Apply for a License
- Apply online
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Getting started
Online Application Instructions
Online application instructions are on our website.
Once you have completed the process, you will find your pending credential number on Provider Credential Search. Refer to this credential number any time you contact the Department of Health or submit paperwork.
- Apply on paper
- The following forms are required for completing the application process. Please download and print forms.
- License application packet (PDF)
- Inactive license activation application packet (PDF)
- Expired credential reactivation application (PDF)
- Acupuncturist or Acupuncture and Eastern Medicine Practitioner Portability of Professional Licenses of Members of the Uniformed Services and Their Spouses Application Packet (PDF)
- Sample forms for practitioners
- Additional forms
Fee Schedule
Notice: New fee changes coming soon, June 1, 2023
- See licensing fees below
- Fee Schedule
- License application - $69*
- License renewal - $69*
- Inactive license renewal - $59*
- Late renewal penalty - $50
- Expired license reissuance - $50
- Expired inactive license reissuance - $50
- Duplicate license - $15
- Certification of license - $25
- East Asian medicine practitioner training program application - $500
Includes the $9 fee to access the University of Washington HEAL-WA health resources website.
WAC 246-12-340 – Refund of fees
Fees submitted with applications for initial credentialing, examinations, renewal, and other fees associated with the licensing and regulation of the profession are non-refundable.
License Requirements
Primary Source Verification Letter (PDF)
- See licensing requirements below
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Education
Applicant must graduate from an American College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine accredited school, department-approved school or department-approved apprenticeship.
Applicant must request official transcript(s) with degree and date posted to be sent to the department. Transcripts not in English must have an official translation. A completed clinical training form (PDF) must be sent directly from applicant's program.
Applicant must list all professional education and experience including college or university, and a complete chronology of practice history from the date of acupuncturist or acupuncture and eastern medicine school graduation to present, if the activities related to acupuncturist or acupuncture and eastern medicine or not.
Examinations
Applicant must pass the following exam modules administered by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM):
- Foundations of Oriental Medicine
- Acupuncture with Point Location
- Biomedicine
Verification of passing scores must be sent directly to the department.
Verification of having taken the Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine clean needle technique course.
State license verification
Applicant must list all states where credentials are or were held, including where applicant has applied but a credential was not granted. A verification form must be completed and submitted by the jurisdiction where the applicant is or was credentialed. The jurisdiction must send the completed form directly to the department.
Personal data questions
Each applicant must answer the personal data questions. If there is a positive answer to the professional liability claims history question, the applicant must send an explanation of the nature of the case, data and summary of care given, copies of the original complaint, and the settlement or final disposition. If pending, applicant must indicate status.
Additional information/documents required
- Applicants must submit a copy of the front and back of their current cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) card.
- Completed background information form (PDF). List all basic science and all acupuncturist or acupuncture and Eastern medicine science courses that are being claimed to meet the education.
Licensing requirements
- Minimum of two academic years training in basic sciences. This must equal a minimum of 45 credits or 450 hours. Mandatory courses are:
- Anatomy;
- Physiology;
- Pathology;
- Microbiology;
- Biochemistry;
- Survey of Western clinical sciences; and
- Hygiene.
- Acupuncture and eastern medicine science courses must equal a minimum of 75 credits or 750 hours. Mandatory courses are:
- Fundamental principles
- Diagnosis;
- Pathology;
- Therapeutics;
- Meridians/vessels and points; and
- Techniques, including electro-acupuncture.
- Clinical training must consist of a minimum of 500 hours of supervised clinical training and include no more than 100 hours of observation that includes case presentation and discussion. At least 400 hours must be patient treatment.
Foreign-trained applicants
Foreign-trained applicants must:
- Have at least a bachelor's or master's degree in acupuncture or acupuncture and eastern medicine from an institution of higher education that is approved by the country's ministry of education/health, or other governmental agency;
- Have graduated from a program of acupuncture or acupuncture and eastern medicine education with requirements substantially equal to those required of graduates of secretary of health-approved programs;
- Demonstrate fluency in ready, speaking and understanding the English language by taking the required NCCAOM exams in English or by passage of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Internet-based (IBT) exams.The TOEFL IBT scores must be at least:
- Twenty-four on the writing section;
- Twenty-six on the speaking section;
- Twenty-one on the reading section; and
- Eighteen on the listening comprehension section.
- Have a credential evaluation from the International Consultants of Delaware.The report must be sent directly to the department.
- Meet all of the license requirements.
Process for approving/denying applications
We finish final review for approval after a credentialing specialist verifies that the application is fully complete, and complies with requirements in chapter 18.06 RCW and chapter 246-803 WAC. We complete background checks and make sure applicants have submitted required fees. Credentialing supervisors and lead workers have the authority to approve routine applications. The disciplining authority may conduct further review if the credentialing supervisor can't verify the applicant meets all requirements. We'll formally notify applicants of a denial. Those applicants may request a hearing to appeal the decision.
Renewal requirements
Acupuncturists or acupuncture and eastern medicine practitioners must renew their license every year. Credentials expire on the credential holder's birthday and may be renewed within 90 days of the expiration date.
Continuing education requirements
Substitute House Bill (SHB) 1865, passed during the 2019 legislative session amended the law relating to acupuncture and Eastern medicine practitioners. The Department of Health will be holding rule workshops to adopt rules on continuing education as a condition of license renewal.