FAQ

What does the Arizona Acupuncture Board of Examiners do?

Answer

The Board’s mission is to protect the health, safety and welfare, and safety of the citizens of Arizona by regulating and maintaining standards of practice for acupuncture.

Responsibilities include:

Laws governing the practice of acupuncture are applied properly.
Complaints are investigated and reviewed by the Board.
Appropriate disciplinary action is applied to acupuncturists that break the public trust through a violation of law.
Qualifications of acupuncture applicants are met prior to licensing.
Qualifications of auricular acupuncture applicants are met prior to certifying.
Statutory requirements are met for renewal of licenses.
Applications for continuing education programs meet statutory requirements.
Applications for program and clinical training meet statutory requirements.
Regulations and laws are updated.

How is the Board made up?

Answer

The Governor appoints, to a three-year term, the nine members that make up the Acupuncture Board of Examiners. The Board is comprised of four licensed acupuncturists, two professional members who are licensed as a MD, DO, NMD, HMD or DC and three public members.

What qualifications must be met for licensure?

Answer

Graduate or complete an accredited or Board approved program of acupuncture.
Complete at least 1850 hours of training that includes 800 hours of clinic.
Successfully complete a clean needle technique course.
Be certified by NCCAOM or pass the NCCAOM exams required to be certified by NCCAOM, or licensed by another state with similar standards to Arizona.
Has not had a license or certificate revoked.
A completed and signed statement of citizenship form.
Application

How long does it take to get licensed?

Answer

That depends on when the application and all required documentation are received. To get on the Board agenda, the application has to be complete one week before the Board meeting date. The Board generally meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Board meeting dates.

Can documents be sent into the Board ahead of the application?

Answer

Yes. You can have your official school transcripts, verifications of licensure in another state(s), clean needle technique course completion documentation, statement of citizenship documentation, and NCCAOM exam results sent ahead of your application. The Board maintains a file of these items for up to a year. The application process will not start until the application and fees are received.

What happens if an acupuncturist violates the public trust?

Answer

One of the essential responsibilities of the Board is to discipline the few acupuncturists who violate the laws governing acupuncture.

All complaints are investigated thoroughly. Once the investigation is complete the matter will be set on a Board meeting agenda for review. The Board will determine if there was a possible violation of law. If so, the Board will conduct a hearing on the matter. If no violation of law is determined the Board can dismiss the matter without further review. If no violation was determined but the Board had concerns they could issue a non-disciplinary letter of concern.

If after a hearing, a violation of law is determined, the Board can impose the following disciplinary sanctions:

Letter of concern
Decree of censure
Probation
Restrict or limit the practice of the licensee
Civil Penalty of not more than $10,000.00 per violation
Suspend a license
Revoke a license

More information on the complaint process.

Can I find out of an acupuncturist was disciplined and what it was for?

Answer

You can contact the Board office at (602) 542-3095 or click here to determine the status of an acupuncturist’s license. The status will tell you if a license is, active, expired, lapsed, surrendered, suspended or revoked. If there are any disciplinary sanctions, you will be able to click on the name and view a summary or the whole document. Or you can call the Board office and staff can report on the sanction. The public can arrange to view the acupuncturist’s public record at the Board office, which is located at:

State of Arizona
Acupuncture Board of Examiners
1400 W. Washington
Suite 230
Phoenix, AZ 85007

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