Georgia
This state has a law currently in place; read below to see whether your background qualifies you to practice. Please note bills and amendments can be introduced at any time, so check the Get Involved area below to see what bills we're actively monitoring in this state. If action on a specific bill is needed, additional materials will be posted to this page.
CURRENT LAW
Requirements for State Licensure/Certification:
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Nutrition care in other Health Professions
There is no mention of nutrition care in the scope outlined for acupuncturists in the state licensure law. If there is an exclusive scope of practice nutrition licensing law in this state, then it is illegal for acupuncturists to provide nutrition counseling unless they obtain a nutrition license, or fall under an explicit exemption, which is rare. As stated in the law, acupuncture means, "A form of therapy developed from traditional and modern Oriental concepts for health care that employs Oriental medicine techniques, treatment, and adjunctive therapies for the promotion, maintenance, and restoration of health and the prevention of disease." While nutrition and herbal therapies may be considered part of traditional and modern Oriental concepts or part of adjunctive therapies, these statements are not further defined and there is nothing in the law that explicitly sanctions the use of nutrition care. If there is an exclusive scope of practice nutrition licensing law in this state, then it is illegal for acupuncturists to provide nutrition counseling unless they obtain a nutrition license, or fall under an explicit exemption, which is rare. Practicing acupuncturists MUST review the scope of the nutrition law including all exceptions and exemptions to assess whether they are legally able to use nutrition tools. Seeking legal advice may help to determine whether laws governing nutrition care would be violated by the use of nutrition tools in an acupuncture practice.
State licensed chiropractors, "may recommend the use of nutritional and dietary supplements. Any such recommendation of nutritional and dietary supplements shall not be construed to allow chiropractors to treat patients outside the scope of the practice of chiropractic…". There is no language in the law explicitely identifying nutrition as an assessment modality within the specified scope of practice of chiropractic nor authorizing the use of nutrition care as a treatment modality beyond the use of nutritional and dietary supplements.
Currenlty health coaches are not licensed in any states in the United States. If there is an exclusive scope of practice nutrition licensing law (red or orange on the map) in a state, then it is illegal for health coaches to provide nutrition counseling unless they obtain a nutrition license, or fall under an explicit exemption, which is rare. Practicing health coaches MUST review the scope of the nutrition law in their state including all exceptions and exemptions to assess whether they are legally able to use nutrition tools in their practice. Seeking legal advice may help to determine whether laws governing nutrition care would be violated by the use of nutrition tools in a coaching practice.
Currenlty herbalists are not licensed in any states in the United States. If there is an exclusive scope of practice nutrition licensing law (red or orange on the map) in a state, then it is illegal for herbalists to provide nutrition counseling unless they obtain a nutrition license, or fall under an explicit exemption, which is rare. Practicing herbalists MUST review the scope of the nutrition law in their state including all exceptions and exemptions to assess whether they are legally able to use nutrition tools in their practice. Seeking legal advice may help to determine whether laws governing nutrition care would be violated by the use of nutrition tools in an herbalist practice.
There is currently no licensure law for naturopathic doctors in this state. If there is an exclusive scope of practice nutrition licensing law (red or orange on the map) in this state, then it is illegal for naturopathic doctors to provide nutrition counseling unless they obtain a nutrition license, or fall under an explicit exemption, which is rare. Practicing naturopathic doctors MUST review the scope of the nutrition law including all exceptions and exemptions to assess whether they are legally able to use nutrition tools in their practice. Seeking legal advice may help to determine whether laws governing nutrition care would be violated by the use of nutrition tools in a naturopathic practice.
Currenlty personal trainers are not licensed in any states in the United States. If there is an exclusive scope of practice nutrition licensing law (red or orange on the map) in a state, then it is illegal for personal trainers to provide nutrition counseling unless they obtain a nutrition license, or fall under an explicit exemption, which is rare. Practicing personal trainers MUST review the scope of the nutrition law in their state including all exceptions and exemptions to assess whether they are legally able to use nutrition tools in their practice. Seeking legal advice may help to determine whether laws governing nutrition care would be violated by the use of nutrition tools in a personal trainer practice.
Currenlty retailers are not licensed in any states in the United States. If there is an exclusive scope of practice nutrition licensing law (red or orange on the map) in a state, then it is illegal for retailers to provide nutrition counseling unless they obtain a nutrition license, or fall under an explicit exemption, which is rare. Retailers MUST review the scope of the nutrition law in their state including all exceptions and exemptions to assess whether they are legally able to use nutrition tools in their work. Seeking legal advice may help to determine whether laws governing nutrition care would be violated by the use of nutrition tools at a retail location.
Currenlty weight loss specialists are not licensed in any states in the United States. If there is an exclusive scope of practice nutrition licensing law (red or orange on the map) in a state, then it is illegal for weight loss specialists to provide nutrition counseling unless they obtain a nutrition license, or fall under an explicit exemption, which is rare. Practicing weight loss specialists MUST review the scope of the nutrition law in their state including all exceptions and exemptions to assess whether they are legally able to use nutrition tools in their practice. Seeking legal advice may help to determine whether laws governing nutrition care would be violated by the use of nutrition tools in a specialists practice.