About the International Board of Chiropractic Examiners

FOUNDATION FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOARD OF CHIROPRACTIC EXAMINERS

Chiropractic has always considered itself to be a profession distinctly separate from allopathic medicine. However, since its discovery and for more than 60 years, the United States attempted to regulate chiropractic according to the medical profession’s regulations. In fact, until the early 1960s, the United States required chiropractic professionals to take the standardized exams prepared for the medical profession. These exams covered some subjects exclusively related to the practice of medicine and surgery and were not fully appropriate for chiropractic. With the development of chiropractic regulatory agencies to set standards, states and state boards formed a mutual agreement about licensing criteria and requirements for chiropractic competence within the United States.

In response to the needs of state licensing boards for a national standard for chiropractic testing, the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (BCE) was established in 1963. The NBCE is an independent, non-profit organization charged with a singular mission of creating examinations that measure uniformly high standards of chiropractic care and public accountability at a national level.

In providing standardized written and practical assessments for the chiropractic profession, the IBCE/NBCE develops, administers, analyses, scores and reports results from examinations developed specifically for use within the chiropractic profession. The NBCE scores are among the criteria utilized by most state, and some international licensing agencies to determine whether applicants satisfy qualifications for licensure. By accepting official scores regulatory agencies are assured that applicants have demonstrated the knowledge, skills and attitudes requisite to safe and effective practice.

Realizing this need, the NBCE formed the IBCE to continue the mission of developing valid, legally defensible exams that are flexible, capable of changing with the chiropractic profession as well as adapting to the requirements and needs of other jurisdictions.