Ohio Statutes

Medical nutrition therapy is a medical treatment. Like other non-physician practitioners providing medical treatments, registered dietitian nutritionists generally can practice MNT because of licensure and certification laws, which provide authority for RDNs to provide this medical service. It is with this understanding that the Academy strongly recommends — unless there is an applicable exception or exemption or a state does not provide for licensure or certification requirements — practitioners hold licensure or certification in all states where the practitioner's clients or patients are located when services are provided.

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Statute and Regulation Details

Background info and terminology

Licensure (or Certification) by Endorsement of RDN Credential/Exemptions

Section 4759.06 License qualifications

(B) The board shall waive the requirements of divisions (A)(3), (4), and (5) of this section and any rules adopted under division (A)(6) of section 4759.05 of the Revised Code if the applicant presents satisfactory evidence to the board of current registration as a registered dietitian with the commission on dietetic registration.

Licensure (or Certification) by Reciprocity or Endorsement of Another License

N/A

Temporary/Provisional Licensure (or Certification)

Section 4759.06 License qualifications.

(G)(1) The board may grant a limited permit to a person who has completed the education and pre-professional requirements of divisions (A)(3) and (4) of this section and who presents evidence to the board of having applied to take the examination approved by the board under division (A)(1) of section 4759.05 of the Revised Code. An application for a limited permit shall be made on forms that the board shall furnish and shall be accompanied by the limited permit fee specified in section 4759.08 of the Revised Code.

(2) If no grounds apply under section 4759.07 of the Revised Code for denying a license to the applicant and the applicant meets the requirements of division (G)(1) of this section, the board shall issue a limited permit to the applicant.

A limited permit expires in accordance with rules adopted under section 4759.05 of the Revised Code. A limited permit may be renewed in accordance with those rules.

(3) A person holding a limited permit who has failed the examination shall practice only under the direct supervision of a licensed dietitian.

(4) The board may revoke a limited permit on proof satisfactory to the board that the permit holder has engaged in practice in this state outside the scope of the permit, that the holder has engaged in unethical conduct, or that grounds for action against the holder exist under section 4759.07 of the Revised Code.

Exceptions/Exemptions

Section 4759.10 Exemptions

Sections 4759.01 to 4759.08 of the Revised Code do not apply to any of the following:

(A) A person licensed under Title XLVII of the Revised Code who is acting within the scope of the person's profession, provided that the person complies with division (B) of section 4759.02 of the Revised Code;

(B) A person who is a graduate of an associate degree program approved by the academy of nutrition and dietetics or the state medical board who is working as a dietetic technician under the supervision of a dietitian licensed under section 4759.06 of the Revised Code or registered by the commission on dietetic registration, except that the person is subject to division (B) of section 4759.02 of the Revised Code if the person uses a title other than "dietetic technician";

(C) A person who practices dietetics related to employment in the armed forces, veteran's administration, or the public health service of the United States;

(D) Persons employed by a nonprofit agency approved by the board or by a federal, state, municipal or county government, or by any other political subdivision, elementary or secondary school, or an institution of higher education approved by the state medical board or by a regional agency recognized by the council on postsecondary accreditation, who performs only nutritional education activities and such other nutritional activities as the board, by rule, permits, provided the person does not violate division (B) of section 4759.02 of the Revised Code;

(E) A person who has completed a program meeting the academic standards set for dietitians by the academy of nutrition and dietetics, received a baccalaureate or higher degree from a school, college, or university approved by a regional accreditation agency recognized by the council on postsecondary accreditation, works under the supervision of a licensed dietitian or registered dietitian, and does not violate division (B) of section 4759.02 of the Revised Code;

(F) A person when acting, under the direction and supervision of a person licensed under Title XLVII of the Revised Code, in the execution of a plan of treatment authorized by the licensed person, provided the person complies with division (B) of section 4759.02 of the Revised Code;

(G) The free dissemination of literature in the state;

(H) Provided that the persons involved in the sale, promotion, or explanation of the sale of food, food materials, or dietary supplements do not violate division (B) of section 4759.02 of the Revised Code, the sale of food, food materials, or dietary supplements and the marketing and distribution of food, food materials, or dietary supplements and the promotion or explanation of the use of food, food materials, or dietary supplements provided that the promotion or explanation does not violate Chapter 1345. of the Revised Code;

(I) A person who offers dietary supplements for sale and who makes the following statements about the product if the statements are consistent with the dietary supplement's label or labeling:

(1) Claim a benefit related to a classical nutrient deficiency disease and disclose the prevalence of the disease in the United States;

(2) Describe the role of a nutrient or dietary ingredient intended to affect the structure or function of the human body;

(3) Characterize the documented mechanism by which a nutrient or dietary ingredient acts to maintain the structure or function of the human body;

(4) Describe general well-being from the consumption of a nutrient or dietary ingredient.

(J) Provided that the persons involved in presenting a general program of instruction for weight control do not violate division (B) of section 4759.02 of the Revised Code, a general program of instruction for weight control approved in writing by a licensed dietitian, a physician licensed under Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code to practice medicine or surgery or osteopathic medicine or surgery, a person licensed in another state that the board considers to have substantially equivalent licensure requirements as this state, or a registered dietitian;

(K) The continued practice of dietetics at a hospital by a person employed at that same hospital to practice dietetics for the twenty years immediately prior to July 1, 1987, so long as the person works under the supervision of a dietitian licensed under section 4759.06 of the Revised Code and does not violate division (B) of section 4759.02 of the Revised Code. This division does not apply to any person who has held a license issued under this chapter to practice dietetics. As used in this division, "hospital" has the same meaning as in section 3727.01 of the Revised Code.

Updated August 2023

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