Education

Naturopathic doctors have undergone extensive training - four years of undergraduate pre-medical study and four years of graduate-level education at a U.S. Department of Education-accredited naturopathic medical school - before passing rigorous professional board exams to be licensed or registered as a naturopathic doctor. Accredited ND programs are residential, which means that students physically attend school (versus distance or internet courses) and accumulate hundreds of hours observing licensed physicians and participating in all aspects of patient care.

Licensure and Registration

Regulation of naturopathic doctors protects the public by setting and enforcing standards of education, competency and patient care. A patient who sees a licensed or registered ND is assured of the quality of their practitioner. In unregulated states, anyone can use the title, regardless of training.

Map of Regulated States

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