The Auditor
State of Hawai‘i

A Comparative Study of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Professional and Vocational Licenses

Report No. 05-14
December 2005

 

Foreword

Introduction

License Summaries

Accountant, Certified Public

Acupuncture

Chiropractor

Contractor

Electrician, Journeyman

Electrician, Supervising

Optometrist

Osteopathic Physician

Pharmacist

Pharmacy

Physician

Physician Assistant

Plumber, Journeyman

Plumber, Master

Podiatrist

Veterinarian

 

CHIROPRACTOR

Summary Overall Rank License Fees Continuing Education Table

Summary

Hawai‘i
’s requirements for a chiropractor’s license are in line with a majority of the states, except that its continuing education requirement ranks among the lowest in the country. The general requirements are a chiropractic degree and passing the National National Board of Chiropractor Examiners examinations. 

Requirement

Hawai‘i

Category Rank

National Median

OVERALL RANK (quintile)

4

 

 

Education

60 semester hours

3

60 semester hours

Examination

5 parts of the NBCE

3

5 parts of the NBCE

Fees

$385

3

$386

Continuing Education

10 hours per year

5

15 hours per year

Reciprocity or Endorsement

Hawai‘i provides some form of recognition of an out of state license.

3

45 states provide some form of reciprocity or endorsement for an out of state license.

 Note on Chiropractor ranking:

1 = most difficult, most requirements, highest fees.
5 = least difficult, fewest requirements, lowest fees.

Education: As with Hawai‘i, most states specify 60 semester hours of undergraduate education. However, most chiropractic colleges require 90 semester hours as a prerequisite for admission. Five states require a bachelor’s degree in addition to a chiropractic degree. Some states do not specify a number of undergraduate hours. States requiring a bachelor’s degree were assigned a rank of 1, and all other states were assigned a rank of 3.

Examination: Twenty-seven states require passing five parts of the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners examination, while twenty-three states require three or four parts.

Fees: Rank is based on the cost of an initial license and an annualized renewal fee. This reflects the cost of obtaining and renewing a license. 

Continuing education: Hawai‘i is one of three states that requires ten hours of continuing education per year. New Jersey does not require continuing education. All other states require from twelve to fifty hours per year.

Reciprocity:  Reciprocity or endorsement recognizes any form of recognition of an out of state license.