§2805. Requirement for license; penalty; qualifications; examinations; issuance of license

A.(1) No person shall engage or attempt to engage in the practice of chiropractic in this state who has not been licensed in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.

(2) Whoever violates this Subsection shall be fined not more than three hundred dollars or be imprisoned for not more than three months, or both, and each day a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.

B.(1) The board shall license as a chiropractor and issue an appropriate certificate to any person who files with it a verified application therefor, accompanied by such fee as is required by R.S. 37:2809, together with evidence, verified by oath and satisfactory to the board, that the applicant:

(a) Is at least twenty-one years of age.

(b) Is of good moral character.

(c) Is a high school graduate.

(d) Holds a baccalaureate degree from a college or university approved by an accrediting agency of the United States Department of Education or its successor or foreign equivalent.

(e)(i) Has graduated from a chiropractic school or college that at the time of graduation therefrom has recognized candidate status for accreditation or is accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education or the foreign equivalency to the Council on Chiropractic Education or their successors and approved by the board and that was based on at least four thousand resident classroom hours. On and after September 8, 1992, Louisiana shall cease to recognize as applicants for licensure persons graduating from schools and colleges with recognized candidate status.

(ii) Repealed by Acts 1985, No. 883, §2.

(iii) This law shall not apply to persons seeking renewal of present licenses.

(f) Has passed Parts I, II, III, IV and XIII of an examination given by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners.

(g) Has passed a jurisprudence exam given by the Louisiana Board of Chiropractic Examiners and passed the examination with a score of at least seventy-five percent . Any applicant who fails to score at least seventy-five percent may apply for one retake and shall be permitted to retake the examination upon payment of the appropriate fee.

(2) An applicant who has satisfied the examination requirement of Subparagraph (1)(g) of this Subsection shall apply for licensure within six months of the date of examination, after which the licensure exam score shall be invalid. An applicant with an invalid exam score may reapply and, if eligible, retake the entire exam.

C. After investigation of the application and other evidence submitted, and not less than thirty days prior to the examination, the board shall notify each applicant that the application and evidence submitted for consideration is satisfactory and accepted, or unsatisfactory and rejected. If an application is rejected, the notice shall state the reasons for such rejection.

D. The examination shall be given annually at such time and place and under such supervision as the board may determine, and specifically at such other times as, in the opinion of the board, the number of applicants warrants.

The board shall designate the place of examination in advance.

E. The board shall keep written examination papers, an accurate transcript of the questions and answers relating to the examination, and the grade assigned to each answer thereof as part of its record for at least two years subsequent to the date of examination.

F. Prospective applicants may sit for the examination of the Louisiana Board of Chiropractic Examiners prior to graduation from an accredited chiropractic college if all other requirements of this Section are met and the student is in his or her final semester, trimester, or quarter of chiropractic college. The successful candidate must receive his or her degree prior to issuance of the license.

Acts 1974, No. 39, §1; Acts 1975, No. 268, §1; Acts 1978, No. 372, §1; Acts 1981, No. 291, §1; Acts 1984, No. 305, §1, eff. July 2, 1984; Acts 1985, No. 883, §§1,2; Acts 1986, No. 231, §1; Acts 1987, No. 636, §2; Acts 1989, No. 679, §1; Acts 1990, No. 804, §1; Acts 1991, No. 542, §1; Acts 2001, No. 375, §2; Acts 2004, No. 176, §§1, 2, eff. June 10, 2004; Acts 2007, No. 44, §1; Acts 2018, No. 277, §1.