California Board of Chiropractic adopts regulatory changes including higher mandatory hours for evaluation and management CE

The California Board of Chiropractic Examiners on April 17 approved a package of regulatory and administrative changes intended to tighten pre-licensure competency checks, clarify application procedures, and increase required continuing education hours in key practice areas.

Board members voted to: (1) adopt clarified regulatory text for applications and examinations that requires either NBCE Part IV passage within four years of application or documented active chiropractic practice in the preceding four years before a California license may be issued; (2) increase mandatory annual CE so that at least 6 of the required 12 mandatory CE hours must be in competency 1 (evaluation and management); (3) approve conforming edits specifying that exemptions for course instructors apply only to instructors at board-approved chiropractic programs; (4) proceed with updated citation regulations and related implementing edits; and (5) adopt staff responses and proceed with repeal of an obsolete regulation (CCR §3.54) that conflicted with existing law on unlicensed practice.

Why it matters: The package is aimed at ensuring greater current clinical competency among licensees, tightening the path to licensure for applicants who finished training many years earlier, and emphasizing continuing education focused on patient evaluation and management — areas the board identified as closely tied to public-protection outcomes.

Most important facts - Application/exam change: To be eligible for initial licensure, applicants now must show either passage of NBCE Part IV within the prior four years or documentary evidence they have actively practiced in another U.S. jurisdiction within the prior four years; otherwise they must retake Part IV before California licensure. The board clarified steps for temporary/expedited pathways (veterans, military spouses, refugees, etc.) in the same regulation package. - Continuing education: The board increased the mandatory minimum hours in competency 1 (evaluation and management) from 4 to 6 hours annually, bringing the mandatory CE total to 12 hours per year (with 12 elective hours remaining). The board retained other mandatory categories (ethics, technique, record-keeping) at the levels shown in the adopted text. - Citation rules and unlicensed-practice regulation: The board rescinded earlier draft text and adopted revised citations regulations (CCR §§3.90.4–3.90.5) to conform to Business and Professions Code requirements (including BPC §125.9) and to extend the informal conference request period to 30 days. The board also approved staff’s response to public comment and proceeded with repeal of CCR §3.54 (which had allowed applicants to practice before issuance of a certificate and conflicted with unlicensed-practice law). - Administrative clarifications: The board replaced several references to “CCE-accredited chiropractic programs” in the text with the more administrable phrase “board-approved chiropractic program” to avoid mismatches between accreditor status and board approval for CE/instructor exemptions.

Formal votes and outcomes - Motion: “Approve the doctor of chiropractic license applications.” Outcome: approved unanimously; roll call recorded: Doctor Adams—Yes; Doctor Daniels—Yes; Ms. Cruz—Yes; Doctor Azzelino—Yes; Doctor Perez—Yes. - Motion: “Approve new continuing education providers.” Outcome: approved unanimously; roll call recorded: Doctor Adams—Yes; Doctor Daniels—Yes; Ms. Cruz—Yes; Doctor Azzelino—Yes; Doctor Perez—Yes. - Motion: Approve proposed regulatory text clarifying application/exam rules (CCR Title 16 sections cited in meeting materials) and direct staff to start the rulemaking process. Outcome: approved unanimously (same roll call yes votes recorded). - Motion: Approve modification to proposed CE rule text so that minimum mandatory hours include 6 hours in competency 1 (evaluation/management) and proceed with rulemaking. Outcome: approved unanimously. - Motion: Rescind earlier approval and adopt revised citation regulation text (CCR §§3.90.4–3.90.5) and start rulemaking. Outcome: approved unanimously. - Motion: Decline public comment requests to change repeal of CCR §3.54, approve staff response and complete the rulemaking to repeal CCR §3.54. Outcome: approved unanimously.

Board context and next steps The board directed staff to submit adopted text to the Department of Consumer Affairs and to follow the standard 45-day public comment and rulemaking process. Staff said the revised text had been vetted with legal counsel and that minor non‑substantive edits would be handled by the executive officer as needed while the text is in the agency process. The board also discussed a separate but related policy track — whether to revise the state law exam (CCLE) to include more clinical practice elements — and asked staff to arrange an informational briefing by the Office of Professional Examination Services (OPES) for a future meeting.

What the board did not do The board did not change policy on reciprocity during this meeting, nor did it adopt immediate changes to the CCLE itself; those items were deferred for committee-level work and future agenda items. The board also did not adopt fee changes at this meeting; staff noted some future regulatory packages may require fee authority to cover implementation costs if new programs or registries are added.

Ending note Board members emphasized the need to balance licensure portability with California’s public-protection standards and asked staff to continue outreach to stakeholders (colleges, applicants, CE providers) while the adopted regulatory text proceeds through DCA and the formal notice period.