediatelypreceding the applicant's application to the board and that the applicantis of good moral character, and upon the payment of the reciprocity licensefee as established by rule of the board. The board may require anapplicant to successfully complete the Special Purposes Examination forChiropractic (SPEC) administered by the National Board of ChiropracticExaminers if the requirements for securing a license in the otherjurisdiction are not equivalent to those required for licensure in thestate of Missouri at the time application is made for licensure under thissubsection.
7. Any applicant who has failed any portion of the practicalexamination administered or approved by the board three times shall berequired to return to an accredited chiropractic college for a semester ofadditional study in the subjects failed, as provided by rule of the board.
8. A chiropractic physician currently licensed in Missouri shallapply to the board for certification prior to engaging in the practice ofmeridian therapy/acupressure/acupuncture. Each such application shall beaccompanied by the required fee. The board shall establish by rule theminimum requirements for the specialty certification under this subsection."Meridian therapy/acupressure/acupuncture" shall mean methods of diagnosingand the treatment of a patient by stimulating specific points on or withinthe body by various methods including but not limited to manipulation,heat, cold, pressure, vibration, ultrasound, light, electrocurrent, andshort-needle insertion for the purpose of obtaining a biopositive reflexresponse by nerve stimulation.
9. The board may through its rulemaking process authorizechiropractic physicians holding a current Missouri license to apply forcertification in a specialty as the board may deem appropriate and charge afee for application for certification, provided that:
(1) The board establishes minimum initial and continuing educationalrequirements sufficient to ensure the competence of applicants seekingcertification in the particular specialty; and
(2) The board shall not establish any provision for certification oflicensees in a particular specialty which is not encompassed within thepractice of chiropractic as defined in section 331.010.
(RSMo 1939 § 10054, A.L. 1945 p. 637, A.L. 1947 V. I p. 225, A. 1949 H.B. 2071, A.L. 1969 H.B. 85, A.L. 1981 S.B. 16, A.L. 1988 S.B. 598, A.L. 1993 S.B. 52, A.L. 1995 S.B. 3, A.L. 1997 S.B. 141, A.L. 2004 H.B. 1246, A.L. 2007 S.B. 272)Prior revision: 1929 § 13549