Iowa Laws & Details

Formal Education Requirements:  Completion of a three-year post-secondary training program or acupuncture college program which is accredited by, in candidacy for accreditation, or which meets the standards of the ACAOM.

Undergraduate Requirements:  None.

Other Eligibility Requirements:  Applicants must hold a current active-status NCCAOM certificate in acupuncture or Oriental medicine.  Applicants must demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the English language to understand and be understood by patients, medical evaluators, and board and committee members.  An applicant who passes the NCCAOM exam in English may be presumed to have sufficient proficiency in English.  The board may choose any of the following exams to test the English proficiency of any other applicant:  the TOEFL or TSE.

Written Exam:  The NCCAOM comprehensive written examination including the acupuncture theory and clean needle technique portions are required.

Practical Exam:  The NCCAOM PEPLS.

Reciprocity/Endorsement:  No.

Medical doctors, osteopaths, dentists and podiatrists may practice acupuncture in Iowa without any specific training.

Chiropractors must complete 100 hours of classroom instruction and the certification exam given by a board-approved continuing education sponsor for acupuncture.

A physician assistant may not practice acupuncture.

NOTE: Look for a physician with formal training in the practice of acupuncture. Acupuncture and Oriental medicine is an art and a science that takes years to master. While any licensed physician can stick needles into you, for a positive experience and results, find an acupuncturist with experience treating a similar condition (with acupuncture) to what you have.

Iowa Board of Medicine
400 SW 8th Street, Suite C
Des Moines, Iowa 50309-4686
(515) 281-5171
(515) 242-5908 (Fax)

Practice Act: Chapter 148E Acupuncture