ABC Policy on State Licensure 

The American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics & Pedorthics, Inc. (ABC) believes that the provision of prescription orthotic, prosthetic, and pedorthic care should be vested in practitioners who have fulfilled requirements for ABC certification. Furthermore, the ABC believes that state licensure laws should embody similar requirements. The ABC also believes that it is the responsibility of local O&P practitioners and consumers to determine the merits of such initiatives.

Therefore, depending on the unique needs of individual states, consumers and practitioners, the ABC endorses state licensure for the orthotics, prosthetics, and pedorthics profession for the provision of quality O&P care to patients. The ABC also understands that state licensure may require initial "grandfathering" of other providers of O&P services for a time-limited period.

ABC will serve as a resource for and provide public and aggressive assistance to local ABC-certified practitioner groups who have undertaken organized efforts to seek state licensure requirements that include ABC credentialing standards as the basis for licensure. Assistance may include non-financial support such as written and or verbal testimony given before state legislative bodies. Such support will be provided only by request and will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the ABC Board of Directors.

A list of states with O&P licensure will be maintained at this site for your reference.

State Licensure Exams Administered by ABC

ABC has worked with various state licensure agencies to establish the highest quality testing procedures for the practitioners in their state. ABC is pleased to have been chosen as the state licensure examination administrator for the following states: Florida, Washington, Texas, Ohio, Illinois, and New Jersey.

ABC Licensure Information Available

ABC's Licensure Task Force has created three documents that provide information for those interested in writing licensure bills. The documents provide a template for licensure bills and licensure administrative rules as well as a state licensure handbook. These documents are available for downloading, or contact ABC for the documents on a disk.