Title Protection and What "Doctor" Means in These Fields

This page is information only and does not rank any profession. It does not replace care from a doctor. If you have new, severe or worsening symptoms, see a medical doctor first, and in a US emergency call 911.

Three words that are often mixed up

Licensed. A government agency has granted permission to practice or to use a title. Certified. A professional organization has confirmed that a person met its standards. Registered. A person has given information about their training and experience to an agency or a regulatory college. NCCIH says that in the United States government agencies grant and monitor licenses, while professional organizations certify practitioners. [1] It also describes three ways states regulate: mandatory licensure (a license is needed to provide a service), title licensure (credentials are needed before using a professional title) and registration (training and experience are reported to a state consumer protection agency). [1]

In some places, title protection and practice protection are separate. As NCCIH defines them, mandatory licensure is about providing a service and title licensure is about using a professional title. [1] Always ask which kind of rule applies where you live.

What "doctor" can mean

"Doctor" is used in more than one way, and the rules are set by each place and each profession.

• Academic or professional degree. CNME accredits doctoral programs in naturopathic medicine in the US and Canada. [4] Medical education programs leading to the MD degree are accredited by the LCME. [5] Osteopathic physicians (DOs) graduate from a college of osteopathic medicine. [6] NCCIH says chiropractors must be an accredited Doctor of Chiropractic in all 50 states and DC. [1]
• A protected, regulated title. In Ontario, Canada, the regulator says "ND," "naturopathic doctor" and "naturopath" are protected titles, meaning only people qualified to practise can use them. [7] It states that a registrant may use "Dr." as long as the appropriate designation follows the name. [8]
• A degree that does not equal a title. The Ontario College states that "Naturopathic Doctor" is not an academic credential, and that graduates of a naturopathy program cannot use the Doctor title before they are registered. [9]

These are examples from one place. In the United States, the sources we read did not give a single national rule for the word "doctor" in naturopathic care, so that is not described in the sources we read.

Where titles are not protected

A consumer health site says that in Australia there is currently no law governing who can use the description "naturopath." [11] In the UK, CNHC runs a voluntary register. [12] Whether the title is legally protected there is not described in the sources we read. See naturopathic regulation in Canada, the UK and Australia.

How to use a title as a clue, not a verdict

• A protected title means the person has met a regulator's requirements in that place; it does not guarantee a particular outcome. NCCIH says licenses and certificates do not guarantee safe, effective treatment from any provider. [3]
• An unprotected title tells you little by itself. Ask for the practitioner's training, the school and the regulator, and verify with how to verify a credential.
• A doctor of one kind is not automatically a doctor of another. The kinds of training behind each title are compared on ND, MD, DO, NP and PA.
• If someone uses a title that does not appear to match their registration, see unlicensed practice and misrepresented titles.

For the wider picture of licensing and scope, see credentials, titles and scope and naturopath, naturopathic doctor and other titles.