California CE Requirements

California Naturopathic Doctors Continuing Education Requirements

Download the CE Requirements & Tracking Form

Per Business and Professions Code Section 3635(a), California Naturopathic Doctors are required to complete statutory continuing education requirements for each renewal period. For your initial licensing period, this requirement is waived. Thereafter, you are required to complete the following continuing education requirements during each renewal cycle, which is the two-year period immediately preceding the expiration date of your license.

For example, if you are initially licensed on 01/01/14 and are born in December, your license expiration date will be 12/31/15 (2 years). You do not need to meet the 60 CE hour requirement to file for renewal on 12/31/15. Your next renewal date will be 12/31/17. Before filing for renewal on 12/31/17, you will need to have taken 60 hours of Continuing Education courses. Additionally, and importantly, any webinars or conferences attended from 01/01/2014 to 12/31/2015 will not count towards your 2017 renewal.

CE Details

Sixty (60) hours of continuing education every two years

1. At least 20 hours of pharmacy (pharmacy hours may be designated by an ND if not done so by the course provider)

2. No more than 15 hours may be 'self-study' hours - (naturopathic, osteopathic, or allopathic medical journals; audio/videotaped presentations; slides; programmed instruction; computer-assisted instruction; or preceptorships)

3. No more than 20 hours may be on any single topic

4. No more than 15 hours of the continuing education requirements for the specialty certificate in naturopathic childbirth attendance (this certificate does not yet exist)

Keep Good Records

When you renew your license, you are required to certify that you have completed the required continuing education hours in the preceding renewal period. You need to keep records of the approved courses you attended along with the certificates in a safe file. Documents that are acceptable include Certificates of Completion of CE event that name the doctor as the participant, the name and date(s) of the course or program, the provider, the number of approved credit hours granted for attendance, and the accrediting agency. 15% of all license renewals will be subject to an audit and will be required to verify their continuing education credits. If a licensee is audited and cannot prove that the CEUs were actually completed (ie, submitting Certificates of Completion), the renewal will be reversed and enforcement actions will be taken on the licensee for Unprofessional Conduct/Dishonesty.

Please note that you should not turn in the actual certificates with your renewal. You just have to list the CE programs and certify that you completed the courses. However, the NMC reserves the right to audit your records for documentation; verify your attendance with the course provider; or verify CE approval by accrediting agency.

CNDA Continuing Education Program

The CNDA has structured its continuing education programs specifically to help you meet your CE requirements in any two-year period. Each year we offer at least four live webinars that are 2 pharmacy CE hours each.

* Note that our webinars are considered 'live' hours when you attend them during the live broadcast, otherwise they are considered self-study hours. Self-study hours can also be applied to your pharmacy requirements. 

Our CE programs are a major source of revenue for the CNDA and this helps us raise more money while keeping the cost low for our members. You can help support the CNDA by encouraging your professional colleagues and friends to attend our courses.

Additional benefit for California Licensed Acupuncturists

In addition to ND CE hours, we are also getting all of our courses approved for CE hours by the California Acupuncture Board for California-licensed acupuncturists. California-licensed acupuncturists can earn CE hours for both ND and LAc license renewals with each course.

*Please note, if you are a CA LAc, in order for credits to count towards your licensure, they MUST be approved by the California Acupuncture Board. (No other credits are accepted.)

California Board of Naturopathic Medicine (CBNM)
(formerly NMC)

For more information on Continuing Education and Licensing Renewal requirements, visit the California Board of Naturopathic Medicine website: www.naturopathic.ca.gov. Rebecca Mitchell is the Acting Executive Officer and can be reached by phone at 916-928-4785 or email.

The continuing education requirements must be met through courses pre-approved by one of the following accrediting agencies or organizations:

1. the California Board of Naturopathic Medicine (formerly the NMC) (Not currently approving providers or classes)

2. the California Naturopathic Doctors Association (CNDA)

3. the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP)

4. the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners

5. the CA State Board of Pharmacy (BOP)

6. the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)

7. the Pharmacy Foundation of California (PFC)

8. the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)

9. NANCEAC

10. other courses that meet the standards for continuing education for licensed physicians and surgeons in California (such as AMA PRA Category 1™ accredited classes)

If you're not sure if the course your interested in has been approved by one of the above agencies, you will need to contact the course organizers directly and ask them if they've gotten their course approved for CA NDs.

The CNDA does not have a Master List of courses approved for California NDs

ALL CNDA-approved courses are listed on the right hand side of this page as soon as they are approved.

If you wish for a course to be approved, you can direct the course organizers to our CE application page.

(Please note: We do not approve courses retroactively.)

IF YOU WISH TO SELF-DESIGNATE PHARMACY CES FOR A COURSE:

Most pharmacy hours will not be separated from the full CEUs by the CE providers.

If the provider breaks it down, CEU category breakdown will be outlined on your certificate of completion. If the provider does not break down the CEUs between general and pharmacy hours, licensees should take the following steps to prove the pharmacy hours:

1. During the course, keep track of how many hours relate strictly to the topic of pharmaceuticals.

2. Upon receipt of your Certificate of Completion for the course, designate your hours by notating how many hours were general CEUs and how many were Pharm.

3. Keep CE records for six (6) years in the event of a CE Audit.

Example:

ABC Hormone CE Course
November 1, 2018
Any town, CA

8:00 am
5:00 pm
Lunch from 12-1

8 hour course
5 Pharm CEUs
3 Gen CEUs

If you have any questions or concerns, please visit contact the California Board of Naturopathic Medicine.

• Always verify that the courses you plan to take have been approved by one of these agencies or they will not count towards your CE requirements! Courses cannot be approved retroactively. The provider of a course must issue you a CE certificate indicating that the course was approved by one of the accrediting organizations listed above.

• CE courses provided by any of the accredited naturopathic colleges are not automatically approved. Per California law, they must be approved by one of the accrediting organizations listed above.

• If you want to attend a conference/course that is not yet approved, you can ask the provider to seek CE approval from the CNDA. There is a fee for reviewing the course that the provider must pay, and they should request the review a minimum of 4-6 weeks before the course. They can download the form on calnd.org under ‘CME events/Apply for CE Credits.’