Part III Eligibility

You must be enrolled in, or graduated from, an eligible chiropractic college to take the Part III Exam when you have passed NBCE Part I Exam and you are within nine months of graduation before the administration of Part III. Online approval from your college is required for initial Part III eligibility.

If you are a graduate of an eligible college you may take Part III with online approval from the chiropractic college you attended. You may take the examination as many times as needed to pass. However, be advised that individual states may impose different or additional requirements or restrictions.

Once you have passed Part III, you may retake the exam to meet the special requirement of a state licensing authority.

The NBCE recommends a passing score of 375 for the Part III Exam. Most states require or accept the Part III Examination in lieu of a state-level written clinical competency examination. For current information on state regulations pertaining to Part III scores, you must contact the licensing board of the state(s) in which you plan to practice.

The NBCE does not limit the number of times you may retake Part III prior to passing; however, individual licensing authorities may place restrictions on how many times you are allowed to retake Part III. A doctor or a student of chiropractic who has successfully passed Part III is not allowed to retake any previously passed exam, except when required by a state licensing authority. Scores from retake exams based on this criteria do not void the original passing scores.